SEVERAL suspicious elements of human involvement have been uncovered in a blaze that broke out at the local municipality administration building in Musina at the weekend.
On Monday it was reliably learned that officials at the scene found a window broken and flammable liquid, possibly paraffin or petrol.
Passers-by noticed the building was on fire on Saturday night and they called the authorities, Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the flames.
It was not yet clear what the cost of damage was, but no injuries were reported.
"There are elements of some human act. We call upon members of the community with information to contact us," said Ngoepe.
Forensics experts were compiling a report.
Musina municipal spokesman Wilson Dzebu confirmed there was a likelihood of foul play.
"The fire broke out in the office of the manager for housing. Some documents and furniture were destroyed," he said.
Housing application forms were removed safely from the scene.
Some Limpopo residents believe that the fire may have been an attempt to destroy low-cost housing lists and application forms, DA human settlements spokesperson Jacques Smalle said. Residents were claiming that the housing lists were manipulated to include those who were not eligible for low-cost housing. Smalle said he had written to provincial Human Settlements MEC Makoma Makhurupetje to ask that a forensic probe be immediately launched into the circumstances that led to the fire.
Fires also broke out at two premiers' offices last week.
On Friday afternoon flames gutted an unused garage at the Bhisho office of Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle.
Documents linked to a wide-ranging investigation into procurement in the province, dating back to 2010, were lost, provincial government spokesperson Sonwabo Mbananga said.
Staff had been in the process of scanning them.
Everyone left the building safely.
Also on Friday, in the morning, the finance offices of the Gauteng premier's department were destroyed in a blaze, apparently due to an electrical fault.
Almost 300 staff members were evacuated from the offices and no injuries were reported.
Computers were destroyed, but important documentation was backed up on another system, provincial government spokesperson Thabo Masebe said on Monday.
"The west wing of the building was affected. It damaged most of the seventh floor and a little bit of the eighth. The floors below were all affected by water damage."
It was not yet known whether the fire was caused by foul play.
Gauteng police spokesman Captain Kay Makhubele said they were waiting for a report from a forensics specialist on the fire’s cause.
Staff would be accommodated in other government buildings while maintenance was conducted.
"The Department of Infrastructure Development will be conducting regular inspections to ensure there are no risks of fire," Masebe said.
