Many blocks in inner-city Johannesburg, the scene of a deadly fire, are deemed unfit to live in.
Many buildings in the centre of the South African city of Johannesburg, where a horrific fire has killed more than 70 people, are deemed unfit to live in.
A firefighter at the scene of the five-storey building, in an area called Marshalltown, said many shack-like structures had been erected inside - making things even more combustible. She said the cut in the electricity supply triggered a bunch of gunshot-like sounds followed by a massive explosion.The woman asked not to be named - this is because the occupants of these buildings are there illegally, and they tend to shun the authorities and media.
This happened around the time that white-minority rule ended in 1994. During apartheid, the government imposed strict racial segregation of cities - pushing black and mixed-raced communities into townships outside. South Africa faced and still faces a critical housing shortage - a legacy of apartheid and one of the governing African National Congress's greatest challenges.In Johannesburg, the country's largest city, 15,000 people were estimated to be homeless earlier this year, the provincial department told fact-checking website Africa Check.
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