Members of the Bank Road Residents Association (BRRA) in Bromhof and residents took some time to clean up the section of Hans Schoeman Street opposite Rhema Church.
They found and removed things like syringes, ladies’ handbags, wallets, cellphone parts and covers, SIM cards, bank cards, marijuana plants, electronics, alcohol bottles and many other things. The place was a home for vagrants.
Chairperson of the BRRA Mandy Mockler explained that the site they cleaned is not in their suburb nor perimeter but they consider themselves neighbours of the Greater Bromhof suburb.
“It was a stellar effort by the BRRA residents and an outstanding end result achieved. We left knowing we had made a huge and positive Impact. We will monitor the site and if necessary we will return to maintain it.”
She added that the Greater Bromhof suburb has seen a dramatic increase in illegal land occupation and by-law violations over the past few years and it’s getting worse.
“We don’t want this problem to spill over into our suburb. High school children passing the unauthorised informal camps are openly offered drugs by the occupying vagrants on the corner of Hans Schoeman and President Fouché opposite the Shell Garage and along Hans Schoeman Street opposite Rhema Church. There have been multiple muggings and robberies of pedestrians along that section of the road.”
The clean-up followed after the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) swooped in and removed the vagrants on Hans Schoeman. The area they were occupying was left filthy and unhygienic, with litter everywhere, empty alcohol bottles, broken glass, snares, make-shift gardens (used to plant marijuana ) scrap building materials, etc.
“We knew if we did not do something quickly to clear away the horrendous mess that was left by the vagrants at that location, they would simply return and it would be business as usual.”
The residents met for three hours armed with gloves, rakes, brooms, clippers, saws, buckets, refuse bags, branch cutters and a ton of team spirit and determination. They completely transformed the site back to how it should look, removing all the refuse and rubbish that did not belong there.
“The intention was to leave no evidence that the site had once been illegally occupied and overrun by drug dealers and vagrants and leave nothing for them to return to. We had to restore the site back to its original natural state. Bromhof community also step up and clean further up from us.”
She added that they have learnt over the years that a united community is key to maintaining an acceptable quality of life in our suburb.
“As we watch and experience the very rapid decline and crumbling of basic services, we know that if there is any chance of us protecting our financial investments and property values and keeping our families safe, we have to take control of our suburb and nearby open spaces. We don’t tolerate apathy or excuses.”
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