The Western Cape High Court is currently hearing the City of Cape Town’s application for a final eviction order for various homeless encampment sites in the CBD.

The matter was initially set down for April, but was delayed by an eleventh-hour notice to oppose.

RELATED: Homeless crisis: City’s court application delayed after NGO opposes evictions

In February, the court ordered the serving of eviction notices at unlawful occupation hotspots, this includes:

• Along Buitengracht Street,
• FW De Klerk Boulevard,
• Foregate Square, taxi rank and Foreshore,
• Helen Suzman Boulevard,
• Strand Street,
• Foreshore/N1,
• Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge in the city.

The City says its Social Development officials have made repeated offers of social assistance to those occupying public spaces in the city, including dignified transitional shelter at NGO-run night shelters and City-run Safe Spaces.

The City has also expanded these facilities, adding hundreds of new bed spaces, and has expanded our suite of ‘care interventions’ to be the most comprehensive in South Africa.

These facilities offer various care interventions to help people off the streets sustainably, including referrals for addiction or psychiatric treatment, personal development planning, employment opportunities, ID and social grant access, and family reunifications.

City officials say while some have accepted these offers of support, the respondents in this application are those who have consistently refused all offers of social assistance, while continuing to unlawfully occupy busy intersections and road reserves in the CBD.

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Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has reiterated that no person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance.

‘The CBD is Cape Town’s main economic and tourism hub, and it is vital that public places must be open and available for all.

‘The City has gone to great lengths to extend every offer of care to individuals unlawfully occupying public places in the CBD. Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice for dignity, health, and well-being.

‘Where offers of help to get off the streets have been persistently refused, we must now seek the court’s help as a last resort.’

The City will spend R230 million over three years to expand and operate its Safe Space transitional shelters beyond the current 700 beds across CBD and Bellville facilities.

The City currently operates two Safe Spaces at Culemborg in the east CBD which offers 480 shelter beds across the facilities. A proposed 300-bed Safe Space in Green Point is also currently in the planning appeals phase.

This year, the City supported a 63% bed boost to the CBD’s Haven Night Shelter, expanding this facility from 96 to 156 beds via a R500 000 costs contribution.

During the winter, the City further enabled several NGOs to add 300 more temporary bed spaces to cope with additional shelter demand, including the deployment of 184 EPWP workers to assist NPOs.

In total, the City’s Street People programme budget amounts to R94,75m for 23/24, a 23% increase from 22/23 as the only metro dedicating a social development budget to this critical issue. Over three years, R75m will be available through grant-in-aid funding to NGOs, including those working to help people off the streets.

In the 12 months ending June 2023, the City helped almost 3 500 individuals with shelter placement or referrals to an array of social services.

This includes 2 246 shelter placements, 112 family reunifications and reintegrations, 1 124 referrals to social services, and over 880 short-term contractual job opportunities via the Expanded Public Works Programme.