Durban -
Between 3 000 and 4 000 people arrive in Durban every week in search of jobs and homes, and the city is struggling to cope.
The figure was made public recently at a community and emergency services committee meeting by deputy city manager Musa Gumede, who heads the community and emergency services cluster.
Gumede failed to respond to repeated calls and messages. However, two committee members – Chantal Ashbury and Billie Prinsloo – confirmed the figure.
Ashbury said: “The city doesn’t know what to do. There are no plans and no solutions. Something needs to be done, and quickly. We need sustainable solutions.”
She said people are coming from rural areas, thinking city life is better. “They find nothing when they come here. We are seeing informal settlements sprouting up as a result. Returning them to their communities is not a solution as they find a way to come back,” she said.
Prinsloo, a ward councillor, confirmed the city did not have a plan.
“We have no indigent register to keep track of people seeking employment, those on social grants and people living on the streets.
“We need that control, but first we need to know who is coming into the city and where they are going. There are also limited shelters to accommodate the homeless.”
Metro police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Eugene Msomi, said there were different categories of people entering the city.
“Some are addicts who commit crimes to support their habits. Others come from other parts of the country to beg, especially during Durban’s warmer winter.”
He said the metro police had received numerous complaints from residents about illegal land invasion.
“People are just moving into parks or, in some cases, into people’s backyards. Abandoned houses in the suburbs are also encouraging squatting. Metro police are trying their best to rehabilitate addicts and return them to their communities.
“We encourage people not to support begging as it encourages people to stay on the streets.”
eThekwini head of communications Tozi Mthethwa confirmed there were an estimated 3 700 people on the streets every day. She said one of the biggest challenges facing the city was controlling the movement of people.
“The number dwindles at night as some sleep at homeless shelters, others return home and some sleep on the pavements.
“We encourage people who suspect their loved ones are living on the streets to visit the site where the tent (of the homeless outreach project) is located.”
She said that, despite more people moving into the city they could not fast-track housing for new arrivals in the city because of the backlog the municipality already had.
“We do have temporary measures in place such as strollers (portable storage) that are built for informal traders.”
The council also had emergency overnight accommodation.
“There are 88 beds available and the cost is R102 per night. Privately run shelters might also be funded through the grant-in-aid programme.
“We also have soup kitchens and are rolling out services to informal settlements. Land invasion, however, remains a major problem.”
She said the eThekwini municipality’s safer cities unit, under the community and emergency services cluster, had initiated numerous interventions to assist the homeless.
- Sunday Tribune