Residents in Princess informal settlement living in fear of huge falling trees
Community member suggested protests to be a possibility should solutions not be found soon.
Residents of the Princess informal settlement are living with the constant fear of destruction from above.
The tall trees that dot the greenbelt occupied by the growing settlement are becoming increasingly dangerous. The roots are coming loose and with every day the trees tilt a fraction more towards an inevitable meeting with the ground below. For the people who have made their homes in the shade of the trees, the nightly fears that they will be crushed are causing unbearable stress.
Community member, Siyabonga James, claims that the community have been trying for several months to have the responsible parties address the falling trees. Meetings among themselves have yielded multiple suggestions, from apathetic patience to the threat of protest. In the space of a month three trees have come crashing down and for Siyabonga, the possibility that a life could be ended means that the issue must be resolved as a matter of urgency.
Ward 85 councillor, Zoné Niemand offered an update of the situation and the progress being made. “Since the tree fell last December I have been in contact with Disaster Management. They did an inspection on January 13 after another tree fell whereby six shacks were affected with luckily no injuries or fatalities,” said Zoné.
This inspection recommended the intervention of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) but Zoné was told that the informal settlement now falls under the jurisdiction of the Housing Department. “Last week when another tree fell I contacted Housing and JCPZ to try and get someone to help. Housing informed that they would be sending out a team and that they were in contact with JCPZ; however, JCPZ informed that they didn’t received any word from Housing,” she stated.
JCPZ and the Housing Department have not yet responded to a request for comment, but JCPZ told the councillor that they would intervene, on condition they were escorted into the settlement by law-enforcement authorities.
Zoné concluded that the long-term solution was permanent housing for the residents, with a proposed three-year project in the pipeline. By then, how many trees may still be standing and what further destruction may be caused to those in and around the notorious settlement?
