Mackenzie Park residents unhappy with road closures

Some disgruntled residents of MacKenzie Park Ext One have raised concerns about the ‘illegal’ closures of some entry points in the area.

Of particular concern is the closures of Gannet and Sakabula avenues, which the residents argue are a huge inconvenience to them.

“This was done without the consent of all the residents. It has caused an inconvenience for most of the people residing on both streets. We all now have to find alternative routes to go to work and take children to school,” said Peter Simpson.

The Benoni City Times visited the affected area on November 9.

Upon arrival, we found the entry to Gannet Avenue closed with a palisade fence, with a sign directing residents to use the entrance on Sakabula Avenue and Rooibekkie Street.

The entrance of Sakabula Avenue is also fenced with a palisade, although it was open on the day.

There is also a sign which informs residents that the gate closes from 18:00 until 06:00.

According to Simpson, he and another resident aired their grievances to Ward 73 Clr Sipho Ngobese on June 22, who promised to look into the matter.

“He also told us that due to the enclosures being illegal, we can take down the fence ourselves,” Simpson added.

On June 27, Simpson and other residents reached out to Ngobese again through a letter.

Among some of the complaints, the residents argue that the closures are unlawful and often create heavy traffic during peak hours, especially on Flamingo Street.

Furthermore, they are concerned that these palisade fences will make it difficult to pursue criminals in cases of break-ins and that ambulances or the police may be unable to respond to cases of emergency timeously.

“After numerous phone calls and WhatsApp messages to Ngobese, I haven’t received feedback. He doesn’t answer my calls anymore,” Simpson said.

In a telephonic interview with the City Times, Ngobese admitted he was approached by some residents who are against the enclosures.

“They came to me and I promised to look into this. Unfortunately, I was held up by other matters that needed immediate attention.

“They then came back to me and said they will take care of the matter themselves,” Ngobese said.

He asked for patience because he needs to hear the entire community’s reasons for the enclosure and whether due process was followed.

“There was a petition and only four people in the entire MacKenzie signed it.

“These enclosures were erected before my time. For anything to be done, I have to consult with the rest of the community and find out their reasons for the enclosure. They have to be patient and give me time to get to the bottom of this.”

The City Times understands there was an application in 2017 by the MacKenzie Residents Association (MRA) for the restriction of access to public places for safety and security purposes.

Twelve streets, including Gannet and Sakabula, were among those in the application.

Attempts by the paper to get a comment from the MRA proved futile.

We also reached out to the City of Ekurhuleni to find out if they are aware of the enclosures. We are still awaiting a response.

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