Anger over ‘upgrades’ at park
MELROSE – Atholl resident Bendeta Gordon is angered that City Parks and the James and Ethel Gray Foundation have not taken into consideration the impact of the upgrades on the recyclers.
Atholl resident and user of the James and Ethel Gray Park, Bendeta Gordon is angered by the supposed upgrades that City Parks and the James and Ethel Gray Foundation are doing to ‘secure’ the park, which she believes are detrimental to the livelihoods of urban waste miners.
On 10 September, a number of local resident associations, Amdec (the developers of Melrose Arch) and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JPCZ) formed the James and Ethel Gray Foundation which has adopted the park and aims to fence it off, improve security, bylaw-enforcement and the park’s general appearance.
Gordon believes that this was done without considering the livelihoods of the recyclers who sort their materials and live temporarily at the park to keep watch over their materials. “They are economic migrants who have come here to earn a living. They do the best they can with the resources at their disposal.
“They are entrepreneurs. They participate in an already established economy and limit the waste going to landfill sites.”
She said that despite their hard work, the City has not found a solution to augment the resources used by the recyclers.
“They need to work with the market, not push it away to places you can’t see. That’s not addressing the real issues. That’s just putting a band-aid on the issue.
“It’s time old South Africans open their eyes and realise what Africa is like. These men are not homeless. They don’t cost anybody anything. They need space to do their work that the City and Melrose Arch aren’t providing.
“There is more [dog] poo in the park, which comes from the affluent people’s [dogs], than rubbish.”
Urban waste miner Shingi Doroorwa said, “There is no other place for us to sort our things and no alternative accommodation.”
Simba Watikaon, who also sorts recyclables in the park, said, “We are struggling and need to earn a living to support our families. Metro police came here and burnt my permits and documents so I can’t get a job. If they helped us with a safe space to work that could be locked up, then we wouldn’t need to stay here.”
Manager for corporate funding, sponsorships and grants and JCPZ Bohlale Mohlathe said City Parks entered into a collaboration with Amdec and residents associations because of resource constraints by the City and in light of safety concerns by residents and park users. “There has been an increase in abuse of the park by illegal park occupants who have turned it into an informal settlement area where they bring waste that they sort in the park.
“This abuse of the park, which is an outright contravention of the by-laws, has seen the park’s natural beauty being turned into something that resembles a dumpsite, pollution of the park, a haven for muggings and other gruesome attacks on citizens.”
She said that on 29 September, illegal park occupants set the park conservation area alight, damaging the ecosystem and appearance of the park.
Gordon responded that the fires were not started by the recyclers because it would destroy their livelihoods.
PR and communications representative from Melrose Arch Kerry Phillips responded by saying, “Melrose Arch’s position is aligned with the City of Johannesburg and JCPZ. Melrose Arch will look to improve the physical status of the park so all visitors can benefit from a clean, safe and secure environment.”
Related article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/227624/a-new-special-operation-to-grant-services-to-the-people/
