No. 2 Struben shelter still in shambles
The metro has plans in place to relocate residents of the shelter that has been declared inhabitable by relevant authorities. They also plan to refurbish the shelter as soon as funds become available.
The Tshwane metro plans to relocate over 500 No. 2 Struben homeless shelter residents to an alternative shelter before the much-needed refurbishments to the property begin.
The metro however said these plans would be executed as soon as funds became available to the city and it obtained a court order to force the eviction process.
Metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the shelter located in Struben Street had been declared inhabitable by the relevant authorities and as a result, plans were in place to relocate every resident out of the shelter.
The city-owned facility is home to over 500 women, men, children, and the elderly.
Once the property has been fully renovated, Bokaba said it will be reopened to accommodate the homeless.
Bokaba however did not give a deadline to when the moving process would take place or when the renovations would begin.
“To ensure that the shelter is properly managed, the city is planning to partner with competent NPOs to manage the day-to-day operations of the shelter. In the meantime, the facility will be sealed and protected to avoid any possible vandalism.”
He said the city has also identified several homeless shelters which are managed by NPOs as alternative accommodation.
“However, it should be noted that the process of relocating the said residents from one property to another requires a court order since they are not willing to be relocated.”
According to Bokaba, the city has commenced this legal process and thus no individual has been moved as yet to the identified shelters.
Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD) was previously associated with an NPO that was providing food and psychosocial support to shelter beneficiaries.
Spokesperson Busi Khwela said the department had terminated its association with and funding to the NPO, which previously managed No 2 Struben shelter.
“The building in question has been identified with significant occupational health and security challenges, rendering it unfit for human habitation.
Consequently, funding has been suspended due to non-compliance with required standards.”
Khwela said the Gauteng DSD is diligently searching for appropriate housing options that cater to the specific needs of the beneficiaries from this shelter in the meantime.
In 2023 Tshwane was left with no choice but to shut the doors to the only metro-operated homeless shelter.
No.2 Struben was established around 2005 and became home to over 600 homeless people during its years of operation.
At some stage, however, the rent mafia hijacked the shelter and began charging the vulnerable for their stay at the facility.
Though the metro regained control of the building, it failed to attend to its structural maintenance.
The shelter will soon shut its doors as ordered by the Gauteng MEC of Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mbali Hlophe after she visited the facility this month.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo previously told Rekord that the city plans to shut the facility down and relocate its occupants to alternative accommodation.
“The place has been declared unsafe for the people to stay in and several homeless shelters have been identified to accommodate the homeless,” said Mashigo.
He said the building would now remain empty.
“The facility will be sealed off to avoid invasion. When the funds become available, the facility will be upgraded.”
The provincial social development department has withheld R11-million of funding to Kitso Lesedi, the NPO appointed to care for shelter residents.
Mashigo said Tshwane was not involved in the funding arrangement between the NPO and the department.
He said the residents would be moved to various shelters managed by NPOs across Tshwane, which had formal agreements with the metro.
Mashigo said these shelters were mainly based in the inner city.
He said the Struben Street shelter remained the only one managed by the metro, however, municipal strategy was not to establish more shelters, but to support NPOs to establish more shelters within the city.
The shelter in the Pretoria CBD was ordered to halt operations and its financial support was cut after it was raided by the provincial government, together with police.
The department found the facility to be non-compliant and that it was poorly servicing the hundreds of residents.
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Tshwane declared the shelter was unsanitary, unsafe and uninhabitable.
In 2021, the metro had promised to refurbish it and pleaded for the Gauteng government to give it R23.5-million for that purpose but then the facility was subjected to a phased closure since none of these plans ever took off.
Tshwane had blamed its inability to refurbish the site on its poor financial standing.
The Gauteng government acted in November 2023, ensuring that R11-million of funding towards operating the facility was halted.
The troubled No.2 Struben shelter fell under the provincial spotlight after a shocking discovery at the site.
Hlophe said her team and law enforcement found the premises were flooded with waste and that its toilets were overflowing.
“People have even erected shacks in the building of the shelter. Police arrested undocumented individuals and those selling drugs and alcohol.”
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WATCH HERE:
@rekordpretoria 🚨Shocking discovery at a Pretoria homeless shelter!🚨 MEC Mbali Hlophe ordered the closure of the facility and halted its funding due to unsanitary conditions and poor service. Residents were found living in shacks inside the building, with overflowing toilets and waste flooding the premises. 🤢😡 The department is investigating the shelter for non-compliance and malpractices. 🤬🤬🤬 See more in my bio. rekordnewspaper homelessshelter shutdown unsanitaryconditions malpractices southafrica gauteng #pretoria | REKORD NEWS
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