FIRE DESTROYS PENSIONER’S SHACK; NW MEC INTERVENES

•  North West MEC for Social Development Basetsana Sussana Dantjie is prioritising relief efforts for a pensioner in Robega after his shack was destroyed by fire, reportedly caused by an electrical fault.
• Support Initiatives Dantjie has deployed social workers to provide trauma counselling and assess the pensioner’s living situation, while local residents and stakeholders have contributed essential items, including blankets, mattresses, and food parcels.
• Community Engagement Dantjie urges community members to support the elderly and to enhance awareness of fire safety measures to prevent future incidents, as investigations into the fire’s cause continue.

The Social Development MEC for North West, Basetsana Sussana Dantjie, is fast-tracking relief efforts for a pensioner in Robega whose shack was gutted by fire on Wednesday afternoon.

The devastating blaze destroyed the pensioner’s three-room shack, leaving him displaced and without furniture, clothing, his identity document, and other essential belongings. It is believed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

On Thursday, MEC Dantjie dispatched a team of social workers from her department’s Rustenburg office to provide psychosocial support in the form of trauma counselling and to compile a report on the pensioner’s living circumstances.

“I thank God Almighty that the pensioner is alive. I express my profound gratitude to all the stakeholders who have worked tirelessly to assist this pensioner in collaboration with our department. Our interventions are ongoing. Stakeholders have already delivered blankets, mattresses, and clothes to the affected family, and social relief in the form of food parcels has also been provided,” Dantjie stated, adding that the South African Social Security Agency has issued a voucher worth R2,100 to the pensioner.

Local residents have also contributed groceries and cement to the pensioner, who is currently staying in a nearby shack. Dantjie has called on community members to continue supporting the elderly in their areas and to educate themselves on fire prevention and safety measures to avert property destruction and the tragic loss of life.

Law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the cause of the fire.