Fleurhof community fighting to have their service delivery challenges addressed
Influx of illegal immigrants and illegal miners adding to electricity, water, crime and housing issues.
Defying time and those who wish to see progress; the crumbling Rand Leases hostel refuses to be taken down.
A testament to those who built it, the rectangular lines of rooms have withstood the barrage of time, succumbing only to human influence. Propped up by a mesh of displaced peoples, alleged drug dealers, illegal immigrants, and illegal miners, the old mining accommodation is at the center of widespread problems plaguing the community of Fleurhof. A court order to demolish the old mining accommodation was issued several years ago and removing the occupants has been an impossible task.
As those once staying in the building were slowly allocated homes in the flats that surround the hostel, their space was taken by newcomers. The illegal immigrants and illegal miners are being blamed for the crime in the area with patrollers from the neighbourhood’s community policing structure linking crimes to the hostel and the overflowing shacks. Most recent incidents include a girl having her phone stolen while exiting a taxi and the murder of a man during a mugging, both occasions seeing the perpetrators allegedly fleeing into the hostel
Having lost faith in politicians and feeling ignored, the community threatened a shutdown in the early hours of Friday, April 21. The protest went off without major incident and resulted in fruitful engagement with law enforcement. This was met with action by Florida Police who arranged an operation on April 26 which led to the arrest of 25 illegal immigrants and another man for having an unlicensed firearm and ammunition
Also read: Wilgeheuwel residents protest against service delivery issues
The fight against illegal activity galvanised community angst but they say this is just the beginning. Shelby Leshaba is one the leading voices of discontent in the Fleurhof community and is one of the CPF patrollers who has been monitoring the struggles of his area. Citing the constant influx of people, Shelby believes the volume of people is crippling Fleurhof.
“The shacks are growing in numbers very fast. Why are we allowing this to happen? This community becoming too big for the resources available,” he stated.
Understanding Florida police are under-resourced, he motivates strongly for Fleurhof to have their police station. Shelby numbers the number of people in Fleurhof at 50 000 but has no school and no clinic except for a mobile clinic which comes once a week to Extension One. As a result, the people of Fleurhof overwhelm Florida Clinic and make up the vast majority of parents who sit for days after schools have opened to beg for a place for their children.
Further challenges include unmaintained open fields used as escape routes and hiding places for criminals, illegal connections hampering the electricity supply, and a broken sewer pipe polluting the water course.
“Fleurhof stinks because of that pipe. Government must come on board to find solutions. We are welcoming them to engage with us to solve these problems,” said Shelby.
Shelby and his fellow leaders have engaged with the numerous role players but have yet to have a satisfactory outcome, barring the law enforcement blitz on April 26. Questions have been sent to the various municipal entities and governance structures and their feedback will be published when forthcoming.
