A business owner in Wilgeheuwel is on a mission to find whomever is responsible for the veld area behind the new Pick ‘n Pay in Johan Road, and hold them accountable for its current state of decay.
Local business owner Jan Giebelmann thinks the main reason for the deterioration is the migrant workers hired to build the new townhouse complexes around the shopping centre. The complexes are being developed by property developer Genesis Projects.
Temporary housing has been set up for the workers, where they are forced to live in squalor. “There is one single toilet for all these ‘migrant’ builders, and apparently it doesn’t even work properly”, sai Giebelmann. “And there is human excrement all over the place. Especially down by the wetland area which has become a giant toilet.”
Cable theft is also rife, as well as illegal dumping and man-hole covers being stolen on a regular basis. Makeshift tents have sprung up in the veld, the occupants adding to the mess by burning rubbish every night.
Giebelmann has taken Genesis Projects head on by approaching the health department, Johannesburg City Parks, Hellopeter, and the South African Human Rights Commission on the issue.
Genesis Projects have said these problems have been noted, and they will do what they can to resolve as many of the issues as possible. They said, however, that cable and man-hole cover theft, as well as the illegal dumping, is beyond their control.
