Being homeless in one of SA’s metros is hard work

The homeless community of Melville, Johannesburg, comprises an eco-system of car guards, informal recycling collectors, beggars and informal traders.

In some instances, the latter is a euphemism for petty drug dealing in mostly cannabis and scrapings of methamphetamine and glue and is often at the behest of drug lords living in far better circumstances than the desperate distributors at the end of the supply chain.

Every morning on Main Street, dozens of men and a few women roll up their blankets, mattresses and everything they own into bundles that, through unwritten laws, are not disturbed until their owners return to them at night.

Soon the quiet gives way to a flurry of activity as collectors scoot through the leafy streets, collecting recyclable materials. Beggars take up their strategic positions at traffic intersections and car guards likewise at various parking lots and sidewalks.

As coins are slowly dropped into worn cups and grubby hands, urges and needs are scantly provided for including drugs and food, but there is never enough for shelter.

The plight of homeless people has recently been spotlighted by activists fighting against Cape Town by-laws which allegedly prejudice those who sleep on the streets.

ALSO READ: Homeless people’s tents confiscated as City of Cape Town cracks down

According to City of Johannesburg (CoJ) spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane, the metro has been hit by a drastic increase in the number of people living and working on the streets.

They face a number of issues which likely landed them on the streets such as substance abuse, dysfunctional families, poverty and job seeking. Covid-related job losses have also contributed to homelessness in Africa’s economic capital.

The CoJ sees itself as a “caring government”, tending to the needs of people living and working on the streets and in 2008, a unit was established to assist the homeless.

Through partnerships with NGOs and the business sector, the city’s Homeless Task Team have drafted the Gauteng City Region Strategy on Street Adult Homelessness 2020-2024. Pending further inputs, this strategy will be submitted to the national Department of Social Development.

ALSO READ: People’s tents confiscated as City of Cape Town cracks down

But as the third most densely populated city in the country, Johannesburg is perpetually backlogged in dealing with high numbers of homeless people and the socio-economic issues around them.

According to Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, there are an estimated 20,000 people living on the streets of Johannesburg with less than 1,000 available shelter beds.

This is in the backdrop of NGOs having faced their worst financial time yet, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Donations have waned across the sector and government funding is increasingly hard to come by.

Do the homeless have it worse in Cape Town?

While Johannesburg’s recent robust by-law enforcement drive has focused on policing informal traders in the inner city, the City of Cape Town has come under fire for targeting the homeless in the enactment of by-laws to police this demographic.

Under new by-laws, police can confiscate tents and other belongings of homeless people for sleeping on public property.

The city is facing a court challenge by activist groups who want a review of the constitutionality of the city’s Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances By-Law.

This is the law which the city has been using to fine homeless people for being in a public space.

As the local government elections draw close, criticism from opposition parties accusing the ruling Democratic Alliance (DA) of being inhumane towards homeless people has been mounting.

ActionSA spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni says the party condemns any action which furthers the plight of the homeless and most vulnerable members of our society.

“The City of Cape Town’s new Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances By-Laws, passed by the DA-led council, illustrates just how far removed the DA is from the reality of everyday South African life and how far removed it is from the deep inequalities which plague Cape Town,” she argues.

Government and law-enforcement authorities must enforce the law but equally ensure that meaningful and impactful social supports are provided to poor residents who have sadly been forced to live on the streets. Government cannot seek to punish poor persons for their circumstances when it has done very little to alleviate deep inequalities and access to affordable housing and job opportunities.

ActionSA spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni

In this respect, the party does not see the ANC-run Johannesburg administration doing any better. Rampant corruption and political infighting appears to have trumped any real efforts to deliver services, she suggests.

According to the Cape Town local government’s statistics for 2019, there are about 4,862 homeless people in the greater Cape Town area and an estimated 700 live in the central business district (CBD).

The City of Cape Town, which also professes to be a “caring government”, says it goes above and beyond its own resources to “help people get off the street”.

“Our social development programme for street people includes: access to substance abuse rehabilitation, assistance with reintegration into society, obtaining identity documents and social grants and access to short-term job opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme,” says councillor Zahid Badroodien, Cape Town’s member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for community services.

“In addition, the city assists registered organisations working with persons living on the street through grant-in-aid funding where possible. We also disbursed support to 10 shelters this winter, to the value of R1,429,000, to help them cope with the increase of street people seeking out shelter support.”

In the last three years, the city has opened three Safe Spaces, homeless shelters which currently accommodate 400 people. Covid-19 has hampered capacity for homeless shelters.