The the Durban Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to address concerns about crime and grime in the city.
|||Durban - Street children and homeless people were a threat to safety and bad for business, but beefing up social outreach programmes was the answer.
This emerged at a meeting organised by the the Durban Chamber of Commerce to address concerns about crime and grime in the city, including complaints that homeless people were defecating and urinating on pavements, scaring away customers.
Darlene Menzies, chairwoman of the Durban Chamber of Commerce’s Central Committee, said: “Issues such as street children begging, and sniffing glue, fuelled public perceptions that crime is higher in the inner city.
“Whether this is true or not, it is in the interests of business and investors that the city is well maintained and kept clean and safe for residents, shoppers and tourists alike, during the day and night,” said Menzies.
Representatives of the SAPS, Metro police, the National Prosecuting Authority, and local and provincial government attended the meeting on Wednesday.
Hoosen Moolla, senior manager of the city’s Safer Cities and iTrump initiatives, said: “There are complaints from businesses that homeless people sleep in their infrastructure. They are a threat. Residents and motorists are afraid of them…”
Menzies said the city and the chamber needed to ensure that people who visited Durban were not afraid to walk or drive through the CBD to reach popular tourism attractions.
The police’s role in dealing with vulnerable groups was discussed also at the meeting, with the general agreement being that a social development approach rather than enforcement one was the best way to deal with street children.
A metro officer, who spoke at the meeting, but who declined to give his name, said if homeless people and street children were arrested, there was nowhere to take them.
Metro police spokesman Eugene Msomi agreed that the issue needed a social-developmental approach, involving people with expertise.
Moolla said what was needed was “formalised shelters accredited by the city, operating 24 hours, where the homeless would be safe, and a job centre to look for places with work opportunities.”
Affordable short-term accommodation with feeding schemes, showers, toilets and facilities to wash clothes was also needed. Additional resources could include storage, free solar cellphone charging, a wellness clinic with counselling and social support.
Menzies said: “They would have a referral network to ensure that these children could be taken to the proper facilities”.
But she said when crimes were committed, the metro police and SAPS should always take the necessary action.
To start the initiative, Menzies said they should look to put into action one or two specific projects in the next two quarters to demonstrate their commitment.
Daily News