Concerns are mounting in Sea Point over what residents and officials have described as a rise in incidents involving “aggressive street children”, prompting calls for urgent and coordinated intervention along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard.
Ward 54 Councillor Nicola Jowell confirmed that she has held meetings with Provincial Social Development MEC Jaco Londt and the Head of Department for Social Development (DSD) regarding these concerns.
Jowell believes the issue requires “sustained engagement and coordination across multiple departments and agencies” in search of “practical solutions”.
She said that in the past month, four children were removed from the streets, following a joint operation between the City’s Street People’s Unit and DSD.
Western Cape Social Development MEC Jaco Londt noted that between April last year and September this year, such operations have led to the interventions of 58 children.
“I have been advocating for a dawn joint operation, which would allow outreach teams to engage with children before they disperse during the day. While some children do return, not all do — and these operations need to be conducted regularly to maintain pressure and build on successes,” said Jowell.
She further proposed revisions to the current Standard Operating Procedure to improve coordination, among other measures, to address the situation.
“Social workers are reportedly active in Sea Point two days a week, and making these visits as effective as possible remains crucial. In addition, I have set up a workshop that will bring together all relevant partners and role-players to discuss the legal frameworks, operational requirements, and partnership mechanisms needed to strengthen collaboration and ensure sustainable progress.”
Sea Point City Improvement District (CID) Chair Jacques Weber said the community’s sense of safety was being “deeply affected” by escalating incidents. Weber described accounts of “stone throwing, intimidation, and even assaults on residents and visitors”, warning that these were “not isolated cases” but “a growing and deeply concerning trend.”
Weber said the Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis would convene a meeting on the issue and urged residents to “use our collective voice to demand proper intervention and lasting solutions”.
Further to the interventions for children, Londt admitted that “facilities are full” and that the department is expanding secure care centres to cope with rising demand.
“While social workers can try to reunify children with their families, they don’t have the capacity to ensure they stay at home. In many instances, the only way to ensure the children do not return to the street is to place them in a secure care center. But these facilities are full,” said Londt.
Londt stressed that sustainable change depends on partnerships.
“We can implement support programmes for these children, but we need partners to assist us with the necessary resources.”
He further appealed to the public to avoid monetary donations to the children, as it “exacerbates the problem”, and instead to donate to registered support organisations.
“Ideally, it would be helpful if we could utilize these donations for a dedicated social worker, whether from an NGO or DSD, to be able to work with entities like the Sea Point City Improvement District to work with these vulnerable children,” added Londt.
