Roy Hayward writes:
I was walking my elderly German shepherd across a dried out section of the Sandpan, which, as many Benoni citizens would know, lies between Country View Estate on one side and Boatlake Village, with a number of luxurious looking properties, alongside.
As I strolled along the dried out bed of the dam, I was startled by a loud ‘hey’ from behind me.
Wondering who would be so rude as to address me in that manner, I saw a ‘gentleman’ standing behind a white wooden fence, some 50 metres behind me, inside a large property that had numerous vehicles parked inside it.
I looked at him and waited for some further response, and then he shouted that he wanted to talk to me. I asked him what about, this entire conversation took place over a distance of at least 50 metres.
I was then told, in a loud and aggressive manner, that I was trespassing on private property. He alleged that I was walking on his property, which, as mentioned above, was the dry bed of the sandpan.
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His property seemed to be that in which he was standing, demarcated, it would seem, by the white fence behind which he was standing.
As I am presently mourning the loss of my wife of 55 years, I was not in a good mental ‘space’ right now, so I terminated the unpleasant confrontation by turning my back and walking away, followed by his continuing haranguing tone behind me.
Editor’s note:
Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe responded: The sandpan is owned by the Ekurhuleni metro as well as a number of private owners.
However, because it is a water resource, the custodian is the National Department of Water and Sanitation. This means that activities that are undertaken on the water resource are regulated in terms of the National Water Act No. 36 of 1998.
We can confirm that the area is registered as an urban conservancy (GCA033) and the contact person for the conservancy is Mr Shaun Taylor. The metro is not involved with the daily running of the conservancy but there should be an agreement between the landowners and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) in establishing the conservancy.
It would therefore be of assistance to involve the conservancy in addressing the issue between visitors of the conservancy and land owners. The contact details of the conservancy are on the Gauteng Conservancy Association website.
