Cape Town: The Western Cape High Court has granted final eviction order for various unlawful occupation sites in the Cape Town CBD. Dignified transitional shelter at City-run Safe Spaces and remain available for those who requires this service.
Reportedly, the Sheriff of the court is permitted to evict the remaining unlawful occupants if needed after July 30, 2024.
The order has been passed in relation to the various unlawful occupation hotspots along the Buitengracht Street, FW De klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square, taxi rank and Foreshore. It also consisted of Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, Foreshore/N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge in the city.
The order includes a standing interdict against any further unlawful occupation of the areas and further City-owned spaces by the respondents identified in the application.
The ruling comes after a lengthy court process, since the initial granting of an order for eviction notices that are to be served in February 2023. The hearing of the matter was then delayed until October 2023 by an eleventh-hour notice to oppose the one filed by a Johannesburg based NGO.
However, the judgement was eventually passed down on June 18, 2024. Over the time, the City Social Development officials have made repeated offers of social assistance to those unlawfully occupying public spaces in the city.
They included the offers of a dignified transitional shelter at NGO-run night shelters and City-run Safe Spaces. The Safe Spaces aims to reintegrate people into the society or reunite them with their family.
Notably, the services consider dignified transitional shelter which are coupled with the social programmes to assist people off the streets sustainably. The personal development planning and employment opportunities are made available, as referrals for mental health, medical and the substance abuse treatment.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis considered the order of the court and said that the city welcomes this, and will enable the restoration of public places for all to use in Cape Town’s CBD. The court has affirmed City Safe Spaces as dignified transitional shelter and the offer given of spaces at these facilities still stands for those who have not yet accepted it.
Accepting the social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice for dignity, health and well-being. The city has gone to great lengths to extend every offer of care to individuals unlawfully occupying the public places in various parts of the metro.
Lewis offers help to get off the streets that have been persistently refused. “We continue to seek the court’s that help as a last resort. No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
