JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – A post on social media continues to make the rounds where a resident refers to an incident which took place at Rietvlei Zoo Farm.
In the post, there was an appeal for residents to boycott the premises until alleged security risks are attended too. Rietvlei Zoo Farm has addressed these allegations and assure residents of their safety at the family friendly location.
Rietvlei Zoo Farrm’s Toni Mackrell addressed concerns and said: “Unfortunately, Rietvlei Zoo Farm had a crime incident last week (in July), where a lady cyclist’s bike was stolen from her while she was riding alone on the green trail bordering the Liefde en Vrede fence. It has been posted all over Facebook and we would like to apologise for this incident and express our concern and give our comments.
“We have since had a meeting with the lady cyclist together with Wendell Bole that manages the Cycle Hub and Rietvlei Trails at Rietvlei Zoo Farm. Wendell has decided to close the green trail (closed for single riders only and not groups – see Rietvlei Cycle Park Facebook page) as this green trail goes through the forest and is far away from most of the activities at Rietvlei Zoo Farm.
“We have noticed that parts of the fencing on the Liefde en Vrede border were taken down or fell down and we are in the process of fixing the fence. Over the years, we have had many pieces of the perimeter fence stolen or vandalised by vagrants. Rietvlei management have noticed that there are more people living in the bushes in the surrounding area and there has been a dramatic increase of strangers loitering and littering the streets and in the bushes and dumping in the streets.
“We all agreed that the crime in and around the South is increasing and we need to stand together to start doing something about this. Join the local CPF, become a volunteer, get involved with cleaning up your community and help us fight crime. Get the people of the South to stand together. Together we need to try help fight crime in our areas and make a difference. We are all concerned about the level of crime in the South and, in general, South Africa. Once again, we apologise for this unfortunate incident.”
