In last week’s edition we covered the site visit of the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Herman Mashaba and MMC for Health and Social Development, Dr Mpho Phalatse, at Westbury Community Based Treatment Centre which is situation next to the Westbury Clinic in Du Plessis Street.
We asked Ward Councillor Genevieve Sherman about the property.
Sherman explained that locals know the place as ‘Salem’.
“The property was ‘hijacked’ and illegally occupied by various walks of life and used for many unsavoury and dubious purpose such as a ‘lolly lounge’ and the springboard for criminal activity in the area.
“After I was elected as Ward Councillor for Ward 69, one of my immediate tasks was to assist with regaining control of the property and to restructure it for the benefit of the community because of the high levels of substance abuse in the area.”
“I motivated that the facility to be utilized as a drug rehabilitation centre for the Westbury and surrounding communities. After much consultation with many different stakeholders over a period of more than a year. Construction could finally start a few months ago.”
The councillor made mention that the facility is 90% in completion and as announced in last weeks issue of the paper, the centre will officially open in October this year.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms: