Illegal shacks in Kew
KEW – Illegal shack dwellers threaten economic opportunities for locals.
Shacks have been erected on the pavement of 12th Road in Kew and are blocking the back entrance of a local company, Sandown Furniture.
The illegal shack dwellers have built shacks against the boundary wall of the business and have allegedly broken the barbed wire on the wall to gain access to zinc sheets from the factory which they have used to build their shacks.
They have also allegedly connected their shacks illegally to electricity and pour sewage on the road. There are portable toilets, but they are overflowing with sewage and dead rats lie in the human excrement.
Read: Illegal shacks reach new heights
Ward 81 councillor, Irene Rugheimer said these conditions force business owners to move from the area which her ward can ill afford as they create employment for the locals.
“These people are harming the economic development in Ward 81. Many of these factories and businesses employ people in the area and if they leave the area or close down their business it will create more unemployment,” said Rugheimer.
She said the shack dwellers have no consideration for the economic development of the area, yet they all want employment.
Read: Fire destroys over 200 shacks in Cleveland
By building on the sidewalks, the ward councillor said they are causing others to walk on the street with the traffic and this is dangerous.
“They are also blocking the way for any service delivery which they expect the City to supply,” Rugheimer said.
On 12th Road, the shack dwellers have built to an extent that Pikitup, City Power or Joburg Water can no longer gain access.
“They don’t consider the fact that should there be a fire, there is no access in order to contain or put out the fire – putting other lives in danger. They connect to other people’s power and put people’s lives in danger. I am trusting that these people will be issued with a notice to move soon,” she concluded.
Details: Irene Rugheimer 072 409 6594.
Edited by Stacey Woensdregt
