JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo denied having neglected to clear up the overgrown grass near a townhouse complex in the South of Johannesburg.
Spokesperson for JHB City Parks Jenny Moodley told the CHRONICLE that their maintenance workers could not have been the suspects responsible for setting alight overgrown grass near residences.
“Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, does not burn grass except in Nature Reserves and in a controlled environment,” said Moodley.
As the fire burnt through the grass and rubbish dumped illegally on the open space situated between the townhouse complex and stand-alone houses, the person/s responsible for the fire were nowhere in sight.
Passing residents, who involuntary used an alternative route to the shops near the complex, said they suspected that a fed-up resident could have started the fire. Areas such as Mondeor, Winchester Hills and Ormonde have had overgrown grass for months.
Many residents reached out to the CHRONICLE to voice their dismay at the lack of maintenance by JHB City Parks. Although Clr Dos Santos attempted to assure residents in these areas that he was working on resolving the maintenance schedule backlog with JHB City Parks, very little had transpired and the burning issue of uncut grass around the South remains unresolved.
Residents also reported seeing a growing number of lawbreakers with rubbish bins, empting these bins in open council spaces, displaying little regards for the “Do Not Dump” signage. On May 7 a CHRONICLE reporter saw a man dumping loads of trash in an open space on Dorodo Street in Ormonde, near the road in full view of passing traffic from the voting station.
Used hair extensions, old clothing, children’s toys and damaged household goods were some of the things that residents dump in the open and often unmaintained council open spaces.
