Durban - Msunduzi Municipality says it remains committed to dealing with the plight of the homeless by making sure that they are properly sheltered, and part of the effort is finding suitable buildings for such a project.
The sentiment was echoed last week when employees from the mayor's office rolled up their sleeves to clean a building in Doull Road, near the Pietermaritzburg train station, that will be used as a shelter for the homeless.
The clean-up followed a number of engagements between Msunduzi deputy mayor Mxolisi Mkhize and the homeless, which prompted the municipality to explore means of assisting them.
“I can say that I am happy with the progress of this homeless shelter and we as the municipality are giving this building as our contribution towards this programme,” said the deputy mayor. He committed the city to finding more ways of assisting the homeless.
Pietermaritzburg, like many other cities in South Africa, has battled with the challenge of homeless people, and according to the deputy mayor a collaboration between the city and the homeless, including finding ways of ensuring that people have positive activities to engage in, could help in dealing with the challenge.
Msunduzi spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize admitted that the number of homeless people was huge and could not be addressed at once.
“The building that is being attended to will obviously not be able to house all the people and that is why there are ongoing efforts to identify more buildings that will be used as shelters,” she explained.
The building is set to start operating as a shelter soon and according to the spokesperson the latest development is in line with the municipality leadership’s vision of growing the city both economically and socially.