President’s Office responds to resident’s complaint
Meeting to be called to address various problems.
Jean-Pierre Ardinoit’s woes in Canary Street finally might come to an end thanks to President Jacob Zuma’s office.
Ardinoit was contacted by a representative of the President’s Office at 8pm one Friday evening early in September after he had lodged a complaint on 19 August.
Ardinoit says the exchange was quite comical because the person asked him how to reply his email. He explained that one has to use the ‘reply’ function. Then the man wanted to know how he could contact Ardinoit to which he replied that he had just phoned him. He says the man’s grasp of the English language also was questionable. Nevertheless on 10 September he received an email acknowledging that the Presidents’ Office received his complaint and that Roodepoort SAPS had been instructed to investigate it.
Ardinoit’s complaint includes the misbehaviour of pupils and parents of West Ridge High School pertaining to their hurling abuse at the residents, irresponsible road use in Canary Street, as well as incidents where police vehicles and taxis had gone in the wrong direction in the one-way street. He also had been threatened by police officers and taxi drivers when he confronted them about their lawless behaviour. Ardinoit has a stack of photographic evidence of the infringements, but on previous occasions when he wanted to hand it to Roodepoort Police, he was told the “courts are too full”. Over the years he received no cooperation from the school, which has a policy of “what happens outside the school is not our problem”. Out of desperation and with little hope he turned to the President’s Office.
Major Natasha Calitz of the Roodepoort Police has set out the way forward as two-fold. In an email to Ardinoit she says photos of the police members in a Diepsloot vehicle “will be submitted to their Commander for further steps and action” and “from Roodepoort SAPS side, the Visible Policing Commander, Colonel Van Rooyen, has assured me that they will enhance visibility around West Ridge High School, especially Canary Street. This will include meetings with the taxi associations responsible and see how they can resolve the issues.” She also asked to have a meeting with Ardinoit and other role-players in the near future.
Roodepoort Police spokesperson Nonhlanhla Kumhalo says she only recently became aware of the problem when an article appeared in the record in September. She was not aware of the instruction from the President’s Office and asked to first confirm it with the Major.
Aubrey van der Merwe, deputy principal of West Ridge High School says he is not allowed to comment but asks that an invitation to attend the meeting be directed to the principal or the chairperson of the governing body.
