Log illegal development
MIDRAND – The Glen Austin Residents Association hosted their 2019 AGM to discuss various issues in their area.
of frogs and toads. Photo: Andrei van Wyk
The Glen Austin Residents Association kicked off 2019 with their annual general meeting on 2 February.
A number of residents met at Ambrosia Hall, many catching up and others introducing themselves. Following a brief introduction and welcome from chairperson Carl Winter, the meeting saw two guest speakers take the floor.
The first was manager of terrestrial biodiversity at The Biodiversity Company Michael Adams who gave a discussion of toad and frogs. Adams gave a brief summary of the amphibians species in South Africa. He said that South Africa is quite rich in frog life with 125 types.
Adams detailed the importance of frogs and toads including their important role as a predator in the middle of the food chain and a significant reference point for pollution in an area.
He also spoke to the residents about their life cycle and times in which they are most active which between December and March where they come out during the rainfall and called on the community to assist in the demography of bullfrogs in South Africa.
He said that it’s extremely difficult to keep a good registry of bullfrogs and called on residents to report spotting in order to build a substantial registry of them in South Africa by contacting the Endangered Wildlife Trust at road@ewt.org.za
The second speaker was City of Johannesburg Chair of the Development Planning Committee councillor Graham de Kock who approached the residents regarding the issue of illegal businesses that operate in the city.
His point was to call on the local community to be the eyes and ears in order to crack down on illegal developments in their area. He said, “An early warning system is important. We rely on the community to be the eyes and the ears of what’s going on.”
He added that there are a number of processes that need to be followed in reprimanding a contractor or developer who isn’t respecting certain requirements such as zoning or safety among others, but not giving the City an early notice of the development would give them enough time to finish building before the case ever goes to court.
De Kock’s presentation was challenged by some residents at the meeting who argued about the struggles with reporting the issues which seemingly lead nowhere. He said that there are a number of issues within the City of Johannesburg’s ranks who either turn a blind eye to illegal development, which the City is attempting to root out, and lazy workers who are unhelpful to residents or hand out notices to developers but do not follow up on those.
He urged the community members to carry on logging in illegal developments to give the City of Johannesburg time to combat the issues.
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