Have your say about displaced people
SANDTON – The grave issue of displaced persons in Sandton will be at the forefront of conversation at a meeting held on 26 October.
Many residents have expressed concern about the people who were previously displaced from George Lea Park and once again removed during the park’s big clean-up earlier this month.
Community members will have a chance to air their views during a public meeting at Rosebank Union Church, situated on the corner of William Nicol Drive and St Andrews Road, at 6pm on 26 October.
Ward 90 councillor, Martin Williams, said many of the displaced people have moved into other parks and open spaces in surrounding areas, raising humanitarian and security concerns.
This matter was discussed in the Sandton Chronicle article, The problem has just been moved, Week ending 14 October. It was reported that the displaced persons who had been removed from the park had moved to surrounding land such as the land directly next to Rosehaven Retirement Village.
Williams added that councillors were being inundated with complaints from residents. In response to criticisms that the City was ‘doing nothing’ for those who left the newly fenced area, he pointed out that the City’s Displaced People’s Unit (DPU) visited George Lea Park several times over the past month, as did the Lesotho Consulate and Lesotho Home Affairs.
“Official efforts to deal with the social consequences of the clean-up have met with limited success, partly because most of the people living in the park were not interested in relocation.” He stressed that there are no official shelters in the vicinity.
Williams said that more than half of the 172 Lesotho nationals assisted by the DPU had no documentation at all, which presented legal problems.
“In addition, it is illegal to erect shelters in the City’s parks. There is little doubt that City bylaws have been and continue to be violated.”
Williams added, however, that while the City’s new administration is determined to enforce bylaws, it is sensitive to humanitarian considerations.
As ward councillor for the area around George Lea Park, he would strive for a solution that is both firm, successful and humane.
