Commission of Inquiry not fully capacitated to determine the underlying causes of Marshalltown fire

14 September 2023

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that the terms of reference of the Commission of Inquiry that has been established to probe the cause of the Marshalltown fire be widened by Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Currently, the commission's primary focus is to probe the circumstances and prevalence of leased hijacked buildings in Johannesburg. In addition, the commission will also look into who must be held accountable for the fire.

The terms of reference of the commission are restricted because they have not been given a mandate to deal with the following issues:

- Porous and uncontrolled borders;

- Alleged corruption by public representatives and officials;

- Incompetent and incapacitated officials;

- Insufficient services;

- The decay and deteriorating infrastructure and;

- The extent to which criminal syndicates control the occupancy of buildings in the inner city.

The DA proposes that the commission's terms of reference be extended to consider all aspects because the inner city of Johannesburg has started to resemble a slum rather than a first-class African city. Failure to determine the exact causes of the fire will merely prolong the agony of our inner city residents and prevent restorative measures from being undertaken in the short and medium term.

It is also worth noting that Premier Lesufi has failed to indicate what steps will be taken by the Provincial Government in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg in the short term to prevent fires and provide alternate accommodation to the affected residents.

The DA will be raising these issues in the Human Settlements Committee at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, and we will be posing questions to both the Premier and the MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile. The commission also needs to set out what steps must be taken to stop further fires and improve the lives of residents.

Issued by Mervyn Cirota, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements, 14 September 2023