LOCAL

Cape Town residents have called on the City to accelerate the provision of housing for the poor and adequate facilities for the homeless.

Housing delivery in the City of Cape Town remains at a snail’s pace with over 350 000 citizens still on the waiting list.

The City says extreme urban growth, which sees more than 14 000 migrants each year, is exacerbating the situation.

The City has also been at loggerheads with the homeless.

In August last year, the High Court in Cape Town ordered the City to return some of the belongings it had confiscated from the homeless in Green Point.

The tent dwellers say they want to be moved to a more conducive place.

“I don’t think people can stay like this, it’s not fit for my chest to stay in this concrete,” says one tent dweller.

Another says: “The reason why I need a house, I can go and stay too, they always take children home. I had to go and take them to a safe place.”

Fining homeless people

In 2019, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) launched an investigation into the morality of a by-law by the City of Cape Town that will see the city fine homeless people.

The by-law instituted in Cape Town has begun fining the homeless for sleeping on pavements or erecting illegal structures.

Fines range from R300 to R1 500 and have been the subject of debate this week after reports emerged that Cape Town had introduced the law.

The SAHRC’s Buang Jones said it is unheard of where we penalise and criminalise homeless peoples’ poverty.

However, the City The City of Cape Town defended its decision to fine homeless people for breaking its by-laws, saying says officials are acting following complaints raised by residents that homeless people are sleeping near their homes.

City of Cape Town defends decision to fine homeless people: 

Source: SABC