Long term solutions needed to deal with beggars

THE city is taking slow but positive steps to deal with the issue of homeless beggars and vagrants who create a nuisance factor across the CBD and surrounding residential suburbs. According to Hoosen Moolla of i Trump, long-term plans need to be put into place to deal with the problem that some have described as out of control.

While residents in Berea and Glenwood lodge complaints about the beggars with city authorities and Metro Police, they say little is done as the vagrants and beggars return soon after police have removed them. One Berea resident said there wer eight beggars at the same intersection around midday. “Some of them are aggressive and one had a rude gesture for me the other day! Last week he hammered on my window telling me that I have a problem. Actually, I do have a problem. Our whole area has a problem with vagrants like this. They show utter disrespect towards society. Unfortunately they are getting away with it as no one has any idea what to do about them,” said the resident.

Ward councillor, Jethro Lefevre, said matterss had now escalated out of control on the Berea and urgent action and a response was required from Metro Police.

“The only time we see Metro Police in these areas is during the day and that is for only half a day. I am requesting an urgent meeting to discuss these serious issues,” he said.

Metro Police’s Morgan Subramany said police did respond to complaints when they were received. He said at present iTrump was facilitating within departments of the city a, Vulnerable People Programme, as these vagrants and street children were considered to be a social ill.

Hoosen Moolla from iTrump said vagrants and social challenges were growing on a daily basis. He said the provincial health department was supposed to deal with the issue, but that eThekwini municipality dealt with the issue from an enforcement point of view while the organisation, I Care worked with the municipality to deal with the street children in Durban. “The issue of mothers with children begging is up to the police and Metro to deal with,” he said

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“In July we held two workshops with NGOs, businesses and government departments to come up with solutions to this problem. We feel there needs to be a centre where they can go to for job creation and a shelter where they can stay. We are not solving this problem and are in a catch 22 situation where this is becoming a serious issue which is increasing on a daily basis. The police need to deal with relocation of these people on a daily basis, but in the bigger picture, we need long-term solutions. We have been talking to business and have got Durban Chamber of Commerce involved. We are starting to be proactive but nothing can happen overnight,” he said.

Praneel Nundkumar, chief operations and financial officer for Durban Chamber of Commerce, said: “Many of the activities which stem from chronic homelessness are problematic for our businesses which operate in the greater Durban area, which include: aggressive begging, vandalism and violence. These activities reduce the quality of life and level of enjoyment derived by all urban users. In order to develop an environment where residents, businesses and tourists feel safe and secure, as outlined in the Chamber’s Business Vision for the Economic Development of Durban, a strategy to manage vulnerable people which is inclusive, is imperative. The Chamber and its members have a role to play in cultivating a mind-set which is socially inclusive.”

He said the Chamber stressed that homelessness wan not a problem which must eliminated, but rather one which it should strive to mitigate through the provision of appropriate resources and services for vulnerable people.

“The Chamber fully supports the eThekwini Municipality’s Vulnerable People’s programme which seeks to unify the NGO sector and up-skill vulnerable people through the provision of skills training and development, as well as the establishment of ‘jobs or opportunities centres’ to improve the employment prospects of vulnerable people. The Chamber encourages the private sector to come to the party by assisting the jobs and opportunities centres through the facilitation of training and the brokering of job opportunities,” he said.