Residents living along the Braamfontein Spruit, specifically in Riverclub, are up in arms at what seems to be a stream of endless issues in the area. Craig Hutton, a concerned resident, is sick and tired of the inaction shown by the City of Johannesburg and local authorities in tackling prevalent problems facing the community.
“We are fooling ourselves if we think the City of Johannesburg is going to help us deal with the issues in this community. We’ve had two murders in recent months, illegal dumping and a massive vagrancy problem, all of which go seemingly unnoticed by the municipality and local authorities,” said Hutton.
Justin Jonckheer, a member of the Bryanston Riverclub Community Forum has seen promising changes in his community but believes that more needs to be done to combat rising crime and vagrancy in the area. “We have seen a gradual increase in the number of vagrants along the Braamfontein Spruit. These people are mostly unskilled labourers who work on building sites in the area. Because of high transport costs, they tend to live close to where they work,” said Jonckheer.
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Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp is working with residents to tackle major problems in the area but calls on those affected by crime and other illegal activities to stand together. “Residents need to come together as a community and establish forums where they can discuss these issues and make a unified push to solve them. Logging water and electricity complaints is much more effective than individual logs, and makes it easier for me to escalate issues,” said Earp
Earp continued by addressing the issue of vagrancy in the Riverclub area. “The City of Johannesburg is planning on setting up at least two shelters in the region to alleviate the vagrancy problem. This is a long-term plan and in the meantime, all we can do is sweep the hotspots with the help of the police and private security,” said Earp.
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The problems facing the Riverclub community are not unique to the area but is an issue faced by hundreds of thousands of Johannesburg residents. “We are sick and tired of this dysfunctional democracy where incompetent liars get paid to do nothing. It is time to take matters into our own hands to save our communities,” Hutton concluded.
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