[FROM THE ARCHIVES] No place like home

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭. The economic crash that followed in the wake of COVID-19’s lockdown measures has resulted in soaring unemployment. Temporary homeless tents and shacks are springing up across cities and, in Cape Town, this means between highways and in public spaces. Over 14000 homeless people live rough in the Mother City, with only enough temporary shelter for 2500. A U-turn Homeless Ministries report on the cost of homelessness in Cape Town shows that 45 percent of R744 million allocated to the homeless in the city is spent on enforcement, arresting and incarcerating the homeless. When Table Mountain was set ablaze from an unattended cooking fire earlier this year, the vitriol it unleashed about the City’s handling of homeless people spiked tensions with ratepayers. Carte Blanche investigates why only 16 percent of available money is spent on long-term solutions.