Hill-Lewis concerned that many homeless people evicted from outside Castle of Good Hope declined CoCT's shelter offer

CAPE TOWN - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis remains concerned that many of the homeless people removed from outside the Castle of Good Hope have declined the city's offer to stay in a shelter.

Over the weekend, a tree planting event was held at the site where a homeless camp had been erected for two years until earlier in November. 

Hill-Lewis said it was a big milestone and an important moment for urban restoration.

"I've wholeheartedly joined in the tree planting because if you look at photos of that piece of land from before about 2018, you will see that it used to have a lot of lovely shade trees and grass embankments, which has been completely destroyed by that illegal occupation over the years, which started actually before COVID, so a really lovely piece of public open space was lost to the public." 

The mayor said the homeless community was living in great indignity.