Private property owners have once again been urged to clean up their properties, as long grass poses a health hazard and danger to residents. Endumeni and Dannhauser municipalities are both battling to keep areas under control, as criminals have been known to use properties as hideouts in some cases. In other cases, the unkempt grass becomes a breeding ground for snakes.

Seva Naidoo, Community Services Manager for Dannhauser Municipality, said that the unsightly properties were an eyesore and a bad reflection on the town. Mr Naidoo added that final notices would be sent to property owners, warning them that failure to maintain their properties would lead to fines being issued. He further explained that the municipality would cut the grass and then fine the property owner per square metre cut.

Same situation in Endumeni

The situation is similar in Dundee, with the vacant plot in Beaconsfield Street (opposite Eventide Home) now notorious for harbouring what adjacent residents call ‘drug dealers and criminals’. An overgrown plot in Willson Street has also prompted residents in the area to call for the grass to be cut.

“No one knows what is hiding in there. Maybe the Dundee lion that prowled around the district last year will make a comeback. The grass is so tall that even elephants could be happily living there,” said one resident who declined to be named. The bylaws call on property owners to ensure that premises are kept neat. However, it is unclear how the law is implemented.

Mayor Mdluli has recently reiterated in various interviews the need to ensure that bylaws are enforced and for the town to be ‘cleaned up, ward by ward’. FC Bester of the Endumeni Residents Association said his office was ‘always overwhelmed with complaints regarding long grass’. “

The Beaconsfield Street plot is a case in point. There is also long grass invading the empty land on Excelsior Lane opposite what was once the caravan park. We have brought this issue up with the Council and we have been promised a report back. We believe should landowners fail to take heed of warnings, the Municipality should undertake the clean up and add the cost of this on to the rates. We need to keep our town clean. A scruffy environment invites bad elements.”  

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