Plea on dilapidated house in CBD to be taken to parly
'The property is now completely rundown, uninhabitable, becoming a substance peddling venue and a sleeping place for street dwellers'
FORMER PR councillor and Kempton resident Allan Sauls is encouraging community members to sign a petition regarding an abandoned house.
The house in question is situated on the corner of Du Plessis Avenue and Friedman Street in Kempton Ext 2 and has been unoccupied for many years now.
Sauls plans on submitting the petition to Parliament in early May, urging the Public Works Department to finally solve this ongoing problem.
The property, which belongs to the Public Works Department, has become dilapidated and home to vagrants and drug addicts, Sauls explains.
https://www.citizen.co.za/kempton-express/95025/police-house-is-now-a-hideout-for-criminals/
Residents in the area have also in the past complained about an increase in crime due to the abandoned house.
According to Sauls, the home once housed a SAPS member, who later vacated the premises to give an alternate state tenant an opportunity to rent it.
“The property is now completely run down, uninhabitable, becoming a substance peddling venue and a sleeping place for street dwellers. Residents living close to this property report that they have been victim to many crime incidents, including break-ins and thefts out of their motor vehicles, especially of car batteries,” Sauls explained.
“As a result of this, I have been distributing petition forms for signing within the immediate community, including businesses.”
Sauls is planning on handing over the petition to the office of the Public Works Portfolio Chairperson in the second week of May.
The petition will be submitted with proposals from community bodies or members showing interest in the property.
“What the petition basically requests of the department is that they do something about the property; whether it is to restore it so it can be used by community groups or even renovated and auctioned off as a property to interested buyers,” a concerned resident told EXPRESS.
Proposals will also be included requesting the public works portfolio committee to give the matter priority, highlighting “unpleasant incidents experienced by residents and businesses”.
Sauls said he was also in discussion with local police to establish what kind of crime prevention work is being done regarding the property, which he can hopefully include in the petition.
“This matter is civil society driven and will be submitted without political involvement,” Sauls concluded.
