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Taking back the Koppies one piece at a time

MELVILLE – DA MP James Lorimer has provided an update on the campaign in assisting the cluster communities to take back the the Melville Koppies.

DA MP James Lorimer recently provided an update on a extensive campaign to improve the security and maintenance of the Melville Koppies.

Lorimer explained that the campaign was started by the Linden Constituency of the DA. The constituency is considered an arbitrary area that encompasses seven municipal wards.

Lorimer explained that the Koppies serves as an important resource for Johannesburg. “The Melville Koppies is an amazing natural resource which is literally sitting on our doorstep. It is a fantastic area for recreation and outdoor activities. It contains a host of unique plant species and bird life. The sad part is that it is barely being used.The main reason is that it is just not safe,” Lorimer said.

A number of avenues have been considered by the campaigners.”The main question is how we can we safely secure the Koppies. We have launched a petition to ‘take back the Koppies’ which has been positively received by the community – currently we have over a

1 000 signatures already and we would like a lot more,” he said.

Lorimer pointed out that one of their actions would be to get a greater police presence involved at the Koppies. “The signed petition will not only be sent to the City but also to Provincial, because they oversee the South African Police Service (SAPS). With more regular patrols we can ensure that criminal activities at the Koppies can be stopped in their tracks,” he added.

“Our next step is to set up a meetings with the relevant park representatives of Johannesburg, surrounding institutions that could utilise the Koppies for positive recreational activities once the security situation has been solved and improved,” Lorimer concluded.

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