Where to with homeless?
Business owners in the Eastdene Complex next to Cowen Ntuli Street have reached boiling point.
They complain that they are being terrorized by homeless people who make a mess of their business fronts at night. They tell stories of how they are often greeted by unconscious people over which they have to climb to get to their business doors.
“We arrive in the mornings to find someone has passed out and vomited all over himself, or someone has done a number two against the burglar bars. How they manage to do that is a question I am not even going to ask. We have to clean the mess every morning or leave clients to climb over it. How can you expect to run a business like that?” one of the disgruntled business owners said.
He refused to have his name published, and with good reason he argued.
“The last time we complained to the police, our business was broken in to that same night and all the electrical wiring was stolen. It might be coincidence but I am not taking any chances.”
He says that he understands that homeless people are looking for shelter during night time.
“I do not have a problem with someone sleeping here. It is the mess they leave that is a problem. If they simply got up and rolled up their bedding, it would be a different matter.”
A woman from another business says that the steel plates covering sewer manholes in the walkway keeps on disappearing, leaving gaping holes in the floor which is a huge safety risk for visitors.
A steel drum put over the hole was also stolen.
“The municipality have welded the plates to the ground. But not even that stops them from being stolen.”
They complain that the complex is in a state with grass growing through the pavement at the back of the building and people dumping their refuse bags over the wall.
Business owners are now looking to the municipality, asking them to lock the parking area at night or provide them with a security guard to chase away unwanted visitors during the night.
Rehana Pilodia, municipal councillor, says that they are aware of the problem.
“What do you do with homeless people? Where do you go with them?”
The building was built by the previous government and business owners later got the opportunity to buy the shops they occupied.
“If the building owners get together and decide to lock the parking lot at night, and no one has a problem with it, we will support them. Or they could put money together and get a security guard at night, but they cannot expect us to do that for them. The duty to secure and protect their premises lies with the business owners.”
