KZN government denies emergency housing aid to foreign nationals after Copesville shack fire

Undocumented foreign nationals who lost their homes in the devastating Copesville shack fire will not receive emergency housing assistance, building materials or RDP houses from the government, KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said on Sunday.

Duma made the announcement after a verification process following Saturday’s fire at the Swapo informal settlement revealed that 19 foreign nationals had been living in the destroyed shacks, allegedly paying rent to a foreign national landlord.

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The fire, which claimed the life of a woman and left her partner with serious burn injuries, destroyed 20 shacks — up from an initial estimate of between 13 and 15.

According to Duma, the verification process conducted by Msunduzi Municipality found that a foreign national was allegedly renting out the shacks for R250 each and that the structures were supplied through illegal electricity connections.

“A foreign national is the landlord and is charging R250 per shack with illegal electricity connections,” Duma said.

Copesvill fire

He said 19 foreign nationals had occupied the destroyed structures, while one person claiming to be South African was also living there.

“One South African with a questionable Identification document also occupied a shack,” Duma said.

“We are engaging the Department of Home Affairs to verify the authenticity of the ID owned by a one South African.”

Duma said the woman who died in the blaze was a foreign national, as was her partner, who suffered burn wounds.

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The child initially reported to have suffered burns survived and was also identified as a foreign national, he said.

According to the preliminary verification, the fire originated in the shack occupied by the woman who died and her partner.

Duma also alleged that officials had detected attempts by some South Africans to claim government assistance on behalf of foreign nationals.

“Some South Africans are fronting for some foreign nationals in an attempt to receive assistance from government,” he said.

Duma said the provincial government would not provide emergency housing support to foreign nationals affected by the fire.

“Flowing from above, we wish to reiterate our position that foreign nationals will never be considered for emergency housing assistance, building material, or RDP houses. This is in line with the government policy.”

He said government housing resources had to be reserved for qualifying South African beneficiaries.

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Duma also claimed the Human Settlements Department had lost more than R2 billion through fraud involving the sale and rental of RDP houses to foreign nationals.

“This cost includes the purchase of land, rezoning for development, housing plans, environmental impact assessments, conveyancing, bulk infrastructure, and construction,” he said.

“It takes years for the state to build such houses, and these must remain in the hands of South Africans.”