Eyal Sarig and other residents were concerned about the rubbish collected by squatters. He said, “Residents of the 36-unit complex had a view of the rubbish dump and constant traffic caused by squatters.
A truck full of logs from building sites tried to dump the rubbish they were carrying but employees from Nungu, a company next to the site, circled the truck with their vehicles and stopped it.”
Sarig added, “Crime has risen in the area dramatically. We have had six break-ins but the Midrand police have not yet made progress with investigations. Metro police were quick to respond and they helped by burning the bush and chasing away the squatters. In this case we are all losers. The squatters lose their things and the residents on New Road have security issues to worry about.”
Themba Ndhlovu, a squatter who lost his belongings said, “It is not fair that the police can just burn our things and not move us to a new place. It’s not just our things we keep here, we live here too. Tonight I don’t know where I will sleep.”
Metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said the biggest problem with the squatter camps around Midrand is that there are young children living there too. “On the New Road site we found a one-month-old baby living there. We called in social services who came in to assist the woman and her baby. Metro police even helped with busfare for the woman to take her child to live with her family in Pretoria. The area at 5 New Road has been burnt and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
A spokesperson for Nungu, Ockert Rheeders commented, “Every week the dump grew; even though the police have just burnt the place, the squatters may come back again. The entrance to our offices has changed to 7th Road because of the problem we had with squatters.”
