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Vulnerable people who have been living outside the Central Methodist Church are being moved into a revamped inner city building.
Life for the people sleeping outside the Central Methodist Church in downtown Joburg is about to improve – they are expected to move into designated accommodation next week.
The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has been working hard to get the Moth building in Loveday Street ready for the first batch of 300 migrants and South Africans to move in on Monday, 13 July.
Place of shelter: the Central Methodist Church
The building had been vandalised so a revamp was needed. The roof has been waterproofed, the electrics and plumbing re-done, windows replaced, and the interior painted, says Nyiko Gudlhuza, a senior development manager at the JDA. Partitioning has been removed and dormitories have been created, with communal kitchens and bathrooms.
The four-storey, City-owned building will welcome this first group to take up accommodation in the top three storeys, and in September, 700 more people will be moved into the ground and basement floors.
Refurbishment began at the beginning of June, and the first phase has cost R3-million. The second phase – creating rooms for families and children – will cost R6-million.
“It is not just for migrants but the vulnerable,” stresses Phil Harrison, the executive director of development planning and urban management in the City, who is on the intergovernmental task team set up to solve the problem of an excess of people seeking shelter at the church.
“The move will take pressure off the church and the streets around the church,” he added. At this stage the Salvation Army and other NGOs will be taking charge of the Moth building, says Harrison.
This is part of the City’s ongoing efforts to resolve the overcrowded situation at the church. In June a group of 130 people were moved from the church to Rosettenville in the south.
Previously these people slept on the pavements outside the church in Pritchard Street.
On Friday last week about 245 people on the streets were arrested by the JMPD for loitering, but the case was thrown out of court this week.
Pitje Chambers, a legal firm of 72 advocates, has been affected by the chaos on the streets, as it is on the same block as the church. Described by advocate Andre Bezuidenhout as “a desperate situation”, the firm has approached the City with a request to remove refuse daily.
“It is physically virtually impossible to get to the high court – we have to cross the road to get there,” he said. The Johannesburg High Court is a block from their chambers, on the same side of the road.
Inside the church
There are about 2 500 people living in the church, says Bishop Paul Verryn, in what he describes as a “very organised community”.
There are committees on every floor and in every room. There are 15 guards who control access to the building. “They govern themselves – they are expected to take care of themselves.”
Every Friday there is a meeting, where all issues are discussed. Every night everyone is expected to attend a church service. Every day everyone is expected to vacate the building, except mothers with young babies, while classes are run for the children. “The situation is stable, but we really can’t take any more people into the church,” says Verryn.
Task team
The City is working to find a permanent body to manage the Moth building, says Nthatisi Modingoane, deputy director of communications.
“National government continues to lead a task team to address the complex issues around the influx of foreign nationals into the inner city of Johannesburg and we are confident that the work of this team will move us in the direction of positive solutions,” he says.
The team consists of representatives from local and provincial government, various NGOs and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Modingoane emphasised that government would not be able to tackle the problems on its own. It is calling on the business sector, the NGO community and others to assist.
“Specifically, we would like to know of any immediately available shelter that vulnerable persons on the streets could be directed towards,” he said. “Working together, government can achieve much more.”
Siyasizana
The City is involved in a number of initiatives and programmes to alleviate the plight of the vulnerable.
In June the City announced that R600-million had been allocated for its newly launched expanded social package, or Siyasizana, which provides social service subsidies to Joburg residents earning less than R3 366 a month.
Indigent households, tenants, backyard dwellers and those living in inner city flats will receive electricity, water, rates, sanitation and refuse-removal subsidies. The only conditions are that beneficiaries must be South African and prove they are residents in the city.
Residents are registered on the basis of three criteria: band 1, where they are living on the borderline of poverty; band 2, where residents earn less than R2 000; and band 3, where residents are insolvent, with no formal income.
So far just under 8 000 people have registered for Siyasizana.
Other special needs programmes the City has put in place include the Single Window for Social Assistance and the Job Pathways programme.
The City has also put in place programmes to help orphans, through its Basket of Services project. In addition it has set up the Orphan and Vulnerable Children Unit, which includes a food programme, homework assistance, career advice, as well as recreational, life skills and primary-health programmes.
Joburg residents can also go to the Migrants’ Helpdesk for assistance. The desk helps with finding accommodation and employment, supplying letters of motivation to prospective employers; permits and visas, giving consulate and embassy details; material assistance with food and clothing; and assistance with asylum applications.
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