When two men were dumping a liquid, thought to be a harmful substance, into a wetland near Noordwyk, a proactive citizen stopped and apprehended them. Unfortunately, an hour-and-a-half later, after three phone calls to Midrand police, and a phone call to the city council and the Department of Water Affairs, the man was forced to let the suspects go.
It took a journalist to get the ball rolling for investigations to ensue. While these might help to rectify the damage to the wetland, it is unlikely that the suspects will be brought to book.
The Kyalami community further helped to ensure that the waste from the Delicious Food and Wine Festival – which was lying on the conservancy’s ground for three weeks after the festival – was finally removed.
The Kyalami community again showcased just how strong citizens can be when the community, city council and bylaw enforcers work together: they managed to prevent an events company from hosting an event in Glenferness, when it was clear that the company did not have the correct applications.
Time and again, events companies have hosted events in the conservancy without the approval of the city council’s Joint Operations Committee. Residents and ward councillors are often left in the dark about the event, suffering through the noise, which has not been regulated by the city council’s sound checks.
Afterwards, when the event organisers are long gone, waste is left to rot on conservancy land. The newspaper knows: its journalists have waded through the rubbish after each event.
While residents and ward councillors urge city council and law enforcers to prevent such events from going ahead without proper approval, questions over why events companies are choosing to host events in a conservancy emerge.
