Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi is pleased with the manner in which the Usindiso Building Commission of Inquiry was conducted.
The premier expressed his satisfaction during a media briefing held in Johannesburg on Sunday, when the chairperson of the commission, retired Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe, handed over Part A of the report.
Lesufi said the next step would be for his team to go through the report quickly to avoid it gathering dust before solutions are found and implemented.
Children killed in the fire
Twelve children were among over 70 people who perished in the fire. Eighty-six others were injured when the blaze broke out on August 31 2023.
Thirty-one-year-old Sithembiso Mdlalose is in jail awaiting trial for arson, 76 counts of murder, and 86 counts of attempted murder.
“Where I stand, I need to share the report with the executive mayor and go through it,” said the premier.
“On the basis of that, they can advise us if they accept the report and, furthermore, give instructions on what to do if they accept the report.”
“We cannot appoint a commission for nothing. The way the report has been presented, I would like to move to the next stage to implement the recommendations.
“We need the city and the main institutions mentioned in the report to play their part in order to establish an implementation committee for tracking. No dust should pile on this report.”
Down memory lane
According to the report, the commission heard the evidence of 59 witnesses, including four expert witnesses. It also permitted the evidence of two witnesses to be heard in camera.
The evidence of 39 other witnesses was read into the record, while the statements of 281 witnesses were admitted into the record.
The 167-page report further delves deep into the history of the Usindiso Building and what it was previously used for.
The report found that the building was erected in 1954 as a “pass office for natives” under the apartheid government’s Non-European Affairs Department.
After the dawn of the democratic dispensation in 1994, the building fell under the ownership and control of the City of Johannesburg.
Shelter for abused women and children
In July 2003, the city gave the building to Usindiso Ministries for 10 years, which used the building as a shelter for abused women and children.
A practising structural engineer, Prendolin Moodley, was engaged by the City of Johannesburg to conduct a visual assessment and report on the structural integrity of the Usindiso Building.
He recommended that the structure be temporarily condemned as its integrity was compromised.
He further recommended that the building was not fit for occupation until a full structural engineering assessment was complete.
Moodley also expressed the opinion that it would be more feasible to demolish than reconstruct the Usindiso Building.
