“We as residents of the area are feeling helpless at this stage, as our calls to the council are falling on deaf ears and the police are doing little to nothing to stop the activities,” the complainant argued.
Apparently, there are illegal tenants living in the house and in a shed on the property, who are busy with “all sorts of illegal activities”.
“They are involved in electrical cable theft – we have seen them burning off the plastic around the electrical cables on more than one occasion,” said the complainant.
“We have reported this to the police; they come to the property and then just observe and leave again.”
The complainant also reported that illegal rubbish dumping was taking place on the property. Apparently the illegal tenants charge those who dump the goods, a fee.
Allegedly, there’s no water or electricity supply to the property.
“The tenants use the veld as ablution facilities which poses clear health risks to the residents in the area; the smell is unbearable at times,” said the complainant.
“The illegal tenants are also engaging in the sale of drugs and prostitution; they hide the drugs in shallow trenches which they cover with sheet metal. When the police visit the property there is no evidence or they simply bribe the police to turn a blind eye.”
According to the EMPD spokesperson, Wilfred Kgasago, the said house has been under the EMPD’s scrutiny for some time and their investigations have, thus far, revealed the following:
• The people living at the address claim they are paying rent to a person by the name of Pat.
• The EMPD is in the process of trying to locate a man named Pat.
• Thus far, no criminal activities have been detected.
Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe said they are aware of the reported illegal activities at the property and an investigation will be carried out by the Environmental Health division.
“A notice was served to the plot owner to address all health-related matters. When the notice expired, the matter was referred to Corporate and Legal for further intervention,” said Gadebe.
In the interim, the EMPD will monitor the property for any criminal activities.
