Mayor Patricia De Lille is to blame for the deadly Hout Bay Fire 

14 March 2017

The fire in Hout Bay was nothing but a crisis and Cosatu sends its heartfelt condolences to the unfortunate residences, who lost their lives ,limb and livelihoods. The extent of the damages could have been avoided if Cape Town City leaders had applied due care and diligence to the situation. They could have  timeously intervened to ensure that overcrowding was minimised in order to be able to provide emergency services. The City has not done this because they claim to not have money, yet they spend millions of rends on bicycle races for the wealthy.

The people who take part in the bicycle races have bicycles worth R10 000 and sunglasses of R1000, yet the City of Cape Town still gives each one of them nearly R500 to participate. The directors of the bicycle events earn R100 000 to work on the event. But poor people’s money is used to support the wealthy elites. They also took the fire fighting staff off duty, because they wanted to have more emergency personnel to look after the cyclist. That is why the fire took so long to get under control and so many people lost all their possessions. The City of Cape Town then added an insult to injury by taking the old supplies that were not used at the event, most of it that was left in the sun whole day and gave it to the people of Hout Bay ,who lost everything as some grand gesture.

The City has waged a war against the poorer people of Hout Bay from the Days of Zille ,who ordered Metro Police to shoot and maim people who wanted to defend their homes. Their agenda at that time was to move people out of the Hout Bay area. This is the same strategy that the ancestors of Zille used to get black people out of Sea Point. This City has through their criminal neglect shown no regard for  the lives of black people whom they label as refugees.

Cosatu is calling on the Human Rights Commission to investigate the City for allowing the crisis to happen, by not providing proper housing. Then by not deploying the City monies to urgent areas, but giving it to mainly wealthy white people playing games on bicycles. Then finally for giving people the off cuts of the Cycle tour catering, some of which was not suitable for consumption the next day.

Issued by Sizwe Pamla, National Spokesperson, COSATU, 14 March 2017