The Middelburg CBD’s Community Policing Forum has rolled up its sleeves to address the crime and vagrancy problem exasperated by the homeless squatting under the Meyer Bridge.

CPF Chair for the CBD area, Willem Kies, told the Middelburg Observer that something has to be done to address the mass pollution of the environment being caused by vagrants, as well as the unsightly shelters that have been erected in the copse near the bridge.

According to Kies, Meyer Street has experienced several incidents of crime, with petty criminals often running to the area to seek hiding places in the dense bushes along the river, and stolen possessions have frequently been found in the shelters.

“Some of these vagrants are behind the continued thefts, particularly in Meyer Street, and we have frequently reported the matter to the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, but they have done nothing to clean up the area.”

He has urged the community to combine forces and get involved in the CPF, as well as the clean-up planned for March 8.

Residents who can assist with deforestation and the clean-up of litter have been asked to contact Willem Kies on 082 715 4902.

Anyone who can offer the use of tools and gardening hardware is urged to join the clean-up. Protective wear is essential.

According to DA Ward Councillor San-Mari Wait, the municipality’s seasonal cleaners have been halved in workforce numbers, making it harder for them to tend to every littered area.

“The municipal law enforcement has been dispatched on several occasions to remove the vagrants, but they just keep returning or move elsewhere. Vagrancy is a problem because there is no official place of shelter for homeless people,” Wait explained.

According to Wait, the parks department is a well-functioning team, but being short-staffed with a large area to cover often results in them not being able to respond as quickly as residents would like.

“Residents should keep in mind that STLM has a large area that falls under its administration.

The municipality not only provides services for Middelburg alone, but every surrounding community, including Hendrina, Arnot, Rietkuil and Pullenshope.

That means a lot of people to keep happy with a very small workforce.”

Wait, however, has managed to get permission from the parks department for the clean-up and deforestation of the affected area, and urges the community’s involvement.

“Previous initiatives by Ward 13, like the clean-up at Tarries Park and the field by Laerskool C.R. Swart, have proven to be successful and have an impact on vagrancy and crime, so I encourage the community to work together on the area at Meyer Bridge.

The parks department has committed to spraying the area to prevent regrowth once the clean-up is complete.”