There are concerns over a rapid increase of garbage due to illegal dumping at a plot of vacant land between Amberfield and Heuweloord in Centurion.
Rekord witnessed several vehicles, including trucks, dumping large amounts of refuse at the site on Thursday.
The concerns over illegal dumping are not only that it destroys the natural beauty of the area and is unsanitary, but it is believed it also attracts a number of vagrants, some of whom commit crime and pose a danger to residents.
Concerned resident Nivelle Govender said criminals stole from nearby houses and disappeared among the tall grass of the vacant piece of land. He said the tall grass made it the perfect hideout for criminals.
Govender said his house had been broken into before. Criminals broke into his house and stole all their valuables while he was at work. “They took everything, including a collection of precious coins I’d had for quite some time,” he said.
The incident left Govender and his family devastated, and they feared falling victim to crime again. “Crime is high in this area,” he said.
Jerry Nhlaku, a vagrant, said he lived in the dumping area because he often found recyclable items he could sell to the nearby scrapyard to get money for food. “This place is my bread and butter,” Nhlaku said. He admitted, however, that some of the vagrants were dangerous criminals. “In this area, we live with criminals who have guns,” Nhlaku said.
A security guard, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he and his colleagues patrolled the area regularly, including the vacant land. He confirmed there had been several house robberies in the area. “The criminals in this area steal mostly flat-screen televisions,” he said.
Contrary to what Nhlaku said, the security guard denied that vagrants possessed firearms. “I have never seen any vagrant armed with a firearm in the area,” he said, adding the homeless in the area did not give them problems.
The vacant land is separated by the Rietspruit, and there are concerns that the illegal dumping could pollute this local waterway.
People dump in the area regularly, despite the fact that there is legal dumping site in Rooihuiskraal, less than 6km from the vacant land.
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