The proposal to operate the Sakithemba facility in Lower Illovo as a shelter for homeless people residing within eThekwini has once again reared its head.
The reality of the ever-increasing number of homeless on the streets of eThekwini due to urbanisation, poverty, inequality and unemployment compounded by dysfunctional households, absent mothers, hunger, abusive fathers, lack of accommodation and overcrowding formed the topic of a recent report tabled to council’s Security and Emergency Services committee, under the chairmanship of Deputy Mayor Cllr Fazia Peer, by Safer Cities unit head, Martin Xaba.
While the report, titled ‘Proposal for the expression of interest to manage and operate Sakithemba facility as a shelter for the homeless people residing within eThekwini’ acknowledged that the homeless, currently living under bridges, on pavements and in abandoned buildings were synonymous with drug addiction, crime and grime, and prostitution, it also confirmed that the city had no constitutional mandate to operate or run shelters.
This resulted in no approved guidelines nor formulated policy to deal with the homeless that included provision for food, clothing or spiritual support.
Specific mention was made of concerns expressed by Metro Police regarding the lack of shelter accommodation to facilitate effective removal, rehabilitation, reunification and reintegration of those willing to deal positively with their drug addiction.
Also mentioned were further frustrations in the execution of the bylaw infringements when dealing with homeless people, as it is a social issue that requires professional intervention.
A 2009 homeless survey conducted within the city’s Warwick Triangle and the Qalakabusha profiling report of 2013 confirmed that 90% of the city’s homeless population were men.
As such, the report leant towards a male-orientated transition programme of housing the homeless and drug users awaiting rehabilitation and reintegration at the Sakithemba facility within the boundary of ward 109.
The facility was previously occupied by the YMCA and operated as a halfway house for parolees until 2013.
Once renovated, the facility, which has since 2013 been subjected to severe vandalism, could accommodate about 100 homeless men over the age of 18 years for periods ranging from three months to two years while they participate in programmes such as life skills, counselling, reunification, reintegration, skills development and job readiness training.
See more photos of the Sakhithemba facility here
“As the municipality has no direct mandate to offer social development services, the programme will only be possible by seeking partnership agreements and reaching memorandums of understanding with the provincial departments of social development and human settlements under administration of a capable NGO,” said ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge, who has been monitoring the matter since it was first mentioned by the unit in 2014.
“The city would require a capital investment of R8,5-million towards renovations, plant and equipment from the department of human settlement.
In addition, envisaged annual operational cost could amount to R4,2-million – the extent of which will be shared between the department of human settlements, social development, eThekwini Grant in Aid and the approved NGO.
The report seeks approval for the Sakithemba facility to be transferred from real estate to Safer Cities, an expression of interest to appoint a NGO to package the application to province, Grant in Aid funding and the development of policy guidelines to deal with homelessness and associated social ills.”
A set of questions was tabled to the Safer Cities unit by Cllr Beetge that included enquiries about:
- public participation process;
- engagement with SAPS about the possible implication on crime statistics;
- continued changed land use and development in areas immediately surrounding the premises;
- provincial government investment and industrial development in the area;
- proximity of a children’s safe house merely a few hundred metres from the site;
- progress on the Safer Cities local drug action committee programme launched in 2014;
- level of security envisaged and what extent the safety of residents, property owners and business establishments could be guaranteed;
- eventual number and locations of shelters that the city envisages establishing across all areas in terms of the unfunded) mandate;
- possibility of rather developing the area as a skills development and artisan training centre for the unemployed yet hopeful residents of the immediate southern area (especially the youth) as opposed to providing shelter to those who have already effectively turned their back on society.
“We appreciate the city acknowledges and seeks to find possible solutions for what is undoubtedly a serious socio-economic problem that is also not going to go away,” said Cllr Beetge.
“However, while Sakhithemba is located outside the boundaries of ward 97, such decisions cannot be taken without considering the rights of neighbouring residents, property owners and developers.
Following a discussion with Deputy Mayor Cllr Fazia Peer, we stand informed that the matter has been deferred for further investigation that will include a site inspection, thereby placing the committee in a position to make a better informed recommendation,” said Cllr Beetge.
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