Justice Sisi Khampepe, chairperson of the inquiry into the Usindiso building fire has urged Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to consider the positions of Joburg MMC for human settlements, Anthea Leitch and Joburg public safety MMC, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku.
City of Joburg Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for public safety, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, says he is still waiting for the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Joburg fire that killed 77 people last August.
This comes after chairperson of the commission, Justice Sisi Khampepe, encouraged Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to investigate the role of MMCs Anthea Leitch and Tshwaku for allegedly failing to avert the tragedy.
In a statement on Sunday, Tshwaku said he noted the recommendations made by Justice Khampepe and would respond once he had gone through it properly.
Independent Media reported that Judge Khampepe had recommended that action be taken against the Joburg Property Company (JPC) chief executive Helen Botes; Joburg MMC for human settlements, Anthea Leitch; Joburg public safety MMC, for the decay, overcrowding and poor state of the building in which 77 people were last year.
“Since all contraventions of the national acts and by-laws have been established, the city must engage in an independent process to determine who must bear individual responsibility or liability for each of of the contraventions found in our report, and to report any attendant criminal conduct to the relevant authorities for further investigations,” Justice Khampepe found.
Reacting to the recommendations, Tshwaku said he would await the official handover of the report to Gamanda before responding to the damning recommendations.
“The MMC for Public Safety will await the official hand over of the report to the Mayor of Johannesburg upon which, the department of Public Safety will study the report and engage with members of the public, particularly residents of the city.
“Our commitment remains transparency and accountability, and we will address any relevant matters following the official processes,” the MMC said on Sunday.
The commission found that the City of Johannesburg and its property company were partly to blame for the failing structure of the building which was not taken care of.
Khampepe also said the city had failed to ensure the safety of its residents as the building was in a state of disrepair and the residents were exposed to dangerous living conditions.
Following her recommendations, Justice Khampepe handed the 164-page report over to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, to pronounce on the way forward.
The Star
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