UPDATE: Emma Park dumping dilemma is being addressed
LINDEN – Ward 99 councillor, Nicole van Dyk, says she is doing all she can to address Emma Park's problems while keeping each of her residents' views in mind.
Ward 99 councillor, Nicole van Dyk, gave an update on Linden’s Emma Park and said she is doing all she can about the difficult situation on the park’s heritage section.
She met with the Northcliff Melville Times and emphasised that she has been working on the problem for quite some time.
READ : Linden Bowling Club has had enough of Emma Park dumping
She said one of the first big interventions at the park was to kick-off the Linden A Re Sebetseng at the park, which she invited Mayor Herman Mashaba to in September last year.
Van Dyk explained that the A Re Sebetseng at the park was successful and continued to be so in October and November last year.
With regard to the situation of displaced reclaimers living at the foot of the heritage site’s hill, an informal agreement was reached during Mashaba’s visit.
The understanding – based on possible human rights abuses should they be forcibly removed – was that the displaced men, approximately 15, would stay as long as they keep a watchful eye over the area and keep it clean.
Although this was the agreement, Van Dyk said something happened over the festive season which led to the heritage side of Emma Park being filled with all kinds of litter. She added that when she and residents arrived at the site for the January A Re Sebetseng, they found the place in a worse state than before.
She said she called for urgent intervention by Metro police as well as social workers. She said that only two of the 15 men wanted assistance from the social workers to find alternative accommodation.
Van Dyk has also set up a meeting with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation to find a way forward. She said while they are responsible for the heritage side of Emma Park, they are not an entity of the City.
This means the City doesn’t allocate a budget for the upkeep of heritage sites.
She said she understands the social issue at hand and said the only thing to do at this point is to keep the park clean while looking for nuanced solutions through consulting with various stakeholders.
