Homeless people need state shelters, but there are none in the Buffalo City Metro.
An estimated 200 vagrants living in the bush in the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve were a growing threat to public safety that needed to be met with legal force, Off Track was told.
However, the key actors involved showed a deep sensitivity to the complex underlying issues involved in how people fall to the depths of vagrancy and homelessness, and how to solve them.
About 50% of the Eastern Cape’s labour force is unemployed, according to the latest unemployment rates released by Stats SA in February based on a labour force survey done in Q4 of 2025.
Figures for the metro are not easily available but sit at about 42%.
BCM did not respond to Off Track’s queries about the crisis.
Meanwhile, scores of homeless camps are being set up in the bush and forest above the Nahoon beach and river and elsewhere in the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve.
Teacher Dean Knox — who is the director of Jonginenge Eco- Adventure, chairs Tidy Towns in the city and works and surfs in the reserve — has had more interaction with the bush dwellers than most.
He knows most of their names and stories and interacts with many in isiXhosa. “Vagrancy is a complex issue. People don’t have anywhere to go,” he said.
“The reserve is attractive because there is an abundance of food scraps.
“There’s a lot of bush so the guys can creep out of sight.
“They are desperate and bring with them opportunistic crime. They make a mess. Many are unstable.”
He estimates that about 200 people are living in the bush in Nahoon.
“The way most vulnerable people are treated is somewhat of an indictment of our society.
“There are not enough institutions to accommodate people with mental health issues or who are homeless.
“The huge problem highlights a deficiency in our society.
“These people are not catered for. There are no shelters, which makes it difficult when homeless people are removed from a nature reserve.
“[Constitutionally] if you knock down their shack you are supposed to take them somewhere.
“There is nowhere to take them. I don’t know what the solution is, but I know that some places, like the Border-Kei Chamber of Business and our local councillor, are trying to wrap their heads around this because the two go hand-in- hand — homelessness and lack of provision for these guys.
“Some are substance abusers, and some don’t want help even if it is available. Some are criminals like izinyoka [cable thieves]. It’s a complex issue but it needs to be solved.”
DA councillor Jason McDowell said: “The immediate solution is to go through the bush and remove the guys, but where do they go to?
“Our major problem is that the constitution says they have to go to a place of safety — and that place has not been provided.
“That is a big issue that needs to be looked at by the city. Once we have that, some guys will take the help, not everybody.
“But some vagrants will be helped, and they will move out the area. We need proper and continuous — daily — policing and a place for the guys to stay.”
Kevin Harris, of Save Nahoon, agreed, but added: “The risk to the reserve cannot be overlooked while authorities show zero commitment to the task of solving this complex issue and allow it to become a far larger task daily.
“The escalation of the problem has to be brought into focus and, in the interim, risks must be mitigated within the legal framework available to the reserve.”
Broubart Security says “strong partnerships between the community, law enforcement and responsible security providers are essential to maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all”. Daily Dispatch
