AfriForum sent a letter on Monday 9 September 2019 to Stevens Mokgalapa, Mayor of the Tshwane Metro, about the illegal recyclers who live across from SuperSport Park in Centurion. AfriForum members complained about the major safety and other risks that these illegal occupiers pose to the surrounding area.
More than 200 recyclers currently live on Plot 147 of Farm Lyttelton in Ward 65. Little houses and shops have also been erected on the property, which is situated along the Hennops River below the flood line.
According to Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Greater Pretoria, the illegal recyclers have a negative effect on the environment. “The area has been turned into a garbage site, with plastic bags being blown around or burnt. People who live there use the water from the Hennops River to wash themselves and their clothes. The river is polluted with E. coli and poses various healthcare risks to the people living on the property or downstream.”
“The safety of the surrounding communities is also compromised, as the settlement offers easy hiding for criminals. Rumours are afloat that drugs are sold on the premises and alcohol are abused. Residents also complain that their dustbins, alarm eye sensors, manhole covers and electrical cables in the surrounding areas are stolen; this can be ascribed to the Metro no longer exercising any control over the premises.”
Among other, AfriForum demand the following in its letter:
- An urgent meeting with the Mayor and other role-players;
- That recyclers are moved to a more suitable area; and
- Immediate intervention by the Metro Police and the SAPS to curb crime in the area.
“It is the Metro’s duty to ensure that the rights of the community – including people living on the premises – are respected. Everyone has a right to a healthy, safe environment. What happens here is quite the contrary. It isn’t right to live under such desperate circumstances, and the Metro will have to ensure that the people are moved to a more suitable area where they can continue their recycling. The Metro must also ensure that recycling happens in a legal manner without negatively affecting the environment,” Grobbelaar adds.
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