Toddlers burn to death in Cape fire

Two toddlers, aged one and three, have been burnt to death in one of the fires that had devastated various parts of Cape Town this weekend. Full Story...

Babylonian legacy - A Hard day in the home of spin

In 2004 our esteemed premier launched a social works program that was to provide jobs and reticulation for development.

Funds for this project, were diverted to housing the victims of the Joe Slovo 3rd large fire.

Housing was put on hold for housing…

Then the N2 gateway happened, bad plans, project outsourced to a non-local organization, and two keys delivered.

3 years, since the last public works spin by the Premier – housing has done nothing but deliver temporary shelter at the same cost as it would have cost to resolve the situation.

Then clearly there was something in it for someone in the N2 Gateway development…

It would appear we are back at square one three years later…

I’m sure I’ve read this before…

Good times roll on in building industry

Seattle hempfest

The oozing abscess of Cape society – picking on the homeless

Three 19-year-olds accused of murdering a man in the Tygerberg area said in the Bellville regional court on Thursday that they "kicked and punched him because he was homeless".

Klaas Thomas, a homeless man from Ridgeworth, died of his injuries in Tygerberg Hospital on April 19, 2004... Cape Times

Flood-damge bill continues to rise

While figures for the flood damage to the Southern Cape are four times higher than those given initially, Premier Ebrahim Rasool has reiterated that the region will not be declared a disaster area.

Speaking on Tuesday during a legislative assembly debate, Rasool said that, while initial estimates had hovered around R80-million, the latest figure was R353-million.

The Southern Cape was ravaged by floods when it was struck by a cut-off low pressure system with heavy rains and gale-force winds.

Rasool said the Eden district and parts of the Klein Karoo had "borne the brunt" of the floods. The Overberg and Winelands had also received considerable damage.

The damage to private property came to about R150m, roads and bridges R51m and rail damage was about R25m. Agriculture had suffered about R40m in losses - a figure that was growing. IOL

PE residents say they are neglected after floods

Residents in the low lying area of Chatty in Port Elizabeth say they still have not received any help from the municipality almost after two weeks since the devastating floods destroyed many parts of the city.

A metro spokesperson says that they are dealing with the situation area by area.
But they confirmed that they have not yet visited Chatty despite it being one of the hardest hit.

Residents say they are desperate for any kind of help. The only aid has come from the Red Cross and local business.

Meetings have been held to find alternative land for those who have been displaced. A report tabled by a metro special council meeting estimates flood damage in the metro to be as much as R120 million. - SABC

Cape power outages cost businesses R1 billion

Business in Cape Town says the recent electricity crisis in the Western Cape has cost them about R1 billion. This emerged at a function where Alec Erwin, the public enterprises minister, Thulani Gcabashe, the Eskom CEO, and Ebrahim Rasool, the premier, thanked business and consumers for their support during the electricity recovery process. - SABC

Mother dies in Oudtshoorn shack fire

A woman died and her daughter was injured when their shack caught fire on an Oudtshoorn farm on Sunday, Western Cape police said. The woman, 31, was sleeping in the shack with her husband and two children when the fire started about 1am, said Captain Malcolm Pojie on Monday.

“The husband woke up and discovered that the shack was on fire and took the children out.

“When he returned to save his wife the fire had already covered the shack and he could not get in,” said Pojie.

Their 10-year-old daughter sustained severe burn wounds on her arms, hands and legs.

The cause of the fire was not known. – Sapa.

City's housing crisis "almost insurmountable" - Mayor

At last from Helen's lips to Gods Ear ... the truth is spoke:

Mayor Helen Zille warned recently of large-scale land invasions if the housing backlog was not addressed, saying the city's housing crisis was "almost insurmountable".

However those of you who read this blog with regularity will know that by building an EcoHome from the industrial cannabis South Africa has so much of.

These Green Building carry the highest available LEED rating, and they lessen the city foot print in development and delivering Homes - by building your own

Cannabrick Home

SA floods - more to come?

According to the South African Weather Service, more cold weather is expected in the Southern and Eastern Cape in the next few days, which raises concerns in the South African Red Cross Society about the safety of communities left vulnerable after last week's torrential rain.

The downpours and flooding were experienced in the Southern and Eastern Cape from 31 July to 3 August 2006. During this time, at least five people died, one a four-year-old child and 14 were declared missing. 50 communities were left stranded and more than 1000 people were forced to evacuate their informal settlement homes to escape the rising flood waters.

The predictions of further bad weather, although indicating that the rain will be much less severe than last week, still raises concerns at The South African Red Cross Society for the vulnerable communities still trying to rebuild their lives after last week's floods. Reuters

Shack Floodlands

Saving lives: Professional and volunteer rescue services worked together to rescue dozens of people across flooded Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. Photo: Steve Lawrence, The Star.

Toddler killed in shack fire

A two-year-old girl burnt to death on Thursday after her mother left her locked in a shack with a paraffin stove on, emergency management services said.

Spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said the girl's mother had visited neighbours at 8am. When she returned, her shack was engulfed in fire.

"When firefighters got to the scene, the shack had already collapsed and the baby was dead," he said.

It was not yet clear whether the mother would be charged.

Midgley said the Alexandra toddler's death was the third fire-related death in two days, all in shack fires.

On Wednesday, two children were burnt to death in separate incidents in Johannesburg.

A boy, 8, was burnt to death while sleeping with his parents in a shack in Lombardy East and a two-year-old toddler was killed when a shack caught fire in Ivory Park. - Sapa