The eThekwini Municipality is expected to complete the Sakhithemba Homeless Shelter in Illovo by November 2026.
Image: eThekwini Municipality
Durban residents and motorists will have to contend with homeless people on Che Guevara Road under the M4 southern freeway until November 2026.
This, while the eThekwini Municipality completes the Sakhithemba Homeless Shelter in Illovo. The implementation plan was presented at an eThekwini Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday.
Members of the Exco committee had been waiting for the report since November 2025, following a public outcry about the state of Che Guevara Road, previously Moore Road, and the lower Warwick and Umbilo areas.
Drug addicts and homeless people have converged on the area, encroaching on one lane of the road and abusing drugs in full view of passing motorists and businesses.
The shelter forms part of a city-wide response to homelessness in the Durban CBD, initiated by the Safer Cities Unit through the Economic Development Unit.
The project was originally approved on August 26, 2024, as a 400-bed shelter, with a targeted completion within the 2024/25 financial year.
Clive Truter, an architect and project manager in the municipality, stated that Sakhithemba was envisioned to be a prototype facility for potential rollout across the municipality.
“During implementation, the project scope was significantly expanded to approximately 1,200 beds, together with the introduction of additional operational facilities like a clinic and an industrial kitchen,” he said.
Truter explained that the expanded scope materially increased the complexity of the project, which necessitated a phasing approach to be adopted.
“This approach was adopted to improve implementation efficiency, manage risk relating to contractor capacity, site constraints, and budgetary allowances,” he said.
Truter explained that the absence of established municipal norms and standards for facilities of this nature has necessitated ongoing design refinement to accommodate evolving operational requirements.
“The introduction of the on-site clinic and industrial kitchen has had a cumulative impact on regulatory and servicing requirements, particularly in relation to stormwater management, sewer capacity, and environmental approvals,” Truter stated.
He added that as part of the proposed recovery and acceleration strategy, Phase 3 implementation is planned to commence in parallel with the completion of Phases 1 and 2 to achieve delivery within the 2026 calendar year.
“Sakhithemba must not make people feel like they are incarcerated. They will be able to recoup their lives here. This is an inspiring and innovative project with a multiprong approach,” he said.
eThekwini Deputy Mayor Zandile Myeni said the shelter project was a first of its kind and that the city will work through some of the challenges experienced.
“There are a lot of successes and milestones in the project, which is part of a multitude of programmes we have to deal with the homeless. We need to consider bringing the interfaith leaders onto the platform. The facility is there to assist those who say no more to drugs,” she said.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za