Criticism mounts for eThekwini Municipality over delayed homelessness report

The eThekwini Municipality’s three-month delay in producing a report on its plans to address homelessness sparked debate at a meeting on Tuesday. 

The pressing issue of vagrants and substance users along Che Guevara Road, formerly Moore Road, under the M4 southern freeway in Durban, has been highlighted by businesses in the vicinity and motorists using the road. 

Municipal officials have battled to contain the problem for over a decade, as vagrants and substance users move to different spots in the vicinity after clean-up operations.

The municipality is relying on the Sakhithemba Homeless Shelter in Illovo, which is under construction, to assist in alleviating the problem. Once complete, the municipality anticipates that the shelter could accommodate up to 800 people.

The facility will be managed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). According to the municipality, the service provision at Sakhithemba will include social services programmes and psychosocial support such as life skills, counselling, reunification and reintegration, skills development, and job readiness training.

At an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on November 25, 2025, the municipality said a report on the homeless issue was being finalized and would be presented at the December 2, 2025, meeting.

The committee was supposed to receive a report on the progress of the Sakhithemba Homeless Shelter Project in Illovo, but nothing materialised, said DA councillor and Exco member Andre Beetge on Tuesday, urging officials in charge to stop evading accountability. 

Beetge was also criticised by opposition parties in the municipality for creating several videos at the site and posting them on social media platforms, indicating that the city does not have a plan to deal with the crisis. Beetge’s request for Exco to visit Che Guevara Road was also criticised. 

"We condemn the political immaturity and cowardice displayed by officials who blatantly refused to attend a critical oversight on the escalating crisis. The situation on Che Guevara Road has worsened into a deepening humanitarian and urban management crisis. This route, linking the Port of Durban to the city centre, is now the site of a massive homeless encampment that has encroached directly into traffic lanes, creating serious safety risks for motorists and nearby businesses," he said. 

Beetge said that the municipality’s current approach, characterised by sporadic "clean-ups" involving diverted trucks and redeployed metro police, without any sustainable plan, has proven ineffective. 

"These reactive interventions lack both depth and long-term vision. As a result, displaced individuals often return to the same locations within hours, as there is no credible strategy for relocation, support, or rehabilitation," he added.

"The councillors' refusal to participate in this oversight process is not merely a snub to the DA or the eThekwini Exco committee; it is a dereliction of duty and an insult to the residents of eThekwini who must endure the consequences of his continued mismanagement," Beetge stated. 

eThekwini Municipality Deputy Mayor, Councillor Zandile Myeni, said two reports were ready and are expected to be presented at the next meeting. She added that an oversight of the construction at Sakhithemba will be conducted soon. 

Mdu Nkosi, IFP chairperson, said the DA was critical of the municipality and previously complained that the municipality was "dumping people on the outskirts of the city". Nkosi said he would not visit Che Guevara Road, and did not provide a reason why. 

Nkosenhle Madlala, ANC councillor and eThekwini Exco member, said this was a societal problem and that all roleplayers in the government must be involved. 

“We need to understand the push and pull factors of the homeless people flocking to the city centres. Work is being done daily to address the homeless issue,” he said. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za