For almost three decades, Florida resident, Steve Cilliers has had to endure the problems associated with vacant land next to his residence on Pioneer Avenue.
According to Steve houses were demolished in 1993/ 1994 so that a parking area could be established.
“As far as I know the now Unisa campus was only allowed to be built if provision was made for the vehicles. It’s been a quarter of a century and now we’re stuck with undeveloped land and a constant parking problem. I just want to know why they’ve never developed the parking lot and when they plan on doing so,” he said.
The land remained vacant and rubble-strewn until 2003 when it was cleaned up, fenced and occasionally cleared of vegetation. From August 2010 to mid 2012 – during the construction of the Unisa Science Laboratories – the land was used as a dumping site.
“After completion of the Science Laboratories, the land remained vacant and was cleaned sporadically, normally after I had lodged a complaint with the City of Johannesburg Environmental Health Department. This is how it has been going on for years,” he said.
Even though he has reported the issue to various officials, ward councillors and mayors over the past 30 years, his plight continues to fall on deaf ears. Currently, the land is overgrown with weeds, shrubbery and grass taller than 1,6m.
“This is the perfect breeding ground for rodents and snakes. It’s also easy for anyone (who dares) to enter the grounds, as part of the fence had fallen into disrepair. If the council doesn’t care about me and this issue, it might be safe to assume they don’t care about anyone,” Steve said.
