Hawkers profit from Bryanston bulk waste prompts introspection

The informal business hub which has developed at the corner of Hobart Road and Ballyclare Drive has become a dividing matter for Ward 103 in Bryanston. Hawkers and vagrants have adopted the corner as their base of operations for selling the bulk-waste items dropped off by people from across Johannesburg.

Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackleford, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), Pikitup and JMPD hosted the communities of wards 91, 102, 103, 104 and 106 for a community meeting discussing the Pikitup Ballyclare Garden dumping site on February 15.

The session, held at Bryneven Primary School, was to engage members of the Bryanston community residing along Ballyclare Drive on a way forward regarding dumping etiquette at the site.

Pikitup general manager for operations Angel Masia, Pikitup communication and stakeholder management general manager Anthony Selepe, JMPD cluster commander Superintendent Sharon Barnard, and the city’s deputy director, Gideon Cruywagen, joined the meeting.

The programme at the event was directed by Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi.

Pikitup general manager for operations Angel Masia said that the Bryanston site was one of those where the entity intends to bring Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda during his planned accelerated service delivery programme.

“From Pikitup, we are asking that this will be one of our focuses in this area to say that we can be there, as Pikitup and all stakeholders, to make sure that we’re visible,” Masia said. “There will be activities done there on that particular day, like the clean-up, to show that we’re doing something.”

Community members weren’t too happy that services are being accelerated simply for the mayor’s visit, lamenting the demise of patriotic duty. Further concerns by residents were those of security at the dump site at hours of low visibility.

“One problem was identified – lights are not working there at the moment,” Masia said. “Interventions are continuing; we’re going to fix the lights. We have a commitment that by end of this month, we want to see the lights working so that we improve the visibility there.”

JMPD cluster commander Superintendent Sharon Barnard, on her part, expressed challenges JMPD deals with in terms of confiscating and impounding items from the site; Barnard also accounted for why the JMPD truck had not been seen lately, however.

“We’re filling up our pound with things that’s never going to be collected, and we’re never going to make revenue on it, because nobody is going to come collect it. At the end of the day, we have to get Pikitup to come and remove it from our impound, which causes a problem,” Barnard said.
“Our truck had some problems. Hopefully we’ll have it back soon.”

Ward 103 Councillor Lynda Shackleford also addressed the residents.

“The whole meeting has been a long time coming with city officials, Pikitup; also identifying the causes of the problem,” said Shackleford. “The biggest problem is that bulk waste is dropped here. When we talk bulk waste, we talk from golf clubs to photos of people’s children; we’ve even had a kayak; the list goes on.”

Although sympathetic to the community that’s developed at the intersection, praising the entrepreneurial spirit exhibited by the informal marketeers, Shackleford highlighted the social dangers presented by the industry, lamenting the security risks posed to children and the elderly.

“We have a school (Bryneven); we have an old age home; we have a corporate business; this is a main road; we have a high school; the bus stop is right here, and we have a whole bunch of people we have no clue who they are around our kids,” Shackleford said.
“Our biggest problem is that residents come and buy from these hawkers. It’s creating a business element, which is wonderful, but just not on the sidewalks where children and people who live in old age homes have to go past every single day.

“The problem is that this is a sidewalk; this is between a traffic light; you’re not allowed to trade within 5m around intersections,” said Shackleford, lamenting how the trade is made possible by the community who supplies the goods being sold.

The meeting closed with a summary of issues raised and solutions posited that was given as feedback by Pikitup communication and stakeholder management general manager Anthony Selepe.

Issues raised

• Criminality among hawkers; selling of alcohol and drugs, particularly over weekends
• Bulk-waste dumping at site
• Threats to community members’ public security were raised.

Solutions posited

• JMPD will declare Ballyclare waste delivery centre a hotspot. To that, they will make frequent patrols.
• Site entrepreneurs (hawkers) have to register with Pikitup to sort through dumped material.
• Bulk waste will be collected by Pikitup per calls logged to the Marlboro depot.
• Anyone caught trespassing, or transgressing, or doing wrong may face legal action.

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