Homeless turn guest house tree into toilet

VALERIE Scheepers, who runs a guest house in the Kempton Park CBD, is fed up with vagrants who have turned her property’s tree into a public lavatory.

Not only do they urinate but they also defecate next to the tree.

Scheepers is one of many business owners in the CBD who have had enough of homeless people negatively affecting their customers.

Although Scheepers empathises with the group of homeless people sleeping across from her business, she is not happy that she must clean up the “mess” that is left behind.

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“The tree is right in front of our guest house and we have to clean, their, I’m sorry to say, s*%t. This must stop,” said a frustrated Scheepers.

She commended the metro police and said they had been very helpful in the past year she had been facing this issue. “They always comes to our assistance and remove the vagrants. However, after a few days, they return.”

Scheepers said there were around 16 squatters including a woman with a small baby.

EMPD spokesman, Lt Col Wilfred Kgasago, said the Kempton Park precinct commander had been in personal contact with Scheepers and she had reason to complain.

“He has instructed that the vagrants be removed as well as their belongings. He has also informed Scheepers that the vagrants were removed, which she confirmed. The precinct commander did warn of the possibility of the vagrants returning.

Scheepers did phone the precinct commander when they returned and they were once again removed,” explained Kgasago.

Kgasago said their return created a problem for the metro police as much as for everybody else.

“Some people encourage the recurrence of the problem as they forget that being humane and generous in providing the vagrants with food and money, only exacerbates the problem,” he added.

Scheepers said the “toilet smell” was affecting her business and she wanted to know what the permanent solution to this issue was.

Ward councillor Jaco Terblanche said the challenge was that there was not enough shelters in Kempton Park to accommodate all the vagrants in Kempton Park.

“We need more homes and shelters for these people. Some of them have lost hope in life and are substance abuse addicts and need homes that will cater to them. The Department of Social Development needs to assist us in this regard.

“I will ask my questions to the MEC of social development regarding the possibility of more shelters or homes in Kempton Park,” said Terblanche.

He also said he would ask the municipality’s solid waste department to clean the area.

Kgasago said there was no permanent solution to the problem but pointed out that the solid waste department normally cleaned up the place after the vagrants were removed.

“The same situation exists at the corner of Long Street and Monument road in the CBD. We have no immediate answer to this serious problem but is working fervently to come up with a strategy that will resolve the untenable situation.”