The commission's legal officer, Zamantungwa Mbeki, said: "We arrived in the morning and returned later in the afternoon on Friday and we observed people being relocated from various emergency houses provided by the city. It's not just residents from Usindiso building Marshalltown but also another group affected by a fire in Booysens about three years ago. They previously lived in a hall and have now been relocated to the site in Denver, and the commission understands that more people will be moving in." The shacks have no electricity and residents rely on a single communal tap and several mobile toilets. There is no security and the doors don't lock. Mbeki said the people they interviewed had mixed opinions. "Those coming from the Booysens fire felt relief, anticipating a sense of ownership and privacy after living in a hall for three years. However, residents from Usindiso expressed uncertainty, citing issues with the short notification period and the lack of clarity on their new location. Some were not given sufficient time to collect their belongings for the latest move, so it's a bit of a Catch22 situation," said Mbeki. She said the commission was mostly worried about the children affected by the relocation as they could not easily access schools. "We want to engage with the district education officials so that they can come and make an assessment of the children so that they are not left behind when the new year begins," said Mbeki. She said in the assessment they had made on the site, certain provisions were made and others weren't. Mbeki said the commission cannot fully assess whether the city's decision to create the temporary relocation area is adequate or the right step as temporary settlements were not equivalent to solving the probe.

Source: Sowetan