Residents take charge of neighbourhoods
The Florida South Residents Association has urged people to become involved in cleaning up their neighbourhoods.
Florida residents are reacting to service delivery issues by taking charge of some basic services themselves.
On March 22 and 23, Florida residents, led by Florida South Residents Association chairperson Rodney Churchyard, tackled the notorious Ruth Street, where overgrowth around the pedestrian tunnel at Florida Train Station had been exacerbating already dangerous conditions.
“This is a known site for drug dealing, street robberies, vagrancy, illegal dumping, and other problems,” says Churchyard.
“The overgrown vegetation just adds to the existing problems in the area, because it provides even more cover for criminals and vagrants.
“As a community, we can’t just sit idly by and watch our neighbourhoods go to the dogs.”
Churchyard assembled a team of workers and volunteers, and got to work clearing a large section of overgrown vegetation around the pedestrian bridge.
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Word of his efforts quickly spread on community WhatsApp groups, receiving widespread praise.
“The main thing is for residents to realise that if we do not start doing these things for ourselves, our neighbourhoods are just going to get worse.
“We’ve reached a point where we cannot depend on the responsible entities anymore.
“I understand that people feel that they pay their rates and taxes, and therefore the entities should carry out the work.
“Unfortunately, this is not happening. We will continue to push for service delivery in our areas, but we cannot just let it get out of control in the meantime. We have to do something.
“I call on residents of Florida to get involved in their residents’ associations and help us to combat the decay.”
Churchyard expresses concern about the prevalence of illegal dumping.
“The overgrowth seems to directly impact the incidence of illegal dumping we come across. We find that the overgrowth attracts illegal dumping.”
