Stakeholders meet to address CBD vagrancy
Ward councillor Anru Meyer says as long as the economy and unemployment are in the current dire state, homelessness will only get worse.
Business owners in the CBD are fed up by the lack of action in addressing vagrancy in local parks.
The business owners met in Capital Park on Tuesday, and local ward councillors Shaun Wilkinson, Leanne de Jager, Anru Meyer and Mari Joubert as well as municipal representatives in Region 3 attended.
“Local business owners want the vagrants removed, and displaced,” said ward 59 councillor Shaun Wilkinson.
“They also requested a fence be put up, as a further deterrent to prevent the vagrants from returning.”
Wilkinson said the main concern for the business owners was crime, including drug and substance abuse.
“I recall from previous engagements regarding homelessness in Tshwane, that [it was resolved that their] organised and involuntary displacement will likely lead to a substantial increase in morbidity and mortality,” Wilkinson continued.
He said this assertion was based on inputs and submissions from representatives of cities all over the world, including Ontario in Canada and Adelaide in Australia.
De Jager said: “Members of Tshwane metro police (TMPD) and representatives of various departments, a representative of MMC Kingsley Wakelin as well as of Region 3 met on site to ascertain what the current situation is and to determine a way forward.”
HOMELESSNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE GETTING WORSE
Ward councillor Meyer said as long as the economy and unemployment were in the current dire state, homelessness would only get worse.
“This is of great concern to us and it’s not something that I believe will be solved with great urgency,” Meyer said.
“As long as people do not have sustainable means to provide for themselves and their families, this is only something that we will see more often.”
He said that more needs to be done to ensure that open spaces and parks are protected.
“We as a city need to collaborate with the private sector to ensure spaces belonging to the city are well-maintained and protected.
“Business owners and surrounding areas also need to come on-board by utilising programmes such as the Adopt-a-spot campaign and efforts need to be made by government to relocate the homeless inhabitants to places of safety,” Meyer continued.
He said substance abuse among the homeless would likely jeopardise any effort to relocate them.
“Individuals are less inclined to accept help that comes with stipulations such as the banning of substances, thus addressing the poor economy should be the primary focus,” said Meyer.
A follow-up meeting with councillor Wayne Helfrich, the municipal executives and management as well as TMPD, is expected in due course.
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