PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - More than 30 families were affected when a blaze spread through a section of the Qolweni informal settlement in Plettenberg Bay, destroying 24 homes early on Monday morning.
Bitou municipal spokesman Andile Namntu said the fire raged through the area from about 02:45. The cause of the fire could not yet be determined.
The municipality had outlined a plan to assist the victims of the fire by 08:30. "Material to rebuild some of the shacks is available and will be issued with immediate effect to accommodate some of the families," Namntu said.
Others would be accommodated in the current transit area, where temporary housing was being supplied to beneficiaries of the Qolweni housing project, on what is known as the Minnaar Land.
Qolweni residents clear debris after the fire.
This, Namntu said, was to minimise people's risk of contracting Covid-19 if they were to be housed in halls.
Bitou mayor Peter Lobese agreed to engage with the Department of Home Affairs to help those who had lost their identity documents and birth certificates in the fire.
He also vowed the municipality would provide school uniforms to the learners who had lost their belongings in the blaze.
Bitou mayor Peter Lobese addresses Qolweni residents after the fire.
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