On 25 March, the acting Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, said the provincial government would help the homeless as part of the drive to curb the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.
By Monday, 30 March, however, some homeless people were still on Carletonville’s streets.
While most were locked in their homes, a homeless man slept under a tree at the Carletonville Civic Centre, his possessions in a bag by his side. Meanwhile, washing hung outside a shack at the old municipal refuse truck depot in Agnew Road, signalling that people were also living there.
Two mattresses were neatly set out in a disused building in the park in Andries Street.
When the Herald asked the communication officer of the social services department, Ms Busi Kheswa, about the matter, she said the department was doing every-thing in its power to get the homeless off the streets. They were working together with local municipalities to address the problem. She asked residents to assist in identifying people who still needed help. They can call the National Crisis Line at 0861 322 322.
When asked about the matter on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Merafong City Local Municipality confirmed that the public safety department, in partnership with the departments of social development and health and the SAPS, had started removing the homeless people across Merafong.
He said these stakeholders first engage with the homeless before removing them from the streets.
“The Carletonville Sports Complex has been identified to accommodate the homeless across the city.
“The municipality, in partnership with the SAPS, will be taking them to the Sports Complex as the Department of Health has supplied 10 tents for this purpose. Some of the homeless have voluntarily come to the Carletonville Sports Centre for accommodation. Due to the changing weather conditions, the municipality has also opted to use the Sports Complex halls and other rooms for accommodation. One hundred mattresses and blankets have been secured. The Department of Social Development has also identified two NGOs to provide them with breakfast, lunch and supper daily and the complex has showers, toilets and running water).
Toiletries will also be supplied to the homeless as and when they walk in. Their names are recorded as they arrive for database and account- ability purposes. The screening will take place on-site and if the person displays Covid-19 symptoms, they’ll be referred to the testing stations and standard health protocols will be followed,” the spokesperson says.
Although the sports centre looked empty on Monday, homeless people had already moved in by Tuesday afternoon. “Yes, I am now staying here,” one of them told the Herald with a smile.
Ms Audrey Dlamini of the NGO Kathego Ka Kgotlelelo, which feeds street children around Carletonville, confirmed that these children are also being looked after at the Sports Centre.