Conditions in central-Danville a frustration
Trash lies everywhere and the area is an eyesore.
The condition of central Danville is driving residents crazy.
Trash lies everywhere and the area is dirty, said Joey Botes, a member of the community reaction unit.
“The sad fact is that this is the central business area of Danville that looks like this,” she said.
“Residents are supposed to come here leisurely to do their shopping. It is a disgrace.”
Botes said criminals abused drugs openly in the area.
“They also make regular use of the drug abuse method, known as Bluetooth,” she said.
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“It smells terrible because they use some parts of the sidewalk as a toilet.”
She said her unit monitored the area on a regular basis.
Botes said several residents complained about the condition of central Danville.
A resident who wanted to remain anonymous, said she felt ashamed to live in the area.
“It doesn’t even help when the Tshwane metro comes to clean up, because next week it will look the same again,” said the resident.
“They [metro] had made attempts in the past, but it doesn’t help.”
The resident said a plan of action needed to be put in place to rescue central Danville.
She said the area is not just an eyesore, but also a danger to the youth.
“Many learners and young people walk through the area on a daily basis,” she said.
“Criminals openly sit and abuse drugs – what kind of example does that set?”
Rekord talked to a few vagrants who live in the area.
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They said they live there, because they have nowhere else to go.
“There is no specific amount of people that lives here. It changes from time to time,” said one.
“Not everyone who lives here are bad – some are here because we have nowhere else to go,” said another one.
“There are criminals that abuses drugs openly, but we don’t socialize with them.”
Local councillor of the area, pastor James Ndlovu, said he requested for the area must be cleaned several times.
The last clean-up action took place almost a month ago, he said.
He told Rekord this week that he will report the problem to the city council again.
“They should come and clean shortly again,” he said.
He appeals to residents to keep the area clean.
The Pretoria West police station could not comment on crime in the area at the time of going to press.
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