The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) has called for a national day of mourning, following the Johannesburg building fire disaster this week.
Sanco called for an in-depth probe into the Johannesburg fire disaster, which has left 74 people dead, including children.
The civic organisation conveyed condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident and called for a national day of mourning.
"This tragedy, which occurred a few weeks after a gas explosion ripped the inner city, calls for the City of Joburg (CoJ) including the whole of government to review its disaster management policies and conduct a risk assessment to identify potential threats to prevent loss of lives and infrastructure," said Sanco national interim committee convenor, Paul Sebegoe.
Sebegoe said that abandoned and hijacked buildings in cities pose a security threat.
"Not only are they being used by the desperate and homeless, some are drug dens and crime havens for human trafficking, as well as other violent crimes. They also pose a greater security threat that must be neutralised before it is exploited by other sinister forces," he maintained.
He called for the implementation of crime prevention through environment design (CPTED) community mobilisation programmes that would ensure that disused buildings in communities used as hideouts by criminals are demolished.
"We cannot afford to ignore these and hope for safer communities," he said.
Sebegoe further called for the metros to deploy special units, closed-circuit television cameras, drones as well as advanced technology and work with police to disrupt the hostile activities of property mafias operating in the inner cities, including neighbourhoods.
IOL