logo
Carte Blanche

[FROM THE ARCHIVES] No place like home

Video
09 March
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐Ÿฐ ๐—๐˜‚๐—น๐˜† ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿญ. The economic crash that followed in the wake of COVID-19โ€™s lockdown measures has resulted in soaring unemployment. Temporary homeless tents and shacks are springing up across cities and, in Cape Town, this means between highways and in public spaces. Over 14000 homeless people live rough in the Mother City, with only enough temporary shelter for 2500. A U-turn Homeless Ministries report on the cost of homelessness in Cape Town shows that 45 percent of R744 million allocated to the homeless in the city is spent on enforcement, arresting and incarcerating the homeless. When Table Mountain was set ablaze from an unattended cooking fire earlier this year, the vitriol it unleashed about the Cityโ€™s handling of homeless people spiked tensions with ratepayers. Carte Blanche investigates why only 16 percent of available money is spent on long-term solutions.