According to concerned residents, the issue has been an on-going one at the recreational park without any solution or relief in sight.
Ward councillor for Barlow Park, Andrew Stewart confirmed the persistent issue and said it had been a problem for close to five years.
He added that the problem was not uncommon and was taking place throughout the city in public parks.
“Johannesburg has a big vagrant problem as a result of large numbers of people migrating to the city looking for work, so it’s not uncommon to come across this,” he said.
Stewart added that there had been various attempts to deal with the on-going battle, including joint sweeps with the Metro police from time to time.
Despite this, the vagrants return to the park and continue using the park as a home.
“The vagrants usually get released two days later and are free to return to the park despite being previously removed,” he said.
Compounding the problem is the issue of an informal settlement spilling over into the park, something that has proven to be problematic for authorities.
Stewart explained that the settlement was a result of the fact that the park was once a privately owned farm, of which a big portion was donated to the city.
“The farm had staff quarters and from that grew a squatter camp, with some shacks spilling over into the park,” he explained.
Stewart asserted that although the city council managed to obtain an interdict to stop more shacks being erected in the park, the area had become a problem for authorities.
“The police do raid the settlement and try and manage the situation but because relocating them has its own complications, dealing with the situation has become a difficult matter,” he said.
Stewart encouraged concerned residents to report unruly vagrants to local authorities as soon as possible, as it would assist in dealing with the problem in a quick manner.
