#JoburgFire: ANC-led Gauteng Provincial Government could be held liable

6 September 2018

I join the people of Gauteng and South Africa in mourning the three firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Their commitment and service to the people will not be forgotten. Further to this I wish the hospitalised emergency services personnel a speedy recovery.

The ANC-led Gauteng Provincial Government must take responsibility for the death of three firefighters who died trying to extinguish the fire at the Bank of Lisbon building, which houses several Provincial Departments.

Despite the fact that the Gauteng Provincial Government was aware that the Bank of Lisbon building was not compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, nothing was done to ensure safety of the employees working in this building.

I have therefore asked our legal team to explore if there is criminal culpability on the part of the Provincial Government and the politicians who allowed this tragedy to happen. Families have been shattered because of this dark event – there must be accountability.

MEC Mamabolo is on record as saying that he knew of the safety problems at this building and others across the province, yet did nothing. There must be accountably.

I therefore endorse the actions of my colleagues, Jack Bloom and Alan Fuchs, in the Gauteng Legislature, who have tabled motions calling for the resignations of Infrastructure Development MEC, Jacob Mamabolo, and Health MEC, Gwen Ramokgopa.

The failing ANC’s arrogance has led to these tragic losses; if they had listened to the building inspectors and warnings from the employees this would not have happened. The uncaring ANC put its employees and residents in harm’s way on a daily basis

Mayor Herman Mashaba has worked tirelessly to clean up the failing ANC’s mess in the City of Johannesburg by ensuring that there are more fire engines and personnel to serve the people of the City. Two fire engines were fully refurbished and 5 new fire engines were acquired earlier this year to serve areas such as the Johannesburg CBD, and there plans to procure more fire engines.

Workers’ safety must not be compromised by the incompetency of the failing ANC Gauteng Provincial Government.

I will be engaging with various unions to listen to their concerns with regards to safety of workers in government buildings in order to establish what safety measures can be implemented.

The ANC Gauteng Provincial Government has failed its workers who are desperate in need of a government which puts their safety first. Come 2019, when the people give the DA a mandate to lead, we will ensure that the safety of workers is a priority.

Issued by Solly Msimanga, DA Gauteng Premier Candidate, 6 September 2018