Vandalism, theft, drugs, and public indecency. Those words are just a touch of what residents from Coronationville have been experiencing.
Residents once again experience the horror of having their electrical cables being stolen. The last article in August covered how residents in Harmony street had no electricity due to the illegal overloading of cables.
A team from City Power came to their rescue to restore the electricity. Trenches were opened and the damages caused by the illegal connections were repaired.
A few days after the repairs, another team from City Power returned to install new cables in Harmony Street.
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These cables were said to be more difficult for illegal connections and barely have any resale value, thus limiting theft.
Thieves have, however, managed to still steal the cables which have not been modified. Many have said that it is the youth who are on drugs who are stealing these cables.
Unfortunately, this not the only problem which Corrie residents have been complaining about. The newly-opened pedestrian bridge which goes into Westbury has been used for drug-peddling and a place where many residents get robbed of their valuables.
The unveiling of the Westbury Pedestrian bridge on Fuel Road just happened over a year ago, but since then there has only been negative news coming from that area.
On the Westbury side of the bridge, too often children play on the equipment unsupervised and the youth are either smoking, gambling or drinking alcohol while the children are playing there.
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On the Coronationville side, there used to be a lift with a generator on the side which was stolen within weeks of the unveiling. The lift has been completely stripped and the doors have also been stolen.
According to witnesses, there is a syndicate which goes to the bridge at night to strip the metal. Securities at the Rea Vaya station said that they cannot do anything since they are only employed to look after the station.
Councillor Genevieve Sherman said that she recently met with officials from Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) and they are yet to come up with a way forward.
The stolen and damaged equipment costs millions of Rands and many view the theft and vandalism as wasteful. Coronationville residents also stressed that the monies could have been put to better use by upgrading the streets, sidewalks, electrical cable issues, stormwater drains and so much more in the community.
Many blame the wanton destruction of unemployment and drug abuse which is rife in these areas.
Even the lift doors did not escape the thievery.
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