THE Joburg High Court has given the City of Joburg three months to improve the living conditions of the Marshalltown fire victims.
The victims were recently moved to temporary shelters at the Denver informal settlement near Jeppetown.
On Thursday, 31 August, a deadly fire ravaged the Usindiso Shelter, a hijacked building in the Joburg CBD, leaving 77 people dead and more than 60 injured.
To date, the municipality has placed some of the victims in an industrial area in Denver. While the victims have a roof over their heads, their living conditions are allegedly poor.
The victims allegedly live in one-roomed shacks with limited water taps to cater for the 100 shelters and toilets that pose a health risk.
However, the court order which Daily Sun has seen has ordered the city to install four standpipes encompassing three taps, which comes with grey water drainage, within 60 days.
In addition to this, the city has been ordered to provide 20 additional toilet facilities, which will be serviced weekly, and the installation of pre-paid electricity and the deployment of a security company to patrol the area and prevent land invasion in the entire area.
Candice Pillay of Norton Rose Fulbright, a law firm representing the survivors, told Daily Sun that she was pleased with the order and could now tackle the deportation issue of the other 32 survivors.
ALSO READ: 'My father made me his wife'
According to Pillay, those living in Denver are South Africans, but the 32 other victims who are currently living at Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp are undocumented and face the possibility of being deported by Home Affairs.
Pillay told Daily Sun that this will not be fair, especially because some of these victims are possible key witnesses in the Usindiso Commission of Inquiry.
“The Department of Home Affairs argued that they have the right to deport those without papers. What we are saying is these people’s papers burnt in the fire. There's no way we can make recommendations like being assisted by the department to sort out their papers.
“At the same time, we are saying, can we wait until the commission comes to an end and there is an outcome and then let them go because once they leave, we will struggle to locate them or even receive their compensation should it be awarded because they would be lost in the system,” she said.
It remains to be seen whether or not the 32 victims will be deported as the law is still battling the matter out in court with Home Affairs.
