ALBERTON – “Is this is what we pay rates and taxes for?” asks David Greenwood. He is a resident of Mayberry Park who expresses concern about the condition of the broken wall on the corner of Melkhout and Ilala streets.
According to him, a vehicle had crashed into the wall that was erected to secure both the pipelines and the area. The wall has been in the same condition since 2013 around Easter.
The facility is being used as a dumping site where there are nappies and people urinate and relieve themselves in other ways on the grass area.
There are no lines on the road, stop sign or speed bumps to indicate that there is a sharp bend.
Freda Fagan (87), a resident in the area, suffers from asthma and emphysema and uses an oxygen tank. She says that the rubbish is not doing her any good. She has taken up the issue with the Parks Department. “I’d be glad if it could be cleared up,” she says.
Elizabeth Louw, another resident, says that they are sick and tired of the same story from the councillor who saying that there is no money. They have to sometimes pay the gardener of the complex to clean up the mess.
“We want to know when the wall is going to be fixed, or if this will remain a problem like the Swartkoppies bridge? Our rates keep going up but they don’t do anything for Mayberry Park,” said Elizabeth.
Councillor Michael Basch has responded by saying: “The wall was erected with my councillor’s discretion fund (Community-Based Planning Fund or CBP fund), an allocation of money that was given to the ward councillors on an annual basis for community-based projects. Michael’s response explaining this can be found on our letter/s pages.
