Antagonism between Western Cape and Cape Town authorities over the refugee crisis is boiling over as the province moves to wrest control of their accommodation from the city.
The province announced on Wednesday that it will set up its own safe sites and use 2 000 volunteers to help peacefully reintegrate the immigrants back into the communities from which they fled.
Premier Ebrahim Rasool went so far as to slam the council's controversial camps on the outskirts of the city and what he called the "unilateral decision by the city to remove people from the community halls to the remotest, coldest and inadequate beach camps around the city".
In addition, Rasool said the province would apply urgently for parts of the Western Cape to be declared disaster areas, which he said would free up resources to "better manage" the humanitarian relief efforts.
The split between provincial and city authorities has been the subject of controversy all week, with civil society groups slamming the lack of joint planning, saying it is harming the relief effort.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Mayor Helen Zille chose not to attend a briefing last Thursday night at the Joint Operations Command about the Du Noon attacks with Rasool and Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane.
The JOC co-ordinates police and Disaster Management efforts.
The Black Sash's Nkosikhulule Nyembezi told the Cape Argus that Zille had arrived, got out of her car, but then turned on her heel and got back in.
Asked to comment, Zille said she had not climbed back into the car, but had gone to speak to refugees outside. She was not there to speak to the politicians.
"I went to speak to the refugees and to organise the opening of our community halls because we were in an emergency," she said on Thursday.
The latest move by the province is intended to put control of the estimated 19 000 displaced people in the hands of the provincial authorities. Up to now, city has been responsible for accommodating the displaced people, and the province responsible for food relief and blankets.
Rasool said the camps should "ideally" be closed because they removed displaced people from workplaces and schools, exacerbated health problems, made reintegration more difficult, and were perceived as "non-humanitarian".
So far the City of Cape Town has spent R100-million on providing alternative shelter for the immigrants, which Zille said was being done "on a shoestring budget".
She has defended the camps, saying it was sad that the ANC and non-government organisations were critical of the decision when it was these humanitarian agencies which had appealed to the city to set up the camps in the first place.
"It is very sad because we should be working together. No one has been forced to go to these camps and no one is being prevented from leaving," Zille said.
Rasool said his Cabinet would "utilise its resources to support those shelters (housing about 10 000 people) which are in or near communities, so that they are adequately cared for by maintaining an adequate human rights standard".
The province was to file a formal application to have certain parts of the Western Cape declared disaster areas today, and was hoping to get the go-ahead from the government by Friday.
Countering criticism that the government had not been pulling its weight so far, Rasool, who conducted his media briefing in the company of more than half his Cabinet yesterday, announced that feeding the displaced people had so far cost the province about R3-million, or R400 000 a day.
On Thursday night officials were working to locate open land for the province's planned community-based shelters, and unconfirmed reports indicate these will be in Khayelitsha, Philippi and at Masiphumelele.
Prime sites would be provincial-owned land situated close to communities and police stations, with re-integration over the next two months as the primary focus.
The Cape Argus has learnt that the 2000 community volunteers to assist with safety and mediation include former members of uMkhonto weSizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army.
A source said the volunteers' military background in camps in Angola, Mozambique and other parts of Africa would help address not only security concerns but also language barriers.
Volunteers would earn about R80 a day as part of the extended public works programme, and would not be armed.
Although Zille welcomed the premier's move to declare disaster areas, she said the planned community safe sites would have to be up and running before the province withdrew its support for the city's camps, or people would suffer.
Conceding that the camps were not ideal, she said they were "always meant to provide only temporary accommodation, so we are pleased that the province is now assisting with an alternative".
- Cape Argus
The province announced on Wednesday that it will set up its own safe sites and use 2 000 volunteers to help peacefully reintegrate the immigrants back into the communities from which they fled.
Premier Ebrahim Rasool went so far as to slam the council's controversial camps on the outskirts of the city and what he called the "unilateral decision by the city to remove people from the community halls to the remotest, coldest and inadequate beach camps around the city".In addition, Rasool said the province would apply urgently for parts of the Western Cape to be declared disaster areas, which he said would free up resources to "better manage" the humanitarian relief efforts.
The split between provincial and city authorities has been the subject of controversy all week, with civil society groups slamming the lack of joint planning, saying it is harming the relief effort.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Mayor Helen Zille chose not to attend a briefing last Thursday night at the Joint Operations Command about the Du Noon attacks with Rasool and Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane.
The JOC co-ordinates police and Disaster Management efforts.
The Black Sash's Nkosikhulule Nyembezi told the Cape Argus that Zille had arrived, got out of her car, but then turned on her heel and got back in.
Asked to comment, Zille said she had not climbed back into the car, but had gone to speak to refugees outside. She was not there to speak to the politicians.
"I went to speak to the refugees and to organise the opening of our community halls because we were in an emergency," she said on Thursday.
The latest move by the province is intended to put control of the estimated 19 000 displaced people in the hands of the provincial authorities. Up to now, city has been responsible for accommodating the displaced people, and the province responsible for food relief and blankets.
Rasool said the camps should "ideally" be closed because they removed displaced people from workplaces and schools, exacerbated health problems, made reintegration more difficult, and were perceived as "non-humanitarian".
So far the City of Cape Town has spent R100-million on providing alternative shelter for the immigrants, which Zille said was being done "on a shoestring budget".
She has defended the camps, saying it was sad that the ANC and non-government organisations were critical of the decision when it was these humanitarian agencies which had appealed to the city to set up the camps in the first place.
"It is very sad because we should be working together. No one has been forced to go to these camps and no one is being prevented from leaving," Zille said.
Rasool said his Cabinet would "utilise its resources to support those shelters (housing about 10 000 people) which are in or near communities, so that they are adequately cared for by maintaining an adequate human rights standard".
The province was to file a formal application to have certain parts of the Western Cape declared disaster areas today, and was hoping to get the go-ahead from the government by Friday.
Countering criticism that the government had not been pulling its weight so far, Rasool, who conducted his media briefing in the company of more than half his Cabinet yesterday, announced that feeding the displaced people had so far cost the province about R3-million, or R400 000 a day.
On Thursday night officials were working to locate open land for the province's planned community-based shelters, and unconfirmed reports indicate these will be in Khayelitsha, Philippi and at Masiphumelele.
Prime sites would be provincial-owned land situated close to communities and police stations, with re-integration over the next two months as the primary focus.
The Cape Argus has learnt that the 2000 community volunteers to assist with safety and mediation include former members of uMkhonto weSizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army.
A source said the volunteers' military background in camps in Angola, Mozambique and other parts of Africa would help address not only security concerns but also language barriers.
Volunteers would earn about R80 a day as part of the extended public works programme, and would not be armed.
Although Zille welcomed the premier's move to declare disaster areas, she said the planned community safe sites would have to be up and running before the province withdrew its support for the city's camps, or people would suffer.
Conceding that the camps were not ideal, she said they were "always meant to provide only temporary accommodation, so we are pleased that the province is now assisting with an alternative".
- Cape Argus
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