[VIDEO] Under age drinking, littering and utter chaos
“The police started moving the party goers out of Klipfontein and were eventually done by 01:00,”
It’s like déjàvu with the spring day party that occurs at Witbank Dam on a yearly basis with under age drinking, littering and utter chaos.
Party goers of all ages arrived at Witbank Dam on Saturday, September 3, with fully packed cooler boxes and as more and more people started arriving so did the amount of alcohol.
To enter the dam premises a enter fee of R40 per person had to be paid and for a vehicle it was R60.
On Thursday, September 1 the Emalahleni City Council, SAPS and Law enforcement got together to work on a plan for the spring day party.
Party goers from Witbank Dam eventually ended up driving towards Highveld Mall area with alcohol bottles in their hands.
One of the young party goers sitting on his cooler box outside Highveld Mall waiting for a lift home.
It is still unclear of the total amount of party goers that were inside the dam premises for the party.
“It is estimated that there were more than 5000 party goers of all ages,” said Captain Eddie Hall, spokesperson from Witbank SAPS who was on standby at the dam.
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By 16:00 no additional people were allowed to enter the premises, so Capt Hall with other law enforcement agencies went up to the gate and made sure the gates were closed.
Highveld Mall and the McDonald’s were swamped with party goers.
Young children arrived at Highveld Mall after the spring party at Witbank Dam looking for lifts to get home.
“This was not an organised event, the normal SABC 1 Spring Splash which is normally held has now moved to Secunda. So this was a spontaneous party,” said Capt Hall.
At 18:00 SAPS and the law enforcement team started clearing out the dam, forcing people to leave the premises.
The larger group of party goers moved onto Klipfontein Dam, while most of the younger children and teenagers that were at the party gathered at McDonald’s and Highveld Mall.
The entrance to Witbank Dam on Sunday morning, September 4 after the spring day party.
The aftermath inside Witbank Dam.
At Klipfontein Dam which was already full of party goers just got more crowded as the crowd from Witbank Dam arrived. The roads around Klipfontein were blocked by vehicles and people.
“The police started moving the party goers out of Klipfontein and were eventually done by 01:00,” said Hall.
At Highveld Mall and McDonald’s the young children and teenagers were all over, looking for lifts from other mini buses and buying food.
Measures were done by the Mall security and Community Policing Forum members to block the majority of people entering the premises.
Yet one youngster was caught for vandalising the bathrooms in Highveld Mall.
“We are extremely disturbed at the misbehaviour displayed by very young teens and pre-teens last Saturday at the mall. As in the past and going forward we will be implementing more steps to curb this kind of behaviour on our property, to safeguard our shopping environment for our shopping community,” said Ms Sandra van der Walt General Manager of Highveld Mall.
The following cases were opened at Witbank Police Station after the spring day; five assault cases, one robbery and 12 people were arrested for driving a vehicle under the influence.
Mr Theo van Vuuren, Emalahleni Municipality Manager said on his Facebook page.
“As it has become a tradition in eMalahleni the Witbank Resort and Klipfontein Dam areas were packed today. To prevent the lawless behaviour of last year a joint committee between the municipality and the various law enforcement agencies in the area placed strict rules on access in place for the dam and no additional people were allowed to enter after 16:00 while the resort area was cleared at 18:00.”
“However this had the consequence that thousands, mainly school going aged people, descended on the mall, with serious behavioural and traffic consequences. In addition the number of visitors to the Klipfontein Dam also exceeded available parking and this caused serious congestion and also disturbance to residents of the area,” continued Van Vuuren
“As Municipality I need to express our deepest concern with the behaviour displayed by mainly the young people on Saturday at the dam and mall. Alcohol abuse in public, indecent behaviour, etc are not anything to be proud of and can destroy lives.”
Party goers inside Witbank Dam on Saturday, September 3.
A 12-year-old boy that was found in a parking lot under the influence of alcohol was kept in the holding cell until he sobered up.
Now the municipality need to review all planning and rules surrounding gatherings like this. Whilst the council can control access at the Witbank Dam, access to Klipfontein Dam is totally uncontrolled at present.
“The wide spread nature of today’s activities also exposed weaknesses in our law enforcement deployment.
It is important that all citizens share responsibility in building the moral values of the society. We cannot expect the SAPS and municipal law enforcement to succeed in applying law and order in a culture of mass lawlessness,” said Van Vuuren.
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