Chinese forum opposed to bylaw contraventions

Chief executive officer of the Chinese Community Police Forum, Mr Anderson Lee, agrees with the community that action should be taken against those involved in illegal activities.

Long standing Cyrildene residents have been fighting for years with council to address illegal activities in Derrick Avenue and the surrounding streets. They have been at loggerheads with some Chinese business owners and residents who continue to contravene the bylaws.

Mr Lee said the only way to eradicate problems in Cyrildene is for both communities and council to work together.

“Council must strengthen its law enforcement and work with the community. Law enforcement officials should conduct continuous operations. Occasional operations do not help. Officials should visit people who contravene the bylaws, issue a notice and conduct a follow-up inspection on the deadline date given to the offender. If the person continues to contravene the bylaws, further action should be taken against them immediately. There has to be a strategy in place to deal with problems,” said Mr Lee.

He said not all Chinese business owners and residents are involved in illegal activities, but those who are, are giving others a bad name.

“There are some people who are taking chances. Therefore, we cannot have soft law. Officials have to be efficient if they want to clean the area up,” he said.

He said there are problems such as illegal dumping and parking, which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

“Some business owners are not following the rules. Illegal parking is a serious concern. More action has to be taken against people who park illegally because of the congestion caused in the area,” he said.

Mr Lee added that there are people who do not know the bylaws.

“Some business owners have great shops but they mix their garbage and leave it outside in front of their premises. There is no separation of food and other garbage. They need to be educated about council’s rules. To address this, we want to improve communication between council and the community,” said Mr Lee.

He said if council is encountering problems, the Chinese Community Police Forum is easily accessible and willing to help.

“When there is a communication problem, council should approach us for help. We can explain to people what they are doing wrong and how they can address problems. They should get the right people on board,” he said.

Mr Lee urged non-Chinese residents for their support and to understand that not all Chinese people are happy with the contraventions taking place.

Mr Thabo Rangwaga, spokesperson for the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for development planning and urban management, Clr Roslynn Greeff, said he is prepared to meet with the Chinese Community Police Forum.

“We want to move forward. We need to move from reactive communication to proactive communication. We need to communicate with the community and want a relationship with the forum. That way, they can understand where we are coming from and we can understand where they are coming from. We want to be able to say that the community, which was unaware, now has a better understanding of the city’s bylaws. This way, we can reduce contraventions by those who have done it unknowingly and address those who are doing it knowingly,” said Mr Rangwaga.

He said he would like to include the forum as a stakeholder. “There are structures in place. Maybe we can get the forum into one of those structures. I am prepared to sit with them and have a discussion,” he said.

History

Tension and frustration has became so unbearable in Cyrildene in recent years that non-Chinese residents started discussing the implementation of a precinct plan a few months ago in the hopes that it would address the problems.

At the same time however, the Chinatown Community Forum compiled a city improvement district plan which they submitted to council. Their aim was the same as other residents, to stop illegal activities and prevent the area from turning into a slum.

Residents from both communities recently decided to iron out confusion and discuss each other’s plans. They met in June and last week with representatives from each side to find a way of working together.