The mayor of Cape Town says action is being taken against those living illegally at the Castle of Good Hope.
In a recently published opinion piece in the Daily Maverick, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis stated that the Department of Defence and the national Department of Public Works are taking steps to address the issue of tented encampments around the Castle.
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‘The City offered to assist in the surveying required of the Castle site and, we are told, the responsible national departments will file an imminent eviction application,’ he wrote.
Last year, the mayor wrote to the Minister of Public Works Sihle Zikalala, urging him to act to resolve the occupation of and around the Castle:
He added that cities can only act on land that they own. ‘Many of the larger tented encampments are on sites owned by various national government departments. This is no coincidence.’
‘Those living illegally at these sites know that these national departments are unlikely to act with any sense of urgency. We need other spheres of government to act on their land.’
In his opinion piece, Hill-Lewis further discussed the issue of tackling homelessness in the City, describing it as a complex issue that should be addressed in a caring and humane way in light of the recent high court eviction orders that the City obtained.
‘As cities the world over grapple with the challenge of homelessness, Cape Town is advancing a path-breaking approach to help people off the streets and restore public places for public use.’
‘There is a high bar – financially, legally and operationally – for any South African city hoping to implement dignified, caring solutions to the unlawful occupation of public places.’
He says cities must be prepared to make ‘a substantial investment in expanding dignified transitional shelter using their own funding, despite not holding a constitutional mandate or designated budgets for social welfare.’
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He added that Cape Town is investing a quarter of a billion rand to expand and operate its ‘Safe Space’ facilities over the next three years. These spaces offer ‘dignified shelter’ alongside social support services.
‘With the opening of a new 300-bed Safe Space in Green Point set for this winter, the City will soon offer more than 1 000 beds across the Cape Town CBD, with a growing footprint in other parts of the city.’
‘This is aside from the funding we provide to NGO shelters.’
Furthermore, the mayor notes how court orders for eviction notices can be delayed: ‘Legislation requires cities to approach the courts for an eviction order where a person erects any structure that is deemed a dwelling under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act.’
‘This order must be obtained before any eviction can be applied, sometimes taking months, if not years, to obtain from a court. In general, court rolls are extremely full, delaying the hearing of matters on both the opposed and unopposed rolls.’
‘Matters may become opposed at the 11th hour, and respondents may also intentionally delay matters due to their legal counsel not being in place or well enough acquainted with the case, a topic I have covered previously on this platform.’
‘Even once the court grants an order there may still be delays in carrying out the eviction due to SAPS availability and resources.’
Hill-Lewis says this is why seeking an eviction order is a last resort for the City once all its care interventions have been conducted.
‘When offers of support are persistently turned down, we must turn to the courts for intervention. No person has the right to illegally occupy a public space and reserve it only for themselves while resisting all offers of care and help.’
Another obstacle to gaining an eviction order is the prerequisite of surveying the social circumstances of those living on the streets.
‘First-hand data from the recent Census offers a credible estimate of 6,630 persons living on Cape Town’s streets. This is an increase from the 4 000 counted in the City’s 2018/19 enumeration, and can be especially attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and related economic impact,’ he says.
‘People living on the streets often move location throughout the day, and change where they sleep at any time, depending on income-generation activities. Some may not have identification, while others may refuse, give false information, or are in no condition to speak to the City’s social workers owing to addiction issues.’
‘It requires extensive human resources, and coordination from a capable state, to identify and survey each person, and document their (…) circumstances and responses to offers of social support. Delays in court processes compound this problem, as information becomes out of date and, through no fault of its own, the City is often obligated to initiate a new survey process again before an order is granted.’
The City invests in ‘resourcing teams of social development professionals’ and its Displaced Peoples Unit to help manage a database of every person who has been moved and to track their progress or regression.
‘Despite these profound difficulties, our recent successes show that we have a model that works. We are cautiously optimistic that we can restore public places and extend a hand of care to the homeless.’
‘With the right mix of determination and resource investments, it is possible for our cities to promote dignified solutions to help people off the streets while ensuring that public places are open and available for all.’
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Also read:
City concludes eviction of unlawful occupants at Green Point Tennis Courts
Picture: Castle of Good Hope / Facebook