Cape Town – Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has praised the recent eviction of homeless people from outside the Castle of Good Hope as a major step forward.
The eviction followed a Western Cape High Court order to vacate the area by October 17.
The eviction order was issued against the occupants in September.
Operations started on Friday morning as Newmarket Street running past the Castle was closed to remove the illegal dwellers.
Heavy police presence was on hand as a fire broke out on the lawns near the castle.
According to EWN, only about 20 of the 120 people affected accepted shelter alternatives.
Hill-Lewis criticised the government for its slow response to the city’s requests to address illegal occupations on state property and emphasised ongoing efforts to prevent similar issues at other urban sites, the report said.
📢 The Castle eviction is done, and now the big clean-up begins!
For years this has been an unsafe site of urban decay. Now we can begin restoring the area. 🌳
This is a positive outcome for the whole city, and also for those who were living there. I’m grateful to the Minister… pic.twitter.com/2fSln4aYNw
— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) November 1, 2024
“Steadily working through all of them, we can’t allow these sites of urban decay to set in forever,” the report quoted Hill as saying.
According to GroundUp, Castle CEO Calvyn Gilfellan said he was happy the eviction had been done humanely. He said the land should now be used as a public space and they were hoping to start a garden there soon.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@MandelaLetters
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
