Following weeks of unrest at the Sherwood community hall, eThekwini Municipality has initiated a major cleaning operation to address the litter and noise disturbances caused by undocumented foreign nationals camping outside the facility.
Image: Sipho Jack
The eThekwini Municipality has launched a clean-up operation at the Sherwood Community Hall and surrounding areas following weeks of unrest, during which undocumented foreign nationals camped outside the facility, leaving behind large volumes of litter and unpleasant odours.
The operation commenced on Monday in response to concerns raised by local residents and the need to restore order in the area.
Local resident Amir Naiker described the situation as intolerable.
"The smell coming from the hall was terrible, and the amount of litter was too much," he said.
While expressing concern for the people who had been living in such conditions, Naiker said peace had now returned to the neighbourhood.
"I'm not glad that people are struggling, but I am glad that now we can sleep peacefully at night, considering the noise that was coming from that side," he said, referring to the disturbances residents had experienced over recent weeks.
For two weeks, scores of displaced foreign nationals camped outside the Sherwood hall amid fears linked to anti-illegal immigration protests.
In an effort to manage the influx and reduce the impact on the surrounding community, city authorities relocated many of them to the old Drive-In site at North Beach last week.
During a visit to the facility on Saturday, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba spoke to the media about the initiative.
He said the new staging area would enable authorities to better manage access and maintain an accurate record of individuals seeking assistance.
"Law enforcement personnel continue to do sterling work in restoring law and order at the Sherwood site, including providing escorts for the buses travelling to court and then to these facilities," he said.
On Friday alone, authorities dispatched eight buses carrying 784 people returning to Malawi as part of broader efforts to address the situation.
Xaba said the municipality was shifting from deportation to repatriation, a process he noted offered several advantages.
"This process is less bureaucratic as it is implemented through cooperation with the Malawian government and does not require court processes," he said.