Hundreds of homes were gutted in a fire that tore through an informal settlement in Langa on Boxing Day, 2024.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
Systemic Inequality and Misplaced Priorities in the City of Cape Town’s Emergency Response
By Faiez Jacobs
Yesterday, Carl Pophaim, the City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for human settlements, opportunistically called for the devolution of emergency funds for swifter aid to fire victims. This grandstanding by the Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town is nothing short of deflection and deception. The time for excuses has long passed—it is time for the City to own up to its failures and take meaningful accountability for its constitutional obligations to Capetonians.
This proposal reflects a troubling pattern of reactionary governance. While the urgency of addressing the plight of fire victims is undeniable, this call for devolution does little to address the systemic failures underlying Cape Town’s emergency response framework. Instead, it risks diverting attention from the structural inequalities, chronic mismanagement, and governance gaps that have made the City incapable of preventing and mitigating such disasters in the first place.
Despite boasting a budget of R76.4 billion—a figure that dwarfs the resources of many municipalities across the country—the City of Cape Town’s governance continues to fail its poorest residents in unforgivable ways. Over the past five years, fires have destroyed an average of 1,200 homes annually in informal settlements, leaving thousands homeless and further entrenching poverty in these already vulnerable communities. Despite these staggering statistics, there is no evidence of a comprehensive, transparent budget breakdown or targeted plan to address these recurring catastrophes.
Consider this: the City allocated R5 billion for water and sanitation projects and R880 million for human settlements in its recent budgets. Yet, informal settlements, which house more than 400,000 residents, see little to no tangible benefit. The R745 million earmarked for water and sanitation maintenance lacks any clear allocation transparency, raising serious questions about whether these funds are reaching the communities that need them most.
Cape Town, the jewel of South Africa’s tourism crown, is also home to 146 informal settlements, where residents live in conditions starkly removed from the luxury of the City’s wealthier suburbs. Fires in informal settlements have claimed thousands of structures, displaced tens of thousands of people, and inflicted billions of rands in damages over the last five years. Consider these tragedies:
• Masiphumelele (December 2022): A fire destroyed over 1,000 homes, leaving more than 5,000 people displaced.
• Imizamo Yethu (March 2017): One of the worst blazes in recent history, gutting 3,500 structures and displacing close to 10,000 residents.
• Joe Slovo (June 2023): Hundreds of homes were razed due to delayed emergency responses, caused by poor infrastructure and a lack of firebreaks.
• This week, December 22-29, 2024 : 450 people affected in Langa fires and 100 informal homes burnt down in Masiphumelele
These statistics highlight a grim reality: the City is ill-equipped, poorly managed, and lacking the political will to address these preventable disasters. While affluent suburbs enjoy world-class infrastructure, the City’s poorest residents are forced to endure substandard living conditions, where fires are an annual certainty and assistance is far too late.
The City of Cape Town’s response to this crisis has been inadequate and piecemeal, consisting of reactive measures that fail to address the structural and systemic roots of the problem.
1. Reactive Fire Kits and Minimal Training
The City’s practice of distributing fire kits—basic starter kits containing zinc sheets and poles—is an insult to communities whose lives have been upended. These kits do nothing to prevent fires or address the vulnerabilities that make these disasters inevitable. Sporadic fire safety workshops lack the scale and continuity needed to have any meaningful impact.
2. Failure in Urban Planning
Despite Cape Town’s clear spatial inequality, the City continues to sideline informal settlements in its urban development plans. There is no long-term vision to upgrade these areas into safer, formal housing, nor is there a strategy to integrate these communities into the city’s economic and social fabric.
3. Misaligned Budget Priorities
The City allocated R166 million for Metro Police training in its 2023/24 budget, yet has failed to prioritise investments in firebreaks, additional hydrants, or accessible emergency routes in informal settlements. This allocation exemplifies a government more concerned with policing and surveillance than with providing basic infrastructure and safety to its most vulnerable residents.
4. Lack of Accountability and Transparency
Advocacy groups and community leaders have consistently flagged the City’s lack of transparency, particularly around its water and sanitation budgets. Without clear, publicly accessible records, there is no way to ensure that funds are used effectively or equitably.
To address the crisis of fires in informal settlements, the City of Cape Town must adopt a holistic, sustainable strategy grounded in equity and justice.
1. Proactive Infrastructure Upgrades
2. Transformational Housing Solutions
3. Community-Centred Risk Reduction
4. Transparent and Equitable Budgeting
5. Accountability and Collaboration
The City’s call for devolved emergency funds is not a solution—it is a smokescreen to divert attention from its governance failures. Over the years, the DA-led City of Cape Town has pushed for control of national functions like policing and public transport while consistently failing to manage its existing mandates effectively. The Joe Slovo fire, marked by delayed responses and inadequate infrastructure, underscores the City’s inability to manage even its current disaster resources.
Cape Town’s informal settlements are burning—not just from fire, but from systemic neglect and structural inequality. The City of Cape Town must abandon its reactive, piecemeal approach and adopt a transformative vision rooted in justice, equity, and accountability. The people of Cape Town, particularly those in informal settlements, deserve more than empty promises and deflection. They deserve a city that values their lives and invests in their safety.
Only through bold, inclusive leadership can Cape Town overcome its governance failures and build a city that works for all its residents—not just the privileged few.
* Faiez Jacobs is a former ANC MP, writing in his personal capacity as a Concerned Capetonian.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.