Alderman Heather Hart, councillor of Ward 18, is at her wits’ end with what she has described as a problem in Edenvale.
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According to Hart, the situation is getting out of hand and residents are becoming increasingly frustrated and desperate.
Hart recently identified six individual squatters living in Edenvale that community members have raised concerns about.
The individuals she identified live across Edenvale and are not in one specific location.
Hart said although she has tried to have them removed from where they are by the city, she has seen little action taken.
“Residents are asking us as councillors how this situation can be allowed and what is being done about the matter,” said Hart.
“Many are concerned that parts of Edenvale are turning into squatter camps because the authorities are doing nothing.”
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Hart said it would appear that the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) departments are passing the buck and ward councillors are left to deal with the mess.
“There is an expectation by the community that EMPD should just remove these individuals and their belongings and take them somewhere else,” said Hart.
However, she explained that this is not always the case.
She explained the CoE social worker responsible for the Edenvale area often needs to assess the individuals, suggest recommendations and try to assist the induvial before they are removed by the authorities.
Hart said in addition to this, sometimes the squatter or vagrant does not want to be relocated, taken back home or to a shelter.
She added although there are processes in place, the CoE departments appear to not do anything about it.
“As councillors, we are the ones left with the mess because of the lack of capacity and cohesion between CoE departments and the different levels of government.”
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Hart explained this matter is the responsibility of the local government who should escalate the situation to the provincial government if they need assistance.
“As a ward councillor, I have no authority at provincial level.
“I am a member of the legislature; we do oversite of various departments, we do not run them nor have any authority over them.”
Hart said councillors can bring matters to the relevant departments’ attention and hope that they act on it.
Although Hart is trying to work with CoE departments to resolve the matter, she said the city and the Gauteng
Department of Social Development are working together to formulate a policy to address homelessness in Ekurhuleni.
This was confirmed by the city in January 2020 when it responded to the NEWS’ request for comment.
The CoE said at the time, “The city is working in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Social Development, which is a lead department in dealing with homelessness in the province, to craft a policy that will be adopted by all municipalities to guide and shape services for homeless people in the province.”
A request for comment was sent to CoE on November 10, requesting comment by November 12 at 15:00.
In the request, the NEWS specifically asked for an update on the formulation of the City’s homeless policy.
Update: Comment was received after deadline, on November 17. Click here to read CoE’s comment.
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