PAIRS of men loitering with alcohol in hand at Vorster Park in Glenanda have been a sight for sore eyes for residents.
When the reporter Zesuliwe Hadebe went to inspect exactly how bad the scourge of public drinking had become at the park, and in 15 minutes parked opposite the park, at least three men came into the park with a plastic bag concealing alcohol.
It wasn’t long before the suspects opened their bottles and proceeded to indulge at 11:15 mid-morning.
On March 4 at a main CPF meeting for Mondeor, Cllr Paul Smit, Mondeor SAPS Sector 2 CPF, JMPD, Colonel Bezuidenhout of Mondeor SAPS and Glenvista CPF addressed the menace of public drinking in the precinct.
“It’s not just in Glenanda, it’s the whole precinct. It has been raised by myself about drinking in public in my ward, and the SAPS have undertaken to deal with it, and I will follow up on it if necessary. The Mondeor SAPS Station Commander Colonel Bezuidenhout said that all people (caught drinking in public) would be arrested,” said Cllr Paul Smit.
In Glenvista on February 21 the Glenvista Community Policing Forum posted an incident of a street stabbing on Facebook.
“A group of people drinking in public on the corner of Kirby Bellar and Bellaires drives got into an argument and one man was stabbed and lay bleeding nearby.”
Residents responded, complaining about incidents of loiterers drinking in public. “We continually raise concerns regarding drinking in public in our sector with SAPS, and the need to stamp out this illegal practice,” said the post.
Although the JMPD is committed to stop this illegal practice, residents and the ward councillor that JMPD vehicles have been seen passing public parks but no arrests made.
