A resident has slammed Yeoville SAPS and council for not doing enough to stem crime in the Observatory area, which he says is rife.
Speaking to the EXPRESS, Rafik Haasen, who resides in Observatory, said he has witnessed several robberies take place near Bezuidenhout Park, all of which is captured on his home CCTV system.
He said the park provides an easy get-away for criminals after they’ve committed a robbery or theft.
“Several people have been robbed in our road, which runs through the park,” said Haasen.
“Once a robber gets into the park, there is no chance of them being caught. They are gone. I’ve shown the broken off palisade around the park to the councillor in the area, but nothing has been done.”
The angry resident said a constant target of criminals near the vicinity of the park, which also neighbours his residence, are e-hailing drivers.
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He said CCTV cameras outside his home have captured at least three robberies of such passenger transport drivers in the past three months.
“These drivers were robbed right in front of my premises,” said Haasen, alleging that council has not made any intervention to stem the problem.
In addition, he said he is fed up with the lack of action, including the police, which has left him with no choice but to boycott payments of rates.
“As a resident in the area, I am very angry with the council. As a result, I have taken the decision to hold back rates until such time as they fix this,” said Haasen.
Ward 66 Clr Carlos Da Rocha said he has spoken to Haasen regarding his concerns, which he added were brought to his attention in December last year.
“I’ve gone out and met with the resident, and he showed me a couple of holes in the fence,” said Da Rocha.
“I said to him I’d bring it up with City Parks, but realistically speaking, everybody is on leave during that time,” he added.
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“These things can’t be fixed overnight, especially not during December. However, I have since escalated the issue and now need to allow for turn-around time.
“These are, of course, parks and people are obviously stealing metal. But his happens all across Joburg. It’s one of those things.”
The EXPRESS requested comment from Yeoville Saps. At the time of publication no comment had been received.
