Housing must deal with unruly parties
Ward 33 councillor is seeking help from the housing department regarding unruly behaviour at Kenneth Gardens.
NOISY party-goers have been taken to task by fed-up residents at Kenneth Gardens who have called on ward councillor Nicole Graham to secure a meeting with the municipal housing department to thrash out the issue.
According to a resident, last weekend tenants and visitors made a huge racket in the foyer of her flats in Kenneth Gardens, and calls to Umbilo SAPS and Metro after midnight were fruitless.
She said Umbilo Police arrived at 4am after she phoned them a second time. “This time there was fighting involved and a vehicle on the verge was blasting music,” she said, adding the party-goers seemed to quieten down after the police spoke to them. However, she woke up at 8am to be greeted by the same party people doing donuts in the grounds of the complex.
Ward councillor, Nicole Graham, said: “I have been trying to secure a meeting with Head of Housing, Yunus Saccoor, for a long time. The department is severely understaffed and the rental stock position is vacant, as far as I am aware. I have received complaints from a number of people regarding unruly behaviour and the use of drugs and alcohol in public by some in Kenneth Gardens. It must be reported to police, as it is ultimately a criminal issue, but I will also take it up with Saccoor when he avails himself for a meeting with myself and councillor Martin Meyer, who is having similar problems at Westgate Gardens council flats,” she said.
Martin Meyer said the issues at council flats was an ongoing problem.
“Currently the problems at Westgate Gardens are tremendous, and I am making no headway with the department. I have asked Mr Sakoor for a meeting and he just replies that he will get back to me, but since then, nothing,” said Meyer.
He said the post of manager of rental stock for Durban central had been vacant since 2011 and four different people had been acting in that post since then.
“Just when I start building a relationship and create an understanding for the problems at Westgate Gardens, the person changes. The conditions our residents are expected to live under is terrible. I am at a loss as to how to go further with this if the very department responsible can’t even fill the posts or honour requests for a meeting,” he said.
