Only 12 of the victims of the Johannesburg CBD building fire can be identified.
Authorities say that DNA testing will have to be conducted on the remaining 62 victims as their bodies have been too severely burnt.
It comes as the complexity of the housing crisis in South Africa is coming to the fore through this tragedy.
The City of Johannesburg’s Speaker Colleen Makhubele says the affected residents don’t want to go to hospital because they believe it’s a ruse to deport them.
They are also not accepting meals. Most of the victims are believed to be undocumented foreign nationals.
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) says that the Albert Street building, and many others, are not subjected to oversight to ensure public safety.
Candidate attorney at SERI, Zanele Kanya, says that a combination of factors, including poor management of the building, an over-influx of people entering the country’s economic hub, the housing crisis, and the poor management of City-run shelters, has led to this tragedy.
Now the City of Joburg’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport Kenny Kunene has accused NGOs like SERI of causing these problems.
He contends that the court challenges put in place by these groups, have essentially tied authorities’ hands when trying to remove occupiers from derelict buildings.
Kunene has lamented that its now illegal to evict building hijackers.
