Zulu calls on DA-led govt to take responsibility for deaths of 4 kids in Nyanga

• Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has slammed the City of Cape Town and  the province, and has urged them to take responsibility for the deaths of four boys in Nyanga earlier this week.
• Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Zulu’s visit comes just a day after Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato visited the site, and reportedly questioned why the children were playing near the sand hole in the first place. 
• Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela also visited the area to pay his respects.

The DA-led City of Cape Town and Western Cape government have come under fire from Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, following the death of four boys in Nyanga, Cape Town, this week.

She slammed the City of Cape Town and the province during a visit on Thursday.

"We visited the family and they have told us they are still waiting for housing, and they wanted us to take control of the issue of housing in the province. We need to ensure something like this never happens again, and those that are responsible for building recreation centres and facilities must take responsibility. We didn’t come here to play politics, right now we need to respond to the needs of our people."

She said local government had to put preventative measures in place to ensure that another life was not lost.

"Those who are accountable must really step up," she said.

The bodies of Ivakele Kalikopu, 13, Nqabayethu Mlaza, 12, Axolile Mabangula, 11, and Azola Quweni, 13, were recovered by emergency crews on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday after a frantic rescue mission.

The boys fell into a hole under the bridge along the N2 highway at the Borcherds Quarry turn-off, close to Nyanga. Its understood that residents from the area use the sand to strengthen the foundations of their shacks.

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's and Zulu’s visit comes just a day after Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato visited the area.

Plato questioned why the children were playing on the sand hole in the first place, when there were play parks in the vicinity, according to the Daily Voice.

The ward councillor of the area, Khaya Yozi, raised the issue with Plato that the area of Nyanga did not have any recreational facilities or parks for children to play. 

Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela visited the area on Thursday. He has called for an urgent investigation into the matter.

Speaking in his capacity as provincial leader of the DA, Madikizela said: "It’s a very unfortunate event that occurred. There are people who are vandalising our property and stealing sand, and obviously it's sad that families had to lose these young children because of criminality.

"I don’t want us to use this tragedy to score cheap political points. I deliberately stayed away from responding to a number of people who made a number of silly comments. If this was my child, would I be happy to see politicians grandstanding and using my child’s tragedy to score points?"