Executive Mayor Dan Plato has over the past week engaged people living on the street in various parts of the city, reaching out together with Reintegration Unit officials. This forms part of the City of Cape Town’s Give Dignity campaign, which promotes sustainable solutions to help people get off the streets
City Reintegration Unit officials work daily to link willing individuals to shelters and Safe Spaces and reunite families where possible. Help is provided to get off drugs via the Matrix programme, access to EPWP jobs, obtain ID documents, social grants, employment training and more.
While shelters and social welfare is the constitutional mandate of national and provincial government, the City is going above and beyond to assist.
In April 2021 the following was achieved by Reintegration Unit officials:
- Connected 220 persons to EPWP jobs
- Placed 95 persons in shelters or Safe Spaces
- Reunited 16 people with their families
- Engaged 736 people living on the street, with 983 follow-up visits
- Responded to 1107 complaints from residents
In the past week alone, the unit successfully reintegrated at least 12* streetpeople to connect them with relatives or access to shelter.
Executive Mayor Dan Plato joined these officials on a number of site visits around the Cape Town CBD, Greenpoint, Durbanville and along the N1 and N2.
The purpose was to talk to streetpeople about how the City assists through its Reintegration Unit.
‘As the Mayor of this City, I take pride in how our city works for everybody who lives in it, and how we show care for those who are struggling. No person should live on the streets, and we must not create homes on streets. It is clear to me that drugs play a big role in why many people are living on the street. Fortunately, there are solutions through the Matrix programme. Help is available at shelters and Safe Spaces. These are the solutions our officials are offering every single day to people living on the street,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.
The City’s emergency Covid-19 response includes R34 million in grant-in-aid funding released to NPOs, many of them providing shelter and care to people living on the street.
The City is also funding Safe Spaces and the expansion of shelters operating on municipal land. Close relationships have been built with shelters as part of the annual Winter Readiness campaign, helping to care for more people when the worst weather arrives.
Complaints regarding people living on the street
The City of Cape Town is receiving a significant increase in complaints related to people living on the street.
In response, the City is doing everything possible to provide social assistance together with NPO partners, and also to uphold the Rule of Law in partnership with residents, Neighbourhood Watches, and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
‘It’s important for communities to know that direct handouts such as tents and cash do not help efforts to encourage people living on the streets to accept more sustainable solutions. We need to end the cycle of dependence on direct handouts, and we can only do that by giving responsibly.
The City’s Give Dignity Campaign advocates for alternative, more impactful ways of helping people get off the streets sustainably. It is important that donations encourage reintegration and go directly to supporting persons who have committed to rebuilding their lives off the streets.
By donating via the official Give Dignity SnapScan, or by giving directly to a shelter or NGO, residents can help fund warm beds, social worker support, substance abuse rehab, and other support to help people stay off the streets on a sustainable basis,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayco Member for Community Services and Health.
Collective effort needed to urgently amend Disaster Regulations
Mayor Plato said he remains concerned that national disaster regulations are creating a situation that is unsustainable, paired with attempts to set dangerous court precedents.
‘The call remains for the President to make the necessary regulatory changes for the sake of the Rule of Law, the greater good of our communities, and the development goals of our cities. It is time also for residents and civil society to join the City in ensuring our voices are heard by national government,’ added Mayor Plato.
The temporary national Disaster Management Regulations have brought about restrictions on how all public and private landowners are able to respond to illegal occupations.
To remove structures deemed as ‘occupied’ under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land (PIE) Act, an eviction order must be obtained.
However, the temporary disaster regulations temporarily limit the ability of courts to grant eviction orders. Currently, it is possible only to remove temporary makeshift structures that have been abandoned or are incomplete, and to clear the vicinity.
Each person is equal before the law
Law Enforcement officers are duty-bound to apply the law equally, and to respond to the hundreds of complaints from residents each month about anti-social behaviour, breaking of by-laws, and crime committed by some people living on the street.
When all offers of social assistance are rejected, only then does the City issue compliance notices and fines – the key legal mechanisms available to enforce by-laws.
The City issues thousands of notices and fines each year, including to people living on the street, as we are all equal before the law.
It is no crime to be poor or down on your luck, but every single resident has to comply with by-laws, and the law in general.
The City will continue to reach out to the vulnerable in our society and uphold the laws which govern cities and the country.