Eviction notices served on those unlawfully occupying City sites

The City of Cape Town has today served eviction notices on those unlawfully occupying several sites in the CBD.

This after the Western Cape High Court granted the City an application for notices to be served. Another court hearing is scheduled for April, where the court may grant a final eviction order.

Eviction notices have been served at unlawful occupation hotspots along Buitengracht Street, FW De Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square, Taxi Rank and Foreshore, Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, between the Foreshore / N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge in the city.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says over time, officials from the City’s Social Development Department have made repeated offers of social assistance to those unlawfully occupying public spaces in the city, including offers of dignified transitional shelter at NGO-run night shelters and City-run Safe Spaces.

He says this is part of a city-wide approach of assessing the social circumstances of those living on the streets, while offering help and dignified transitional shelter.

These facilities offer programmes to help people off the streets, and to reintegrate into society, or reunite with family. Addiction treatment, referral for psychiatric treatment, personal development planning and employment opportunities are also offered.

But this help is not always accepted. Hill-Lewis says while some people have accepted these offers of support, the unlawful occupants receiving notices are those who have consistently refused all offers of social assistance while continuing to unlawfully occupy busy intersections and road reserves in the CBD.

”We have done our absolute level best over the past year to extend every offer of care to each of these people, and to help them off the streets. Where this has been persistently refused, we must now ask the courts for the order we are seeking. No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance. Our city’s public places serve important social and community purposes, and must be open and available for all. Illegal occupations of City open spaces impact the safety of traffic and pedestrians, as well as local businesses critical to growing the economy. Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice for dignity, health, and well-being.”

The City of Cape Town recently allocated R77 million for Safe Spaces and social programmes in this financial year, in a bid to address homelessness.

Hill-Lewis stresses Cape Town is the only metro dedicating a social development budget to this important issue, and the City approaches the court only as a last resort, in cases where all offers of support are indefinitely refused.

The City’s application includes the unlawful occupation of the sliver of municipal-owned land adjacent to the traffic intersection at the Cape of Good Hope Castle in the CBD.

The National Government owns the large portion of land directly adjacent to the Castle and the Moat, with the legal responsibility for its vacation residing with the Department of Public Works.

The City says it has written to the responsible department over the past few months regarding this matter, which impacts the public health, safety, businesses and tourism around this critical heritage site.

City eviction

City expanding Safe Space dignified transitional shelters

The City says it will continue adding more transitional shelter beds in the coming months to help more people off the streets across different parts of the metro.

An over 300-bed Safe Space is on the cards for Green Point, to help people off the streets in the CBD and seaboard area. A planning approval application for this new facility will now be finalised, which will follow the full regulatory and planning process before being implemented. Those affected by the plans will also be called upon to comment.

In total, the aim is to have a 420-bed boost for Cape Town’s inner city, with around 120 shelter beds already added to the City’s Culemborg Safe Space during winter 2022, bringing the total there to around 450 beds across two facilities in the east of the CBD.

The City is also helping to expand NGO-run shelters operating on municipal-owned land in central Cape Town, which is expected to add more shelter beds before winter.

In addition, Safe Space capacity in Bellville, Muizenberg and Durbanville will be increased in coming months. The City is also making progress on re-purposing other municipal-owned sites elsewhere in the metro, working together with NGO partners, CIDs and residents.

More than R142 million over a three-year period has been committed to expand and operate Safe Spaces where these are most needed. This is over and above its ongoing support to NGOs assisting the homeless, including grant-in-aid funding.

The City’s Safe Space model

dignified shelter,
ablutions,
two meals per day,
access to a social worker on-site,
personal development planning,
various social services including ID Book and social grant assistance,
family reunification services
access to substance and alcohol abuse treatment,
skills training,
help finding a job, and
access to EPWP work placement