The Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa
President of the Republic of South Africa
Union Buildings
Government Avenue
Pretoria 0002
Dear Mr. President:
We are gravely concerned over the deadly fire at Usindiso Shelter in Johannesburg on 31 August.
We support President Ramaphosa’s call for an investigation into the root causes. We also support the Commission of Inquiry announced by the Gauteng Premier.
Moreover, we support the position of SERI and Habitat International Coalition, the over-350 Member organizations in over 80 countries and its Housing and Land Rights Network in opposing the exclusion of impoverished populations and the creation of their needless deprivation and dismal housing conditions. Instead, we promote the many civil alternatives to such conduct, as developed in the norms of international law upholding human rights, in particular the human right to adequate housing and the corresponding obligations of the state.
Therefore, we urge the City of Johannesburg and other duty-bearing organs of the Republic of South Africa to take this tragic Usindiso Shelter fire as a wake-up call to proactively improve the conditions in the buildings it owns and manages, as well as other abandoned buildings, in order to prevent future loss of life.
A range of options already exist, including “BNG” or “RDP” ownership housing and social housing. However, the significant supply gap and need mismatch exists must be resolved. An in-situ building upgrading programme is urgently needed. The national department of Human Settlements should consider allocating Emergency Housing Grants directly to municipalities for this purpose. Furthermore, human settlements should extend the application of the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme to the inner-city occupation context.
We demand that the politicians, the state and its constituent organs accept responsibility for this disaster and commit themselves to ensuring decent and safe living conditions for all. It is the responsibility of the respective spheres of government to ensure that all people in the country have access to safe and decent homes and to support the self-organized initiatives from the community base to secure housing.
We urge you and your offices to apply these and other needed remedies to the gravely precarious situation of impoverished inner-city residents throughout South Africa, and we look forward to hearing of your efforts to apply them, and to the reparation of harm done to the Usindiso fire victims and their survivors.
Sincerely,
