Two wards fight crime during clean-up

Several house criminals infamously plaguing residents of both Ward 85 and 89 resulted in the wards joining forces to conduct a huge A Re Sebetseng community clean-up on the Strubens Ridge on 16 March.

Thirty-two participants from various organisations divided themselves into small groups and went about cleaning up the greenbelt adjacent to Wilgerood and Christiaan De Wet Roads.

Ward 89 councillor Amelia Bester explained the reason behind the clean-up. “This initiative comes after several break-ins and robberies were reported by residents. Both the Constantia Village Residents Association and the Night Owls Community Group joined in on the operation,” she said.

While busy with the clean-up, Ward 85 councillor, Sonja Meyer, and her group came across a number of camps which were infested with litter and equipment suspected to be stolen. Sonja advised the squatters to find alternative accommodation as staying in the greenbelt was not safe for them or the local residents.

“We need to look into the situation where people live in our urban open spaces or greenbelts. There is no doubt that we definitely have a lack of housing which we need to address, and government has to build housing. However, the quick fix, for now, is to have the squatters taken into the informal settlements or to go to homeless shelters,” she said.

Amelia also added, “The idea is to fence the area as part of a Public Private Partnership. We need to secure our greenbelt for our own enjoyment. We have initiated a conversation with local business and corporate entities towards achieving this goal”.