“Fed up with Vagrants” writes:
I would like to know what can be done to remove the beggars squatting on the corner of Miles Sharp and Pretoria roads.
They were recently squatting on the pavement next to the Bunny Park but have now moved back onto the corner.
My question is what ablutions are they using and why has no one done anything about it.
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My worry is it will invite more vagrants into the area which we have already seen happen.
There are places where these people can go but they refuse to go there because they are not allowed to drink or take drugs and they are given menial jobs to cover their costs.
What makes me sick is I saw someone who stays at a nearby estate hand them R100 the other day.
They went straight into the bottle store.
Clearly the guy doesn’t care where they stay as he is in the “estate”, so he doesn’t worry about vagrants.
How do we get rid of these guys?
I have now had to chase someone from sleeping on my pavement twice in the last few weeks as it seems even the CPF is nonexistent in the area.
Editor’s Note: The CPF, EMPD and ward 27 Cllr Jacques Meiring were contacted regarding the vagrants in the area.
CPF’s response from Sector One chairman Brandon Scott: We are well aware of the squatters at the corner of Miles Sharp and Pretoria roads. We have escalated this from Sector One CPF to EMPD on three different occasions now. The squatters have been removed twice by EMPD but they simply return. We are now told by the SAPS that the Department of Social Services needs to address the problem as they have no housing available to move these squatters. We will do our level best to escalate this matter once again and hope that the matter will receive the necessary attention from government. We gladly welcome the complainants to attend our monthly CPF meetings to see what we actually do as they claim that we are non-existent. Then, hopefully they would be able to bring some assistance to our team of volunteers. Like all the beggars at robots in our town who pose a huge risk to themselves as well as to us as motorists, this situation is equally frustrating as we get absolutely no resolve from the authorities.
EMPD’s response from media liaison officer Lerato Monyane: The EMPD will look into it, but there is nothing more that the region can do as these people are being removed and they keep coming back. Social development should come with a strategy to address the challenge as it is not only Benoni, but the whole metro.
The City Times is still awaiting for comment from Clr Jacques Meiring.
