Thursday, September 11, 2008

City spends R75m on refugees

The City of Cape Town has spent R75-million on shelter and support for people displaced by xenophobic violence.

The city is counting the cost of managing the crisis with only about 1 140 people still living at the remaining safety sites.

Greg Pillay, the city's head of disaster risk management, said city officials expected the final cost of managing xenophobic violence in the city to reach R100-million.

The total spent so far does not include the cost of repairing the damage to and rehabilitating beach camps and community halls which, at the height of the attacks in May, accommodated more than 20 000 people.

While the cost of the damage is yet to be finalised, initial figures indicate that repair and rehabilitation work will cost at least R7-million.

The city council had submitted claims to the national Treasury via the provincial government for the costs incurred, but nothing had yet been refunded.

"We don't know yet whether we will get any money back, but hopefully we will," Pillay said.

The budget for disaster risk management for the last financial year had been overspent by R90-million, largely as a result of the city's response to the xenophobic outbreak.

Other departments had also incurred unplanned expenditure.

Among the highest costs incurred was for disaster relief of R64-million, overtime for the city's Metro Police and traffic services of nearly R2-million, tents at a cost of R1-million and ammunition for crowd management of R500 000.

Pillay told the council's safety and security portfolio committee last week that the city would have to include xenophobic attacks among hazards in its disaster management plan, as at present it only accounted for civil unrest.

City spokesperson Robert Macdonald confirmed that 52 people were moved on Wednesday, 43 to Harmony Park and nine to Blue Waters. He said that "under the circumstances" the move had gone smoothly.

- Cape Argus

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