Residents given the runaround
In the meantime the metal barrier was allegedly stolen and members of the public started to dump their old furniture in the park.
THREE months ago a car reportedly rolled down from Lawn Street into Hugo Street, Rosettenville, broke the metal barrier and drove into Oberholzer Park.
Herbert Strirk, who lives in Hugo Street, said the police were called to the accident but never responded to the scene and the broken metal barrier was never replaced. “We tried several times to get the relevant council people to handle this problem, but we were unsuccessful. We do not know where to turn to for help,” Herbert explained.
In the meantime the metal barrier was allegedly stolen and members of the public started to dump their old furniture in the park.
“We phoned the ward councillor, Clr Dennis Jane, and he came twice, looked and disappeared. Now he does not answer my calls. The People’s Centre number, 011 681 8000, and the 011 712 5200 Pikitup number are engaged all the time as well as the Health Department’s 011 681 8062 line. At the Parks Department, we were told to call Hebron Motseo on 083 664 2498.
“When City Parks came to cut the trees, I asked the driver, who we could call to have the barrier replaced. He referred us to the Parks Department, where I was referred to Motseo again who responded: “If you want to get it handled, speak to your councillor”. This brings us back to Clr Jane and I feel that it is not okay how the councillor handled this situation. Hugo Street was once a nice area but it has deteriorated tremendously,” said Herbert.
The COURIER phoned all these numbers and found that the People’s Centre’s line was engaged, Pikitup asked us to hold on for Peter Kliwe but then hung up, the Health Department’s number rang for four minutes unanswered, Clr Dennis Jane returned our call and said he had passed the matter on to the relevant departments.
Motseo said he knows about the matter however he deals with trees and referred the COURIER to William Legodi at the Parks Department.
Legodi went to Hugo Street to investigate the matter. “Hugo Street is a cul-de-sac and the barrier that was knocked off will be referred to JRA as it is not our jurisdiction. However people in that area are the ones to blame as they litter there. Cars come from Lily Street to dump rubbish. Once a week we will have a team who will inspect the area and we want to make sure that we prevent cars and people from littering,” explained Legodi.
