FILTH and desperation are all you see when you observe the vagrants living in the open space of Ward 124 at the corner of Anderson and Goud streets in the CBD.
Clr Mongameli Myameni invited the COURIER to speak to some of the people living in such a dire situation. “These people are in urgent need of shelter and basics. They sleep in the open, litter and make the city dirty. Urgent intervention by is needed,” he said.
Vusi Mahlangu, one of the vagrants said they were removed from an abandoned building in Commissioner Street and that was the only place they are able to use for now. “Life is difficult here, brother because we do not have shelter and no one cares about us. We are not working; we survive by recycling scrap metals, paper and plastic. As you can see, people are desperate here – there is no hope. We don’t know what the situation will be as the rainy season will soon be upon us,” explained Vusi.
Last month, City of Johannesburg executive mayor Clr Heman Mashaba launched a monthly clean-up volunteer campaign which saw him urge residents to take better care of the environment by promoting a culture of reducing, re-using, and recycling waste.
Both Tony Taverna-Turisan (Mayoral Director of Communications) and Nthatisi Modingoane (Deputy Director: Media Relations) were contacted for comments. COURIER will update the readers once they reply.
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