The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that the ANC has no idea which sphere of government is mandated to deal with accommodating homeless people.
When asked “[which] sphere of Government is responsible for accommodating homeless persons”, the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, responded in reply to a DA parliamentary question that “[there] is currently no clarity at National level in terms of the lead Department dealing with Homelessness.”
The DA wanted to know, among other things, which government department is responsible for accommodating homeless persons, and what the total amount is that has been allocated by the Department of Social Development (DSD) to address this crisis. While it is a national crisis, I asked the question, with specific reference to my constituency which falls within the boundaries of the City of Ekurhuleni’ Edenvale, Kempton and Boksburg areas.
Minister Zulu’s response is shocking, to say the least. National government should be at the forefront of plans to provide services to homeless people, but not only is the ANC government not clear as to which of its Departments should be dealing with homelessness, but there has been no budget allocated to deal with the scourge of homelessness.
The DA is concerned that municipalities across the country, have been left on their own to devise means to accommodate the increasing number of homeless people, who have been encouraged to move to temporary shelters, during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Homeless shelters have been in the spotlight since the start of the lockdown. This was an opportune time for the government to make clear plans on how it will address the problems faced by homeless people. This exposes government’s callousness, poor planning, and budgeting.
The DA run City of Cape Town has been at the receiving end of unfair criticism in recent weeks, for its projects to assist the homeless. Yet this DA-run municipality, when compared to other Metros has a solid track record in successfully addressing the challenges faced by homeless people. The City’s “Safe Space” for the homeless which is constructed below the Culemborg bridge in the Cape Town city centre, is one of many initiatives to help homeless people have a secure place to sleep.
The DA calls on national government to take the plight of homeless people seriously to ensure a long-term solution is found to address the community’ concerns, instead of passing the buck to provinces and municipalities.
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