Concerned residents said they have been fighting a losing battle for more than eight years to get rid of the vagrants.
According to them the owner of the plot has not responded positively to their plea. Residents said Gareth Coetser was the owner of the stand, but he denied it.
He said, “The property is not registered in my name, nor ever was. It is sold and transfer will go through next week. The new owner will be developing.”
Residents had escalated their complaints to the municipality, former councillor Dave Culverwell, the police, Metro police and the health department , but it seemingly fell on deaf ears.
Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck, who was also informed about the issue, was not available due to being out of the country.
Residents complained about the illegal land use, public drinking, noise pollution, rat infestation and harassment towards restaurant patrons.
When the reporter from this newspaper visited the site there were three vagrants sitting around. There was litter all over the property and it smelt of human excrement. Residents said there used to be a house on the vacant land but it was demolished. A security company was very helpful in sending patrols, but essentially it was out of its jurisdiction.
The security company’s Rian Majiet said, “The problem this is more of a municipality issue than the police. There is no real crime being committed. It is more of the informal congregation of people there.”
Spokesperson of the municipality Nthatise Madingoane failed to reply to questions at the time of going to print.
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