People living on the street, ABB FIA Formula E, upgrades to the Sea Point Promenade and load shedding were some of the key issues addressed at the Mouille Point Ratepayers’ Association annual general meeting held recently.
Dozens of residents pitched up at the Greek Hellenic Club in Green Point on Thursday 11 May where Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was the keynote speaker for the evening.
The number of people living on the street has increased significantly in the Green Point, Mouille Point and Sea Point areas in recent years, a concern which irks many residents.
One resident, who does not wish to be named, says people sleeping at the beach at night is concerning.
Nicola Jowell, Ward 54 councillor, says ward allocation funding will be set aside to fund increased operations from the City’s Social Development Department to engage those sleeping on beaches and the streets and to offer them alternative accommodation.
Jowell says more focused interventions will be initiated.
“People who are rough sleepers sporadically are not necessarily homeless, or unemployed.
“Often, they are people who are working within the area who choose not to go home for various reasons some of those reasons being the cost and the time to get home, so they sleep on the street during the week and go home on weekends.”
Some residents also flagged the continuous noise disruptions regarding cars.
Jowell says traffic officials often clamp down on offenders.
“There has been focused attention in the area from the traffic department’s ghost squad, when they come across vehicles with illegal modifications that result in excessive noise, that vehicle licence is suspended. There are vehicles that are factory fitted with noise devices. So sometimes it is incredibly difficult to police, but officers have been doing it. It is ongoing.”
One resident, who introduced himself as Michael, asked for another speed camera along Beach Road to monitor speedsters, whom he says are a massive problem.
Formula E
Jowell says they have received dozens of noise complaints regarding the setup and breakdown of the seating stands used during the Formula E event.
“There was a lot of focus on the set up of the event, getting it ready. What we have learned from the Formula E is that we need to have a greater focus on the breakdown of the event. Sadly, I don’t think the event organisers were as present post-event as they should have been and we have a debrief with them soon where we will raise all issues. We are grateful for all the feedback and the patience displayed by Mouille Point residents.”
Hill-Lewis says: “It is likely that Formula E will return next year, but we will have to look at stricter timelines and deadlines for the setup and breakdown in the future. We will improve the timeline and communication with residents as well.”
Homelessness
Chris Diedericks, Director at PPA Tactical, urged residents to give responsibly and not give food to people living on the street.
“We all know what our heart tells us, but unfortunately that remains a big problem because from our side our responsibility is to make sure that the area stays clean and without criminals in conjunction with police and law enforcement, but the same law enforcement we can only ask homeless people to please move along. If they resist, we have to contact law enforcement or the police who are not always available.”
Anthony Loubser, a businessman, is leasing the Three Anchor Bay tennis court known as Tent City. The site is currently occupied by a group of homeless people.
Loubser says: “As a business owner, I have lost more than R2 million in that development because of the tents being there.”
He says they are looking at various ways to assist the group.
“The situation is not in our control. It is getting worse because more people are moving there. The community there has come to us to ask that we put security in place, and not allow the number of people to increase.
“So, we have the cooperation of the group living there to do that and to start resettling people who have moved there recently. But we don’t have funding for that.”
Hill-Lewis says the City is in the process of allocating more than R250 million to expanding safe spaces.
“City teams go out each day to offer people space in those facilities. Sometimes they take the opportunity, most times they don’t, then we have to go the legal route. We have filed application for eviction of many people living on the streets of the city.
“We have put up evidence to the court that shows that every one of those people have been offered alternative accommodation repeatedly.”
He says some of their safe spaces now offer accommodation for couples.
Hill-Lewis says they hoped for voluntary resettlement at Tent City, but says since that has not materialised, the City will now be pursuing an eviction.
“We will soon be filing that application as well.
“We will never file an application unless we know that we can accommodate those people in a dignified way.”
- Regular liaison with the Councillor for our area regarding options to deal with the situation.
- Liaison with PPA to monitor noise and intervene where there is prohibited behaviour.
- Requesting reports on the activities of city social development staff who continue to engage with the homeless with a view to finding alternative accommodation and assisting them with job opportunities.
- Obtaining legal advice in relation to a possible approach to the courts.
Safety
Hill-Lewis assured residents that addressing crime around the city is a top priority and various safety interventions are being put in place.
He says with the 2023-’24 budget allocation, the Directorate plans to procure more advanced dashboard cameras with ANPR functionality and introduce body cameras for law enforcement officers.
Load Shedding
Addressing concerns around load shedding the mayor says he believes the City will be able to protect residents from four stages of load shedding over the next few years.
“We have finished with all our procurement. We have bought 700 megawatts of power, we have changed policy on allowing solar power generation from homes and businesses to be fed into our grid. We are now live with our first payments to businesses and soon we will go live with our payments to residents for the power that they sell us.
“With the 700 megawatts we are now in the contracting phase after which the successful companies must build the power they have bid and eventually connect it to our grid.”
Sea Point promenade
Phase five of the Sea Point Promenade upgrades started recently. The year-long project will see upgrades to the Granger Bay parking area.
This project will bring about new and upgraded walkways, public art, coastal structures, a play park, parking area, lawn and coastal vegetation areas.
Hill-Lewis says the City is looking at ways to make the use of e-scooters safer.
Kempen says like all other institutions the association is experiencing financial challenges and appeals to members and interested parties to pay their membership fees.
Kempen encouraged residents to join the MPRA executive committee.
“We are confident and optimistic about our city’s future and we are doing something to build that optimism by making the investments necessary to protect you from crime, to prepare infrastructure, to stop load shedding over time among others. We do this in partnership with an active community, we cannot do this alone,” concludes Hill-Lewis
