Popular Facebook page coordinator shares his knowledge and feelings over infamous Westdene property

WESTDENE – Coordinator of the Facebook page Westdene and Sophiatown Crows has expressed the displeasure 10A has caused for the community.

The Facebook page Westdene and Sophiatown Crows (Concerned Residents of Westdene and Sophiatown) has endless posts on the community’s dissatisfaction with the infamous 10A property in Westdene. The page has addressed issues such as alleged criminal activity taking place there, the deplorable state of health and safety and all the failures to resolve the issues with the property.

Frikke Botes, coordinator of the page shared his issues and views with the property.

Here is what he had to say:

What is the community’s problem with 10A?

From about 2002, the church which occupied that building left and the owner just didn’t seem to care about it anymore. There are 60 plus rooms illegally built there and about 200 to 300 people moved in there together with alleged criminals. Over the last five years, it escalated out of hand with regular burglaries, street robberies, drug dealings and more that the community has put down to 10A residents. Residents are at the end of their patience with the council who they believe have taken bribes from the owner.

That place is lowering the house values around it. The house next door to it was on the market for R1-million but could only get around R600 000. 10A is turning Westdene into a rotten slum, slowly but surely. We feel that the entities in power, lie to the public and keep us pacified with false promises. In 2017, an MMC for the City responded to a post on Crows stating it was looked into – two years later, still nothing and I’m sure it will remain nothing for the next 100 years if we as residents don’t stand up against these empty promises.

What has been done over the years to try to resolve the matter?

Since 2009 people started complaining about it, only since 2013 I got involved with it. I have been sending emails to Sophiatown police, putting articles in the local newspaper and constantly complaining to the councillors Katja Nauman and now Genevieve Sherman.

What have local authority’s done or told you they would do about 10A?

Local authority constantly told us that they will look into the matter and they will resolve it. As of yet, we are still waiting for something to be done.

How would you like to see this matter being handled in the near future?

That place must be torn down. It is illegally built, there’s no water nor electricity and it is a health hazard. One person and a baby have died there in the last year. It is a safety hazard after it nearly burned down in August last year. There are no toilets and the 200 plus residents defecate in bags and put it in Pikitup bins weekly.

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