Another week and yet again more complaints about poor Council services have been raised by residents living in Ward 61, including the Laudium and Erasmia areas.
Besides the usual complaints of the Council not enforcing serious by-laws in the area which residents say is causing harm to the community, such as shack farming resulting in overcrowding on properties, nyaopes and homes being illegally converted into businesses, complaints of rubbish being dumped all over the area and the long grass in public places also remain a concern. Now residents living near the Laudium Reservoir behind Taj Street say that the area near the reservoir has become a haven for vagrants and a health and safety hazard, accusing the police, the Council’s Metro Police and Council officials for simply turning a blind eye to the ‘rot’ that is going on there.
Adil Faiz, of Taj Street told the Laudium Sun, “The open veld behind our house, near the reservoir is filthy and it is scary to even do some hiking there over the weekends as we used to do before. The grass is so long and has turned into a bush, with snakes breeding there and the area has become filthy with vagrants living there. Yet the local Council is doing nothing about it. It used to be so clean during the time of Councillor Essop, whereby I used to take my family to the reservoir for sightseeing and to do some hiking. I appeal to the community to help us by raising this problem whenever you interact with our councillors and officials, as we cannot continue living in fear and being discontented like this. The view from the reservoir is really nice, but now with the filth and the bush of long grass we cannot even look at it.”
his house, near the reservoir, has become filthy
with vagrants living there and snakes breeding
in the bush.
Another resident from Taj Street, Ayesha Essa, told the Laudium Sun, “The reservoir behind Taj Street in Laudium looks horrible, and the place is becoming a crime zone. Criminals have found a new place to hide themselves and the things that they steal in Laudium. Even drug dealers use this place to hide their drugs because it looks so scary. The Council must cut the grass and restore the place to what it once was. They haven’t cleaned the area for the past eight years. The Council only comes when there is a water crisis in Laudium, but aside from that, they don’t come out at all.”
Nirob Mojumadar also from Taj Str said, “It is really dangerous at the reservoir and the Tshwane Council is responsible because thieves are using the long grass as a hiding place for themselves. We are aware that these criminals are doing their illegal businesses there. We are really upset about the state of the place. The Council must come out and clean it so that our families can feel safe and not worry about the area by the reservoir becoming filthier day by day.”