Cape Town dismisses ‘malicious’ poster telling residents not to feed the homeless

The City of Cape Town has distanced itself from a “malicious” poster that urges residents not to feed homeless people. 

“The City of Cape Town will handle social cleansing. Do not feed the homeless,” reads the poster shared by a Twitter user who asked what the city is doing to help the homeless.

The city distanced itself from the poster, calling it malicious, and said the city had neither designed nor sanctioned it. 

“The city is aware of what appears to be a malicious sticker — it was not designed or sanctioned by the city. We will liaise with the management of the shopping centre where this sticker was apparently spotted,” it said, adding that it sets aside R65m a year to alleviate homelessness.

In March, the city announced plans to bolster care programmes aimed at helping the homeless.

It said the past two years of the national state of disaster and the Covid-19 pandemic had heightened the homelessness crisis in the city. 

An additional R10m was allocated to increase capacity in shelters for the homeless. 

“It is not an offence to sleep on the streets if you do not have a choice. Only after refusing offers of shelter and social assistance should the law take its course as a necessary last-resort deterrent for the sustainable management of public places.

“The city encourages courts and prosecutors to ensure that rehabilitation is favoured over punitive fines and imprisonment.”