The City celebrated the opening of the Ebenezer Safe Space on Monday, 29 July - a new shelter that is being offered as alternative accommodation for people who will be evicted from seven sites in the inner city over the coming week.

The relocation of more than 100 unhoused persons from seven sites around Cape Town's CBD to city-funded shelters will be taking place between 5 and 8 August. While the eviction of people from these sites was initially expected to take place from 30 July, as per a high court order issued in June, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute - which represented the evictees in court - said it was still finalising an agreement with the City of Cape Town when this month drew to a close.

The Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town ruling on the evictions stated that the City needed to offer alternative accommodation to the people who would be removed from the seven sites. At the time the order was handed down, the evictees were going to be offered places at the city's Safe Space One shelter under the Culemborg Bridge on the Cape Town Foreshore, according to Nkosinathi Sithole, senior attorney at Socio-Economic Rights Institute.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads"The issues that we had were with the relocation (of people) to Safe Space One, which pertained to the...