Klipspruit drug den finally falls

An abandoned building that had turned into a drug den was finally demolished on Wednesday in Klipspruit’s Ward 25. Residents claimed the building had become a crime hot-spot as thieves would hide inside and prey on people who were either going to work in the morning or returning in the evening.

In addition to crime, residents also claimed the building was a known drug den where teenagers would go as far as skipping school to hide out in the building and use drugs.

“We are absolutely delighted to see this building fall. The things that were happening here are atrocious! People were getting mugged here daily. School kids came here to use drugs. Everyone knew that if you pass here at night you would be mugged. It was a dangerous place, it had to go,” said Vusi Bafo, a resident of the area.

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The demolition was conducted with an excavator from the City of Johannesburg and came as a result of complaints that had been submitted by Ward 25 Councillor Raynett Moabi after in-depth consultations with community members.

“It is a win for all of us. The people here know how long we have worked to get the structure removed from our community. This is not my individual effort as a Councillor, we have had meeting after meeting with the community. Petitions were done and submitted to the City. So I’m proud that with the support of those petitions and with the support of the residents we have managed to see this happening. I also want to thank the City of Joburg for listening to the people of Ward 25,” Moabi said.

The City’s Deputy Director of Communications, Nthatisi Modingoane confirmed the City had indeed received complaints from the community. “We did receive complaints. Not only about this structure, but there was also another one in Ward 46. These are structures that had become a nuisance to communities. We received reports of crime, substance abuse and rape in these structures. The community had requested that these structures be removed. The operations were our response to the community’s request,” said Modingoane.

Asked what would happen to the land where the structure stood before its demolition, Modingoane said potential investors would be given an opportunity to submit proposals.

“What would normally happen with these vacant spaces is that we open them up for prospective investors to come up with different proposals. Some might come with student accommodations, others might propose business premises for example,” he said.