BULWER Community Safety Forum’s monthly meeting on Tuesday was very informative, with speakers covering topics which were well-received by the good turnout of community members.
Guest speaker, Haroon Wadee, a PhD student from Johannesburg, spoke to residents about his research study into the lives of whoonga users at the Dalton Hostel.
Haroon has been immersing himself in the life at Dalton, trying to understand the key issues and the social structure of whoonga users at street level.
“Most of the people at Dalton are earning a living either through begging or car guarding, however there is a group of people making their living through crime. I am trying to understand how much the users are smoking, the cost of the drug, life on the street as well as their relationship with the police. I am dealing with perspectives, trying to understand how the people deal with life on the street,” he said.
He said the men live in a parallel economy and society which is different from the rest of the community. “There is a lot of fear on both sides, and this subject is more complex than just understanding who the dealers are,” he said.
Wadee said there was a great sense of community among the users, a lot of whom are children, and who have no one else. “Whoonga contains heroin, it is incredibly addictive, and the users fear withdrawal and will do anything to get a fix. We are trying to pilot a project to try to substitute methadone, the introduction of which will help them and ultimately reduce crime. It’s about the power of the addiction and how it transforms them, more than about crime. We also have to come up with a strategy in line with human rights,” he said.
Another topic of discussion was the proposed development of more flats at Davenport Square.
Chairperson, Heather Rorick, addressed residents on the proposal to covert commercial space at the centre into 70 residential flats. “This will mean close on 400 more people living in the building, which is going to impact everyone. It will affect parking, which is already a problem, and traffic flow, and with proposed flats being rented to students, this could mean added noise and disturbance issues,” she said.
Chairman of the body corporate, Leon Gorman, said the owners, SA Retail, had met with the trustees and ensured high quality units, not intended for students, however at a recent meeting, they noticed information in a brochure which stated that ‘students would be spoilt for choice’ with the new accommodation.
“These are tiny units, essentially the size of two garages, and I am convinced they will be rented to students. The body corporate is not in favour of it and we are concerned about the impact on our flats as property value will drop, and about the parking. We have been effectively told that SA Retail will be going ahead with its plans, and that they will not negotiate. It will be up to the municipality to assess the plans and make the decision,” he said.
Residents at the meeting confirmed they would be against these plans, and Gorman and Georgina Sinclair from managing agent, Independent Estates, said they urged residents to support the objection when the rezoning application goes through.
“We need to have a voice as the community and as ratepayers, we have to fight this,” said Rorick.
