Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • Divorce: Court orders husband to pay ex-wife £5,500 for five years as fee for housework

  • 5 Africa-born designers open digital Milan Fashion Week

  • South Africa to spend $712 million on national vaccination drive

  • Moderna developing vaccine booster for new coronavirus variants

  • Ghana takes delivery 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from COVAX

AfricaHealthNews Now
Home›Africa›South Africa provides temporary shelter for homeless people over covid-19

South Africa provides temporary shelter for homeless people over covid-19

By alternativeafrica
March 29, 2020
690
3
Share:

London, March 30, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Homeless people in South Africa have been encouraged to move to temporary shelters provided by their respective provinces during the 21-day Covid-19 lockdown

In his nationwide address to announce the lockdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa said temporary shelters must be identified to accommodate homeless people for at least 21 days.

Hundreds of homeless people in Cape Town have been given new homes for the three-week lockdown. (ENCA)

Provincial and municipal governments across the country have been scrambling to put Ramaphosa’s order into effect particularly those with drug and alcohol addictions and mental illnesses.

READ ALSO: RWANDA BEGINS DISTRIBUTION OF ESSENTIAL FOOD ITEMS TO CITIZENS AFFECTED BY COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Gauteng’s acting Social Development MEC Panyaza Lesufi toured the province on Thursday and met with the homeless in the Johannesburg and Tshwane CBDs, the Vaal and West Rand to persuade them to move into shelters.

Around 230 homeless people have been provided with temporary shelter by the City of Cape Town under a bridge in the city’s CBD. (ENCA)

“That’s the only way to speak to them, persuade them,” he told Power 98.7 on Friday morning.

“They really feel neglected, unattended and that their rights are violated. They say, ‘These are our homes, don’t force us if you want us to go to those facilities, just notify us, allow us to apply our minds and if we want to come, we’ll come,’” said Lesufi.

The Gauteng government is working with 241 NGOs and facilities that have the capacity to house the homeless during the lockdown. Thirty boarding schools have agreed to host the homeless if shelters are full, said Lesufi.

In a briefing, he said the government would provide food and clothing to those who moved willingly.

According to regulations issued in terms of the Disaster Management Act, during the lockdown period, “a person refusing to be evacuated from any place subject to lockdown, may be evacuated by an enforcement officer to a temporary shelter if such action is necessary for the preservation of life”.

Lesufi said on Friday morning that the government would use the 21-day lockdown to try to provide the homeless with “soft skills” to help them integrate back into their families and communities.

A reporter of a South African leading online news portal, Daily Maverick who spoke with two homeless people narrated how one homeless man fled from being re-homed. He said the government had been moving the homeless into shelters and he fled to Lenasia because he’d heard of people starving in the past when the government “rescued” them.

In the Western Cape, the City of Cape Town said that they were still finalising “additional temporary shelter options,” according to Community Services and Health Mayoral Committee Member Zahid Badroodien on Thursday afternoon.

According to a press statement released later that evening, the metropolitan municipality announced that Paint City, a warehouse in Bellville, was one of the shelter facilities for both the shutdown period and the foreseeable future.

According to Badroodien, the facility can only accommodate 200 people due to social distancing. On Friday morning, Badroodien said the City of Cape Town’s safety and security unit would likely assist with transporting the homeless to temporary shelter. This should be finalised by the end of day on Friday.

“It will provide the city’s homeless with sanitation and electrical provision, and an opportunity to safely self-isolate in a protected environment,” the statement read, although there was no clarity on food provision.

Cape Town has over 7,000 homeless people.

The city is also expanding the “safe space” under the Culemborg bridge in the city’s centre to have roughly 200 plus beds. Existing shelters have been asked to identify vacant land next to their facilities where prefabs can be set up for extra beds and negotiations are under way with Western Cape Province to use some of its buildings. All these plans are still being finalised.

SHARE ON:
TagsHomeless Peoplesouth africaTemporary Accomodation
Previous Article

Covid-19 lockdown turns violent in parts of ...

Next Article

In UK, 20,000 former NHS staff return ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • BusinessNews Now

    South Africa Land Reform: Mercury Rising

    February 28, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaNews Now

    South Africa launches “Get Paid Initiative”to fight spread of fake news

    January 3, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    South Africa reaches 700, 000 Covid-19 infections, 18 370 deaths

    October 17, 2020
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews Now

    South Africa: Investors look to capitalise on the ‘Cyril factor’

    April 10, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews NowTechnology

    Telecoms Report: Video on demand to drive mobile revenues

    November 29, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    Jacob Zuma Prepares to Depart a Diminished A.N.C.

    December 16, 2017
    By alternativeafrica

3 comments

  1. In UK, 20,000 former NHS staff return to help fight coronavirus as death toll hits 1,200 | Alternative Africa 30 March, 2020 at 01:56 Reply

    […] South Africa provides temporary shelter for homeless people over covid-19 […]

  2. Portugal grants temporary citizenship to migrants to access coronavirus care, packages | Alternative Africa 30 March, 2020 at 23:02 Reply

    […] READ ALSO: SOUTH AFRICA PROVIDES TEMPORARY SHELTER FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE OVER COVID-19 […]

  3. Portugal grants temporary citizenship to migrants to access coronavirus care, financial support | Alternative Africa 31 March, 2020 at 00:02 Reply

    […] READ ALSO: SOUTH AFRICA PROVIDES TEMPORARY SHELTER FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE OVER COVID-19 […]

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • AfricaEnvironmentHealthNews NowWorld

    Air pollution kills 600,000 kids annually mostly in Africa, Asia – WHO

  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    Ghana Cocoa Board to distribute 60 million hybrid seedlings to farmers free

  • HealthNews Now

    UNAIDS welcomes additional evidence that effective antiretroviral therapy stops transmission of HIV

Timeline

  • February 25, 2021

    Divorce: Court orders husband to pay ex-wife £5,500 for five years as fee for housework

  • February 25, 2021

    5 Africa-born designers open digital Milan Fashion Week

  • February 25, 2021

    South Africa to spend $712 million on national vaccination drive

  • February 25, 2021

    Moderna developing vaccine booster for new coronavirus variants

  • February 24, 2021

    Ghana takes delivery 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from COVAX

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • Ado zagi
    on
    January 12, 2021

    Nigeria: EFCC Academy to begin award of degree

    Diploma leave areply from
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack followed a ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Divorce: Court orders husband to pay ex-wife £5,500 for five years as fee for housework

    By alternativeafrica
    February 25, 2021
  • 5 Africa-born designers open digital Milan Fashion Week

    By alternativeafrica
    February 25, 2021
  • South Africa to spend $712 million on national vaccination drive

    By alternativeafrica
    February 25, 2021
  • Moderna developing vaccine booster for new coronavirus variants

    By alternativeafrica
    February 25, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Ado zagi
    on
    January 12, 2021

    Nigeria: EFCC Academy to begin award of degree

    Diploma leave areply from
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.