As the readiness of the province, for the fire season, was announced on Thursday, over 1 000 affected Masiphumelele fire victims have had to focus their efforts on rebuilding their homes, with very few resources.
The chairperson of Z-section in Masiphumelele, Mkhululi Mfiki, who also lost his home in the fire, said the recent fires have affected their budgets as Christmas approaches.
“It has been extremely hard. Nobody budgeted for this. The City of Cape Town no longer assists with giving infrastructure support. Most of us are waiting for good Samaritans.”
Mfiki paints a grim picture of how some displaced residents are still flocking to a local church for refuge in Masiphumelele. A resident affected by the fire, who declined to be named, echoed Mfiki’s sentiments.
“The City of Cape Town has helped with food parcels. But not building material. Many of us have had to seek refuge with relatives, some have opted to leave Masiphumelele and return to their homelands.”
On Wednesday, the fire stricken community of Masiphumelele held a dialogue, which served as a mediation process between the disgruntled community of Masiphumelele and the Kommetjie Road fire department, amidst the feud between the two parties that saw social media take a negative stand against the people of Masiphumelele.
The productive mediation engagement laid open the two sides of the story. The side of the fire department and that of Masiphumelele community members.
Among those in attendance at the mediation was Victor Thomas of Living Hope, who announced that the negative portrayal of Masiphumelele citizens saw a decrease in donations.
Jonathan Mills, Masiphumelele ward 16 councillor said that the community of Masiphumelele have agreed to work together with the fire department, and that they would be trained as fire marshals that can assist the fire department in a fire crisis.
Meanwhile, the department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning announced their fire season preparedness plan, where MEC Anton Bredell said a budget allocation of R13.8 million towards wildfire control for this season, has been issued.
Bredell said that contracts are in place to secure specialised aerial and ground support for firefighting this summer in the Western Cape.
According to the department, aerial resources for this season include 20 aircraft for the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre, which includes 8 Spotter planes, 4 Fixed wing Bombers and 8 helicopters. The Cape Winelands District Municipality, City of Cape Town, and QRF (Quick Reaction Force) will each have 2 helicopters at its disposal. Sanparks will have access to one helicopter. All these aircraft will operate from 6 strategically placed bases, supported by several secondary landing strips.
“The 2022/23 summer season is anticipated to be challenging with hot, dry, and windy conditions expected across the province. With veld conditions being extremely dry, we have our work cut out for us.”
“We have mutual aid agreements in place, so different units can help one another at short notice, and we have established command structures, so everyone knows who is in charge at any wildfire in the province.”
Bredell further announced that the Western Cape Government has signed a 3-year tender with Kishugu Aviation, which provides access to dedicated aerial resources during the peak fire season.