PORT ELIZABETH - CRUCIAL HOUSING DOCUMENTS DESTROYED DURING MUNICIPAL BUILDING FIRE

CRUCIAL documents from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s department of human settlements were destroyed in the blaze which ravaged through the city’s Mfanasekhaya Gqobose building at the weekend.

Only human settlements was affected by the fire on the eighth floor, although the building is largely occupied by municipal treasury officials.

However, acting city manager Johann Mettler said some of the most valuable documents had been moved from the building to safer locations after five municipal officials were caught allegedly trying to steal confidential housing files from the same building in December.

“Some information has been lost, but it will not materially affect our operations,” he said.

“Plans are afoot to recover or reconstruct such information.

“Some staff had to be relocated due to the inaccessibility of their workstations.

“Many [papers] were moved to safer locations after that previous incident,” Mettler said.

VIA - heraldlive.co.za