Unsanitary conditions at the Plastic View informal settlement in the east of Pretoria came under the spotlight again, with nearby residents complaining about makeshift washing lines and public bathing.
“People are washing their clothes in the stream running near our estate,” said a resident who only wanted to be identified as “Sharon” to Pretoria East Rekord.
“On weekends, hundreds of people would hang out their laundry to dry directly in the veld in front of our estate.”
Plastic View, the informal settlement near Hillside and Meadow Glen estates in Moreleta Park, has been in existence for more than a decade.
ALSO READ: PICS: Tshwane plans to move Plastic View’s undocumented foreign nationals
“We have been living here for 15 years,” said Sharon.
“However, we are thinking of selling our property before it loses more value because of Plastic View.”
Sharon said that Plastic View residents washing their clothes at the veld was only one of several related problems in the area.
“We also see naked men bathing in the same stream they wash their clothes in,” the resident complained.
“They don’t even try to hide from passing motorists. What if children see them? Sies!”
The resident said a taxi rank, informal car wash, prostitution, and piles of rubbish heaps accumulating were also issues.
“Just the other day, we saw some men emerge from a nearby shopping centre pushing a wheelbarrow filled with beer crates straight to Plastic View. They are running shebeens there.
“We often hear gunshots as well,” she said.
She said although the metro police removed the laundry the month before, Plastic View residents washing their clothes at the stream were back again only the following day.
Tshwane human settlements MMC Richard Moheta said the municipality could not do much about the Plastic View settlement because of a court order.
Also, most of the residents at Plastic View cannot be moved to formal housing because they are undocumented foreign nationals and do not qualify for state housing.
“Even if we did build housing for the ones who qualify, it would make only a tiny difference in the population of the squatter camp,” said Moheta.
“We regularly send metro cops to raid informal settlements, but the residents simply run away or come back the following day. Even though they are living in inhumane conditions, they don’t want to leave.
“That’s why it sometimes appears as though the municipality isn’t doing anything about camps like Plastic View.”
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