Champion of homeless claims R500m from Durban
● A David and Goliath battle will play out in the Durban high court tomorrow when one of the biggest claims against the eThekwini municipality is expected to be heard more than five years after it was lodged.
The Ark Christian Ministries is suing the city for more than R500m for allegedly failing to find alternative accommodation for its church and shelter for the homeless.
The shelter, which housed at least 900 homeless people and fed more than 1,000 daily, was evicted in 2004 to make way for the upmarket Point development.
Fifteen years later, the building stands empty and The Ark claims that the more than R10m grant that it qualified for was never released as promised for “relocation and establishment costs of infrastructure”.
The city denies this and is defending the court action. “Please note that this matter is sub judice and as a result we are not in a position to comment on it,” said municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela. “We should, however, stress that the welfare of all our residents will always be our priority. We are therefore calling upon the members of the media to give us space to prepare for this trial.”
The Ark Ministries chair, Dr Peter Munns, told the Sunday Times the organisation had sunk with the eviction and that about 400 residents “relocated” by the city were still living in “appalling conditions” in Cato Manor and Welbedacht.
“Some were taken as far as Cape Town. We have no idea where the others were taken,” he said.
In court papers, The Ark claims that when the city approached it with plans for the Point area in 1999, the municipality promised to identify and secure an alternative building and provide suitable relocation.
The Ark then committed to undergo an accreditation process with the KwaZulu-Natal
department of housing to acquire the grant. The department approved the R10.9m grant and deposited the money into the municipality’s housing unit account in 2001.
Since then The Ark has battled to get the city to release the funds, even when it found several suitable buildings to purchase, said Munns. The damages due to the city’s “neglect to obtain a suitable property or place and buildings for The Ark” amounted to R500m, he said.
“This is almost a David and Goliath case. I am not an attorney. I am not an advocate. But I will be representing The Ark in court. This case is not about money. It is about restorative justice, restitution and the need for the homeless shelter to be rebuilt.
“The claim is for the return of the grant funds and the costs to replace the destroyed institution,” he said.
Sbu Ntuli said: The people at the Ark organised a job for me. I was working and living there until the eviction.” He has been living in Cato Manor since The Ark closed.
“I am now unemployed. I have nothing. I am now married and have three children. We live in one room. We have nowhere else to go.” Ntuli said he would be at court tomorrow to support The Ark’s bid.