Durban - As eThekwini Municipality looks to attract businesses and people back to the CBD, it has vowed to deal with the homelessness in the city centre.
Recent statistics from the city showed that there are close to 4 000 homeless people living on the city’s streets.
Speaking on the issue recently, mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the matter would be addressed swiftly, saying that homeless people would be moved from the streets to shelters.
‘The Mercury’ reported last month on allegations that metro police had apparently taken homeless people and dumped them in smaller towns on the outskirts of the city.
Local councillors said they had been informed of the allegations, which were denied by the city.
Kaunda said the municipality was working to ensure the revitalisation of the CBD.
“Big businesses are coming back to the city. In the coming years, I want to have 450 000 people living in the CBD. We are going to be dealing with the issue of safety,” said the mayor.
EFF councillor Thabane Miya said they welcomed the initiative by the mayor to find shelters for all homeless people.
“Local and international business people complain that eThekwini is not safe, sometimes they want to walk to areas like the beachfront but cannot do so because it is not safe,” said the EFF councillor.
DA councillor Thabani Mthethwa said any effort to move homeless people should be a humane one, and not amount to them getting dumped somewhere.
He also said the municipality needed to look at the root cause of homelessness, including drug abuse.
The IFP’s Mdu Nkosi reiterated its stance that homeless people should be profiled to identify those who could be reunited with their families.