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ActionSA has deployed councillors and activists to assist the families affected by the devastating building fire in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, and we extend our sincere condolences to the families of the people killed in the inferno. 

We are heartbroken that over 60 people have died from this horrific incident. Our activists and councillors were already on the scene early this morning to help emergency services and will continue to help the community in any way possible. One life lost is one life too many. 

ActionSA has long highlighted the dangers hijacked buildings hold for Johannesburg residents, with Herman Mashaba as Johannesburg Executive Mayor spearheading a project to reclaim these buildings to provide affordable housing. 

We urge the Gauteng Province and the City of Johannesburg to provide urgent emergency services to the affected community, including providing alternative accommodation and establishing a mobile clinic close to the scene. 

The state should also expedite processes to reclaim these buildings to avoid similar disasters from taking place in the future. The people living in these buildings deserve better than the squalor they have been forced to live in. 

ActionSA will continue to assist the community of Marshalltown, health services and law enforcement in any way possible to ensure that the affected families are urgently assisted and that similar incidents do not take place in the future.

Issued by ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson Funzi Ngobeni