Post office is home to vagrants

WHAT used to be respectable and safe buildings, where people could send and receive important letters and parcels from their loved ones, has turned into homes for vagrants.

The New Germany and Pinetown post offices are in a shocking state and residents no longer feel safe going there.

New Germany CPF chairman, Tony da Canha, said criminals recently stripped aluminium at the front, “the staff could not even go inside when they reported for work as the ceiling was hanging and blocked the entrance door.”

“The New Germany post office has been constantly broken into at night due to no security in the area. Since March, the situation has worsened as criminals have stolen aluminium and rails.”

There are elderly people who use the post office and depend on the railing for support.

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Da Canha, who has been a New Germany resident for 37 years, said the New Germany Post Office some time back was completely rebuilt to accommodate the needs of the people within the area. It was well supported and used mostly by businesses as well as residents.

“But today, due to the advanced computer technology, many businesses and residents use the internet to do their work. This is quicker and much safer.”

“I personally think the number of people who use the post office has also decreased due to the crime in the area. This is not in New Germany only but is also the pattern in other areas.Whenever I go into the post office it usually very quiet,” he said.

He said the issue is that vagrants/homeless people sleep in the passages and urinate and defecate causing major problems.

Da Canha added that he has on many occasions asked the manager to arrange security guards, “but apparently this has to be approved by higher authorities which does not seem to happen.”

Pinetown SAPS communications officer, W/O Muzi Maphumulo, said the police are aware of the vagrants who sleep in the post office premises.

“We do sometimes chase them away if we see them, but that is a private property and the management need to deal with this matter.

Maphumulo said they have “engaged with the post office on numerous occasions about hiring security guards to monitor that area.

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“With regards to the crime, I can not comment much as I am not aware of any cases in the Pinetown Post office, but it is very disturbing to find people sleeping in the passages when one needs to use the post office services.

The Highway Mail sent emails and made a number of calls to SA Post Office communications officer, Nobuhle Njapha, but no response was received for the last two weeks.