CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Human Rights Commissioner, Reverend Chris Nissen, to intervene in the crisis of Cape Town’s homeless people.
The intervention follows reports of the City of Cape Town issuing fines to destitute people for offences such as obstructing pedestrians on sidewalks, a practice which provoked outrage in many quarters.
The provincial ANC had on Monday slammed the City as uncaring, accusing it of waging a "war" on the city's homeless.
On Tuesday, mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith said the City had noted the ongoing reports about the harassment of street people, particularly the issuing of fines by Law Enforcement officers and the attempts to paint the City as uncaring.
He said the City has made available R699,000 to provide aid in the form of blankets, mattresses, non-perishable food and toiletries to NGOs to increase their capacity to deal with the number of street people seeking shelter and assistance during the winter months, and that the City of Cape Town was one of the few administrations that has invested in the plight of street people through a host of interventions in the last decade.
A homeless man lying next to an electricity box in Sea Point. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA
On Wednesday, ANC Western Cape secretary Faiz Jacobs said there were still many communities staying on the streets, “although many of them have been moved already”.
“I interviewed them, about five to six families. So I started in the Parliament Precinct, there was one family staying there and they haven’t been given an opportunity to be integrated. I went to Chapel Street and under the bridge there, there were probably about 20 shacks erected in that area. I spoke to two or three of them , many of them are saying they have been staying as long as 10 years and they have constantly been harassed,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs further called on the City to have a proper housing homeless management solution that includes homeless people and better the integration between the safety and security and the social economic aspects.