Rescuers search for survivors in deadly South Africa building collapse

Thanks very much for staying with us. Time now for Eye on Africa With Me, Georgia. Calvin Smith. Tonight, Voices from the Dark. At least 11 people chat below. The remains of the collapsed apartment block in South Africa make contact with rescuers. Dozens more, though, are still missing. Also, Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries makes rules about who gets to fish the country’s waters more transparently and releases a limited, named list of ships and crew permitted to work the waves, a move that is welcomed by artisanal fishermen competing with huge foreign trawlers. And the EU hits out at Chad’s sidelining of thousands of civil observers to Monday’s election. The vote count continues in a landmark exercise at the first of its since a rash of Coos hit the region over the last few years. But first rescue teams racing to reach dozens of construction workers trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed multi Storey apartment say that they have made contact with around a dozen people buried alive in the wreckage. At least six people were killed when the structure folded in the South African coastal city of George on Monday. 37 others were still accounted for, Unaccounted for. Excuse me. By Tuesday evening, Clarice Fortunate talks us through shouting, hoping to be heard or taking turns. Emergency workers are removing concrete blocks and debris by hand, the search for any sign of life. Some of the efforts have paid off. We in contact with 11 people. We have one area where four people are in a in a basement and we’ve been communicating with him. So that’s quite a big operational take the most of the day to get them out. The CCTV footage shows the moment when the five story building which was under construction collapsed on Monday, leaving dozens of workers trapped and the residents in shock. I saw the building collapsed and then but I I think it was the first it was the first part and then the the the guys was busy. And I I I remember I saw one guy was making and then and then boom and I saw the the old building collapse and that’s what I saw And yo, I’m also traumatized. It is it is very, very, very, very 27 people were pulled out of the debris but at least six people were confirmed dead. President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences and called for an investigation. The entire rescue operation is expected to take between four and five days. While staying with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, he has slammed an opposition election campaign advert in which the country’s country’s flag is burned. The leaders called the Democratic Alliance’s metaphor treasonous as it’s whipped up a controversy online. Now Ram opposes ruling ANC party is expected to drop below 50% in the May 29th election for the first time since 1994. Corruption and mismanagement scandals have hit the ANC’s reputation hard over the years, and in the coastal city of Durban, an ongoing water crisis also continues to take its toll on the ruling party’s chances. Lohan Berzhdekar tells us more. Hidden behind breathtaking beaches and subtropical climate, a crisis is looming in the South African city of Durban. For months, residents like Ronnie Naidu have seen their taps run dry on a daily basis. You see, we don’t have any water. We we cannot do anything in this. It’s a really. The shortages have placed a physical and financial burden on local populations, who are forced to purchase bottled water and to carry it over long distances. Hoping to tackle the crisis, local groups recently began distributing water to disenfranchised communities, but their efforts are far from enough. It is better, you know, dilute our water and give us cyanide in it and let us die immediately because this is a slow death. Many are blaming the ruling ANC party for the crisis and accused it of failing to address Durbin’s crumbling infrastructure. Our president himself is not even helping us anymore. So I’m very, very disappointed the whole situation in South Africa and with the country heading into a general election on May 29th. Opposition parties are trying to capitalize on the growing dissatisfaction in Kwazulu Natal province and stakes are high for the ANC. But this time around is even worse because almost all political parties have vested interest in what is happening in Gwazulu Natal in general. And they are promising that if they were to win, they would do things better. Durban’s ANC mayor recently announced plans to build a new dam in order to solve the water crisis. But it may be too little, too late for the city’s disgruntled voters. Senegalese fishermen have long complained about inequality of access to their own waters. Small scale outfits have been struggling to fill their Nets as foreign industrial operations Hoover up the country’s fish for export. But on Tuesday, the government of new president Basra DM Wi-Fi published a list of vessels allowed to exploit Senegal’s marine bounty artisanal fish. Artisanal fishermen welcomed the move towards more transparency in this economically crucial sector, as nearly 20% of the population makes a living from fishing. From Dhaka, our Sarah Tearidge reports 132 national players and 19 foreign trawlers are currently allowed to fish in Senegalese waters. The publication of the registry is supposed to enhance transparency over the management of natural resources, as it lists the names of the boats, their owners, their capacity, the type of fishing they’re allowed to do and the size of the Nets. So very detailed overview that will help authorities to better control foreign trawlers. For decades, players of the industry had denounced the wide presence of foreign companies that are posing as Senegalese in order to fish in the country’s waters. It’s mostly about Asian ships, Chinese ships. So now what we are urging the state to do is to audit this list and to look into the Senegalese flag issue so that we can understand how these ships were able to have fishing licenses, how they were able to pose as Senegalese ships and be active in Senegalese areas. The new government had promised major reforms for the sector after years of complaints from local fishermen who struggle because of the diminishing fishing stocks. Vote counting is under way in Chad after Monday’s landmark presidential election set to end three years of military rule. The vote pits transitional ruler Mohammed Idris Debbie against current Prime Minister Tsuksei Mazra. But Debbie’s critics and international rights groups have been questioning the credibility of the polls after a previous crackdown on the opposition and the prevention of 3000 Chadian civilians from acting as observers to the exercise. Charlotte Hughes has more election inspectors open a ballot box at a polling station here in Chad’s capital. Votes counting for its presidential election is under way, the 1st to take place in Africa’s current Gentle Ed states. At this polling station, the process began under the watchful eye of voters. Before, when we voted, our votes were taken and given to another president. So this year we want our vote to be respected. Although voting was largely peaceful, one man was shot dead in the city of by an attacker who did not have an electoral card and was not allowed to vote. One of the favourites to win the election is President Mohammad Idris, the son and successor of Idris who was killed in a gun battle in 2021 after 30 years in power. Among his nine challenges is Prime Minister Sukhse Masra, who is considered his main rival. Some opposition members and activists had pushed for boycott, raising concerns about vote rigging. Whoever wins will be tasked with addressing voters concerns about the high cost of living in the country, the 4th least developed in the world according to the UN wish for security for the country and also the population suffering from the high cost of living. Whoever wins must consider social issues, otherwise things will be difficult for the vulnerable. Final results are expected on the 5th of June. If no candidate secures more than half of the votes, a second round will take place on the 22nd of June. The vote comes not long after the temporary withdrawal of some U.S. troops from the country. Chad is an important Western ally in a region of Africa grappling with jihadism and courted by Russia. So for bit of follow up, joined now by African Affairs analyst Professor Emmanuel Eager. Emmanuel, how credible do you think that these concerns about the transparency of the Chadian election are? Well, credibility and transparency of elections has always been a serious problem in most African elections. So Chad will not be a different case. It’s very well explained in the reports that have been presented in your news. The population will be seen the major stakes in this election as the transparency and the credibility of the elections in such a way that the election will come out with results that all the candidates would accept. That is the condition for stability of this the the nation after the election. It’s very important because generally elections in Africa leads to other crises. But it should be possible that Idris Debbie Muhammad will conduct himself with all the other candidates in such a way that they will have accept acceptable election results that will not be disputed by the candidates assistance. Of course it’s Muhammad, it is the did that looks like the candidate to beat, but he’s a main rival. His main contender Sokse Masra seems to have a large following. So we are watching very closely what the results will be in two weeks time. Now, Tarians have been through a lot of turmoil over the last few years. What do you think the main popular priorities for the new administration is likely to be? From their perspective, yes, whoever is elected president will have two major things to deal with. The first is the economic situation. Now Chad is is an oil producing country, but the population is not very, very well treated by the economic situation, if I may. The economic situation is the main thing. There is a problem with unemployment. There is a problem with basically how the population. Population is going to get the dividends of democracy from this new administration coming and that is going to be the main thing the population is looking forward to. It’s very much appreciated. Emmanuel, you get there giving us a bit of an insight into what some of the priorities of the Chadian population is likely to be once a new president is voted off the back of Monday’s election. Now we turn to the Dr. Congo, and today Virunga National Park faces one of the largest threats since its founding in 1925. As the conflict between the army and M23 rebels drags on in the east of the country, the wildlife living in the lush mountains and forests surrounding the compatants are also taking a hit. Emmett Livingston reports for us from Goma Virunga National Park is one of the oldest on the African continent. Established in 1925. A UNESCO World’s Heritage site, the vast park is home to an array of wildlife including lions, elephants and its famed mountain gorillas. It has survived for decades in a trying context. Impoverished eastern Congo is plagued by dozens of armed groups. The hydroelectric power plants Faronga operates also provide electricity to much of the city of Goma, which lies on the park’s border. But the two year long M23 rebellion is placing enormous pressure on the park, stocking fears for its future. The M23, which is backed by Rwanda, is active in sections of the park and there has been an influx of displaced people into its confines, some of the more than 1,000,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict. It’s hard to overstate how precarious the situation is, 1 Western Diplomat told us, pointing out that battles often take place inside the park itself, making Environmental Protection close to impossible. Virunga, for its part, said the huge number of displaced people who have virtually no support, is driving a wave of deforestation as well as an increase in poaching. Park Rangers have also been unable to consistently monitor the population of endangered gorillas for 18 months, a park spokesperson said. Over the weekend, Congress defence minister Jean Pierre Bemba also warned that the M23 was reinforcing its positions inside Furonga Park as well as on the outskirts of Goma. Without an end insight to the M23 conflict, Furonga is likely to continue to suffer the consequences. Emmett lives in there. For us in Goma, that’s it though for Iron Africa. Thanks for joining us though. Do so again. Take care.