Former Wendy Machanik building in a mess
ILLOVO – Residents in Illovo are unhappy with the state of affairs at the North Street and Illovo Road.
The residents in Illovo are doing everything they can to get rid of displaced people who have of late been congregating around the former Wendy Machanik building, and have now set up a shebeen, with a caravan, gazebo and beer crates outside that building on Oxford Road and North Street.
One of the residents, Sharon Ment, has a property business and is complaining that a number of tenants have moved out of her flats because of the lawlessness that happens at the intersection.
“The situation is recent and it all began because of the [issues faced] at the former Wendy Machanik building. The real estate agent used to own or work from this building so she had problems, she could no longer practise as a real estate agent,” said Ment.
The Metro police’s spokesperson, Edna Mamonyane, said she was not aware that there are people selling alcohol without a licence.
“The people who have to make an arrest are the police. It is illegal to sell alcohol without a licence and whatever business they have should be closed down,” she said. “I will have to go there or assign a team to work undercover.”
Pikitup collects garbage, but local residents said it is overrun with piles of the beer bottles in a short space of time.
Ward 91 councillor David Fisher confirmed that the situation has been going on for a lengthy period of time and he has been trying to fight it by involving the Metro police and Pikitup but with no luck to permanently get rid of beer sellers and taxis drivers.
“Because there is no building on the adjacent stand, the pavement has attracted vagrants and recyclers. They have left refuse and excrement in the area which has caused the bad smell and health hazard,” said Fisher.
The sellers and drinkers have no public toilets, this leads to them urinating against the wall in public view and leaves an unpleasant smell.
Residents have discussed the need for a suitable public park but said they have been battling to convince the council so far.
With regard to the taxis parked in the area, Fisher said there is traffic flow in the morning around that area, but because of the congestion at Corlett Drive and Oxford Road, motorists tend to use North Street as a bypass to get into Oxford Road and across to Bompas Road. Many go up the wrong side of the road to get past the queue.
“That is not a rank but more of a parking problem while they wait for the peak demand time in the afternoon. There is a growing problem of taxis of all sorts: minibus, metered and Uber, needing to find suitable places to stand while waiting to be deployed,” said Fisher.
He added, “The Metro police have been involved but it’s an economic issue – if the passengers are in Rosebank, they will need transport at the end of the day, the drivers will look for convenient spots in the area to wait.”
Sector Manager, Constable Glen Gaveni from the Norwood Police Station said they constantly raid the building to search for drugs but so far, nothing has been found. “We have had tip-offs that there might be drug activities and even brought police dogs. We always go there to see what is happening and we have not found anything incriminating, and we always dispose of the beer whenever we find it.”
What do you think about the people who are constantly occupying this building? Share any information with us by emailing koketsor@caxton.co.za
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