Tshwane is looking for an integrated approach to dealing with people who have made several parks across the city home.
Several residents within the Tshwane metro have raised concerns over vagrants in parks, stirring fears related to safety, while others remain worried by the environmental impact caused by the homeless members.
Some parks highlighted as concerns to Rekord include Silverton Kongo Park, Piering Park in Elarduspark, Jubilee Square Park in Sunnyside, Jackson van Zyl Park in Tileba and Jopie Fourie Park in Pretoria North.
The metro has however vowed to deploy social workers to assess and establish whether the people living in parks across Tshwane require relocation to homeless shelters.
The community and social development services department said it would further rope in relevant departments to attend to issues of homelessness and squatting in parks and public spaces.
The promised approaches by the metro come after Jimmy Aves Park in Garsfontein had come under the spotlight with ratepayers in the area calling for the urgent removal of park invaders.
The ratepayers in the area, especially nature lovers, have raised concerns about safety and ecological damage caused.
They complained about the state of deterioration of the park and massive littering.
They also who blame the Tshwane metro for failing to maintain the park by keeping excellent standards related to safety, cleanliness, and a well-regulated public area for the community to enjoy.
The Jimmy Aves Park was described as once beautiful with a stream, tennis court, pedestrian walk, and area for walking your dog.
In a bid to bring back the park to its former glory, residents of Garsfontein and surrounds petitioned the metro to urgently remove the vagrants, enforce by-laws and ensure that its operating hours are adhered to.
Zintle Mahlati, spokesperson to MMC for Community and Social Development Services, said social workers will be deployed for assessment to establish whether the people living in the parks require to be relocated to homeless shelters.
“If the people agree to be placed in shelters, the department will endeavour to relocate the people.”
Mahlati said it should be noted that the services of the department are voluntary.
“The people should be willing to be relocated. The department does not have the competence to force people to leave the park and even be relocated to shelters. The by-laws fall under the TMPD,” she said.
She said the city in line with the Tshwane Homelessness Policy will work to establish homeless shelters in the region to accommodate homeless people.
“Such an initiative will be rolled out in consultation with community stakeholders and non-profit organisations.”
Mahlati added that the metro is looking at making use of the unused buildings in the region and entering into lease agreements with NPOs to manage such shelters.
She said relevant departments will be brought together to attend to issues of homelessness.
“The city has established an Integrated By-law Enforcement Committee to facilitate the implementation of city by-laws in an integrated manner. Relevant departments are represented in the committee.”
However, the homeless people in the park have denied allegations they engage in criminal activity and damage local ecology.
They expressed a desire to relocate if given the chance and refuted the negative perceptions attached to their presence in the park.
Despite squatting in the park, the homeless maintain they pose no threat to the neighbourhood as alleged by local ratepayers, and express a deep longing for a future that offers them a break from this harsh scrutiny.
Should the chance to relocate and rebuild their lives elsewhere present itself, many of them would seize the opportunity with open arms.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
