Residents say city’s parks not safe

POLOKWANE – Homeless people who make use of public parks to sleep in at night have become a problem for some residents in the city who feel that these parks, in which their children play during the day, are no longer safe.

One resident, who did not wish to be named in the interest of safety, told Review she had been with her children at the park on the corner of Devenish and Burger Street when they were approached by a man who was clearly homeless.

“After we asked him not to bother us, I decided to watch him to see where he was going.

“He went to a sort of enclosure on the grounds.

“He had been sleeping on a bench there and it looked like he had gathered wood for a fire,” she said.

In another recent incident at the same park, Koos Nel, who is an elderly resident, was approached by one of his neighbours, a young mother.

“She said two young men had been watching her and her two small children from the park.

“She said when she confronted them she was sworn at and they threatened her, saying they knew where she lived,” he said.

Nel said he decided to come to her defence.

“I crossed the street with my knobkierie in my hand and chased the two men down the street,” he said.

He said he understood the danger he could have been in but, in his experience, the police took hours to react to calls.

He said that the police often urged residents to report suspicious characters, but when they did, police officials asked whether anyone was hurt.

“If nobody was hurt, the matter is usually ignored.”

Another resident said he and his neighbours who live near parks in Flora Park, had been victims of burglaries over the past month.

“The parks offer a place for people to sit unnoticed while they watch the comings and goings at the houses across the road,” he opined.

According to sector policing managers, WO Tlou Manamela (Sector 3 between Webster and Church Street), and Capt Mohlaka Mashiane (Sector 9 including Ladanna and Westenburg), they had had problems in the past with people who sleep in public parks in their sectors, but regular patrols by police officials had taken care of that problem.

Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, said the police did follow up complaints in this regard and had been working with the community policing forums in each area to prevent these types of problems.

Municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene, said no one was permitted to sleep in public parks.

She said the city’s parks that were fenced off were locked at night for safety.

However, on being asked about those parks that cannot be locked, she said she was unaware of any parks in the city that were left open at night and added that unlocked parks should be reported to the municipality at (015) 290 2000.