Over the past 34 years Marius Grobler and his family had never experienced a break-in at his home on Vryburger Street. This was until September last year.
According to various residents of the areas earmarked for the multi-million rand sewer-replacement project, they have experienced a serious spike in crime since the project commenced during the last quarter of 2021.
“We are not pointing any fingers, but since the contract workers started moving into our streets and yards, we have experienced so many housebreakings, it’s not even funny. We can’t help but feel that our movements are being monitored,” he said.
While Marius managed to prevent three break-ins over the past few months, his neighbours weren’t so lucky. Within the past nine months at least six of his closest neighbours each had an average of two to four theft-related incidents.
Since crime incidents started spiking Marius had beefed up security around his house in the form of electric fencing, palisades, motion sensors, floodlights and CCTV cameras. His best efforts, however, were to no avail.
“Our property is still constantly marked with dead birds and rocks unearthed during construction. Our dogs were poisoned. When you drive through the streets you’ll just see heaps of rubble left behind by the construction workers. This is also concerning as the burglars are literally supplied the tools to break into one’s house,” he explained.
“It’s not just us – it’s everyone around us too. Our neighbours are pensioners and have become easy targets; they’ve lost so much due to theft. I can’t sleep at night because there’s always some sort of activity, whether it’s in our yard or a neighbour’s yard. We can’t do this anymore. We can’t keep feeling unsafe in our own homes.”
According to the City of Johannesburg the aim of this R75 million project is to bring relief to a suburb battling with aging infrastructure and repeated drain blockages. In February the project stood at 90 per cent completion and was expected to be finalised before the end of March.
In the meantime residents’ concerns are growing surrounding various issues that come with the prolonged project.
Joburg Water officials who were contacted for comment on the matter are yet to respond.
