Letter: Wall is a security risk

Lizette Greeff of Mandeni writes:

I live in a duplex on the border of Jackalberry Estate in Mandeni. We had a road in front of the duplex that was rather busy.

It also had quite a lot of pedestrians as it is a short cut over the golf course to some houses and Umfolozi College.

However, when the wall was put up for the estate, the road was closed and it is now a dead end.

This would not have been a problem if the electric fence was working and there was adequate security. However, people broke part of the wall to make a short cut.

The problem is that neither the municipality or Sappi, which is in charge of the estate, are keeping the closed off area maintained and the bushes and trees are extremely overgrown, making it the perfect spot for criminal activities.

We have complained on numerous occasions.

During this lockdown period, people are also now using it as a dumping ground.

Because this is now a dead end and there are lots of bushes, teenagers have now also started using it as a place to hang out and drink.

My dad has fixed the wall on numerous occasions, but people keep on breaking it to make a short cut.

I have lived in the duplex for about 10 years and in that time we maybe had two car break-ins, but in the last six months things and water pipes are being stolen weekly.

Luckily the alarm in my unit went off and I found the guy halfway through the window.

Since lockdown one of the units has been empty and water pipes and fixtures have been stolen.

The church across from us was also broken into. Enough is enough.

The problem with closing the road is that the police and security companies cannot patrol there as you will have to do it on foot and the street lights are not working.

We are a prime target as criminals can just run through the bushes and the police cannot go after them in their vehicles.

The developers have left us exposed and it is now costing me money on extra security measures and Jackalberry Estate is just shrugging.

I have been in favour of the estate, but I will no longer support this and will be seeking legal advice as soon as the lockdown is over as we have been made vulnerable.

Sappi communications manager Elijah Masondo replies:

Jackalberry Estate is a project that was developed with residents’ safety and security in mind.

To this end, Sappi and the Elan Property Group have put in a lot of effort to make this development work by following all the legal processes required by the Mandeni Municipality to establish the estate.

The project has unfortunately had numerous delays caused by some community groups and youths in the area.

These included: disrupting meetings that was held to establish a home owners’ association; damaging infrastructure such as the boom gate and stealing a security camera installed for safety purposes; as well as intimidating contractors on site.

The development partners, Sappi and eLan, have invested the required funds to erect palisade fencing, a main entrance with a boom gate, a turnstile for community members to travel in and out of the estate, as well as creating a safe walkway.

As part of its commitment to the project, Sappi has since fixed the fence after various acts of vandalism and installed various cameras to monitor any further vandalism of the fence.

It is unfortunate that the complainant has gone to the media to try and resolve these challenges.

Sappi does not have records of the complainant’s grievances or queries from this person.

We are willing and will engage with the person to address her concerns.

All criminal activities, such as breaking down the wall, must be reported to the authorities, as these are illegal.

We also believe that property owners who are affected by criminal activity must report illegal activity around their properties immediately.

Unfortunately, the criminality is impacting the community and businesses in Mandeni, which is why we should work together to eliminate it.

It is also important to note that Sappi is not the owner of the land referred to and it is a public area.

Sappi is therefore not the responsible entity to maintain the area from an environmental perspective.

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