Court criticises Strandfontein community groups for attempting to evict homeless

30 April 2020

The Strandfontein community brought an urgent application to the Western Cape High Court seeking the closure of the City of Cape Town’s temporary homeless shelter at the Strandfontein Sports Complex. The matter was heard this morning.

The Court was critical of the community’s application in that it in effect sought to evict the homeless persons from the shelter during a pandemic and without citing the homeless persons as respondents in the application and without providing workable alternatives.

The City filed a detailed affidavit setting out the medical, health and safety measures currently in place at the shelter, including measures related to social distancing and hygiene protocols mandated in terms of the National State of Disaster declaration in relation to COVID-19.

The Court accepted that the City had taken measures based on current knowledge and that the City’s response evidenced an approach based on lessons learned as the pandemic progressed and based on the needs and experiences of the occupants.

The City confirmed that the intention was that this was always a temporary site as had been relayed to the applicants before the application was brought. The court was critical of the fact that the applicants, despite being advised of the City’s intentions, had nevertheless approached the court on an urgent basis, giving the City effectively one day’s notice of the proceedings.

As has always been the intention, the shelter will be closing over the coming weeks, and the occupiers will be moved in a phased approach to a number of decentralised sites.

The City emphasised that there could not simply be a blanket movement of persons and that any relocation would have to take into account the current regulations, the medical and social needs of the occupants and their human rights.

It has been unfortunate that the City has had to endure this sustained political attack while doing its utmost to care for the homeless.

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Closure of Strandfontein Emergency Shelter a non-debate – Mayor Plato to SAHRC

The closure of the Strandfontein Temporary Emergency Shelter is a non-debate, and the decommissioning process will proceed as originally planned by the City of Cape Town, ‘notwithstanding any false victories that narrow interest groups are jostling to manufacture’.

This was the message in a letter from Mayor Dan Plato to the Western Cape Human Rights Commissioner (SAHRC), Chris Nissen. The City is currently providing reintegration, reunification and shelter placement services to every homeless person at the emergency shelter willing to accept this offer.

In the letter issued on 30 April, the Mayor writes that he is ‘taken aback by the shocking falsehoods contained in a report by some members of the SAHRC Advisory Committee which has been released directly to media’.

‘This report is now being misconstrued as the official comment of the Commission, seemingly with no public correction forthcoming from the SAHRC,’ reads Mayor Plato’s letter. He further confirms that no official SAHRC report has been received by his office to date.

The Mayor goes on to list ‘just some of the known and disproven falsehoods contained in this report’.

The list, as it appears in the letter, includes:

- the use of rubber bullets among other false claims, whereas this equipment is not even carried by Law Enforcement

- claims of the ‘incarceration’ of individuals at the facility, whereas people have not been held against their will as evidenced by fluctuating numbers on-site for various reasons, including personal choice and the reintegration efforts of the City and NGO partners

- a series of false claims about services at the facility that are, at best, outdated and related to early set-up challenges experienced in all metros, and at worst, outright deliberate distortions of the true standard of care at the facility.

- misrepresentation of the standard of medical care at the facility, whereas over 800 homeless people have benefited from the diagnosis of chronic conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension, that would otherwise have gone unchecked on the streets. These individuals are now enrolled for chronic medication.

The Mayor states that the national State of Disaster ‘places a duty on each one of us to prevent the spread of misinformation in society’.

‘At least two of the authors involved in this so-called “independent” report, have been releasing misinformation for several weeks now, namely Dr Gilles van Cutsem of Doctors without Borders (MSF) and Observatory resident Tauriq Jenkins,’ writes Plato.

‘Mr Jenkins’s individual report – previously released to media - is completely outdated, inaccurate and obviously agenda-driven. Dr van Cutsem, in turn, has previously falsely claimed in a highly unusual MSF press release that, inter alia, COVID-19 and TB screening and isolation is erratic at the emergency shelter.’

The Mayor further points out that ‘both Dr van Cutsem and Mr Jenkins are assisting a potential court application by NdifunaUkwazi to have the emergency shelter closed’.

‘There could not be a bigger strawman argument to stage a destructive sideshow around. The closure of the facility is a total non-debate. The City has been clear from the outset that it is a temporary emergency shelter,’ writes the Mayor. The Mayor goes on to say that ‘it is disconcerting that MSF have resorted to distorted criticism of the City rather than volunteering professional services to assist with the care of the homeless’.

Citing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent call for ‘national unity and solidarity in combatting the spread of the pandemic in our country’, the Mayor appeals to Mr Nissen to ‘not allow political opportunism to derail the mammoth effort we have mounted to care for the homeless’.

The Mayor further indicated that the Department of Defence had commended the City’s efforts at the emergency shelter following oversight work on 18 April.

‘Together with the existing shelter network, Cape Town has achieved the country’s highest service reach to the homeless under lockdown. This is true for both per capita service reach, and the actual number of homeless beneficiaries. Cape Town is sheltering double the number of homeless persons compared to Gauteng, according to the National Department of Social Development’s 23 April report to Parliament,’ writes the Mayor.

He adds that: ‘Cape Town’s visible services to the homeless has led to greater scrutiny on us, and unprecedented levels of attacks from certain political and related groups. Perhaps it is a case of “out of sight, out of mind” elsewhere in the country, where there is far lower reach into the homeless community.’

The City of Cape Town has been offering comprehensive services to the homeless at the Strandfontein facility, including:

Accommodation in weather-proof tents allowing for shelter from the elements, with blankets and mattresses for each person. There are currently around 1200 persons on site who are accommodated in 24 tents, each of them run by an expert NGO overseeing the well-being of the occupants.

Separate sleeping facilities for women are readily available as a standing offer. Families have been placed in appropriate facilities, and there are currently no children on-site.

Comprehensive screening, testing and isolation facilities for COVID-19 and TB. Screening for all homeless persons has been conducted prior to admission at the facility.

An on-site medical facility staffed by at least 15 nurses, doctors, pharmacists and volunteers. Social workers assess mental and substance abuse concerns. Addicts have access to psychosocial support and referral pathways

A Daily Clinic service offering general health checks, and access to medication for pain relief, blood pressure, and anti-depressants.

Three wholesome meals served daily, Ablution, laundry and hot shower facilities

24-hour Safety and Security services on-site including over 100 law enforcement and private security officials

‘My request is that we now redouble our efforts to ensure collegiality and solidarity while the City conducts the decommissioning process of the emergency shelter at Strandfontein,’ concludes the Mayor.

Issued by Greg Wagner, Spokesperson to the Executive Mayor, 30 April