CAPE TOWN – The need for recreational facilities in impoverished areas has been highlighted with the deaths of four children electrocuted in Philippi East during stormy weather on Monday.
Police responding to the area found residents retrieving their bodies from a dam near the Klipfontein Mission Station informal settlement.
Fierce winds and heavy rains lashed the province over the long weekend, resulting in widespread flooding and severe damage to electrical infrastructure.
Two brothers, aged seven and eleven, were among the four young boys who lost their lives in the Klipfontein Mission Station informal settlement during the recent storms.
Representatives from the African National Congress (ANC) visited the grieving families to extend condolences.
The party said the tragedy highlighted the urgent need for improved recreational facilities within disadvantaged working-class communities.
It further implored the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government to accelerate the improvement of living conditions in informal settlements.
The ANC has also appealed to the provincial government to assist with funeral arrangements.
Four other people were also reportedly electrocuted in the Covid-19 informal settlement in Driftsands.