WATCH: The state of Townsview

Ward 56 councillor Michael Crichton said he fully agrees that there are many concerns in the suburb of Townsview.

He said he has been doing everything within his power to address these issues, with varying degrees of success.

“It is important to note that a ward councillor has to operate within their legal mandate, and the Structures Act states a councillor ‘may not interfere in the administration of any department of the municipal council unless mandated to do so by the council, and a councillor may not give or purport to give any instruction to any employee of the council except when authorised to do so’.

“However, I have done my utmost best to address the concerns by engaging with the officials on an almost daily basis, having site meetings with the various departments, raising concerns in the regional councillor forums, have submitted written and oral questions to MMCs in council, and communicating regularly with the respective MMCs,” he said.

In terms of the state of the park situated between Valda, Mabel and Roux streets, he said he has had a number of site meetings with City Parks officials, with concerned residents and ward committee members where the concerns were listed about this facility.

One of the biggest concerns is that the palisade fencing that was around that park for a number of decades was stolen a few years ago. This has led to cars, among other vehicles, illegally parking in this facility, playing music and littering within the park.

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“I am engaging with City Parks to possibly have bollards placed around the perimeter of the park in an attempt to stop these activities from taking place.

“Then there is the issue of the ‘mushroom structure’ within the park, where I have received complaints that it was the source of trouble as people allegedly take drugs under this structure, and misplaced people apparently sleep and make fires of this.

“In light of this, I wrote to the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) depot manager, Muofhe Ramulongo, to look into the possibility of having that structure removed. She referred the matter to Johnny Jardine, who is part of the JCPZ facilities department to look into it.

“Jardine looked into it and agreed to have this structure removed on November 18 last year. However, once his team arrived on that date but was then approached by a crowd from the Ekhaya Relief Services, which is apparently a forum that is also looking to address concerns within the suburb of Townsview, requesting him not to remove this structure.

“I then informed the residents on the local Townsview Crime not Chat WhatsApp group and the views were almost unanimous. A number of responses were they requested the structure to be removed. I then relayed to the officials at the JPCZ and they eventually agreed to send a team back there on December 15, where they attempted to remove the mushroom structure.

“Unfortunately, they then realised they needed a bigger TLB to remove it, which JCPZ doesn’t have and therefore needed to look at hiring one. The JCPZ regional manager for Region F, Ipeleng Dube, then contacted me weeks later, requesting we don’t remove the structure as she is of the view that removing this structure will not stop drug usage in the park.

“She then asked to engage with the original complainant. That was a while ago, and there’s been no further feedback from the JCPZ. Dube has been on leave for the past few weeks, which has made it difficult to get feedback. In terms of the litter and grass-cutting, JCPZ does that according to a schedule, but I am putting pressure on them to clean the park more regularly.

“When it comes to illegal buildings in the area, it is also something I’m most concerned about as many of them are unauthorised and are placing a huge strain on the infrastructure in the area. I have been regularly engaging with both building control and town planning to deal with this issue.

“They have issued many notices to the relevant property owners and some of them, such as the Las Vegas Inn Establishment at 51 Mabel Street/28 George Street, was supposed to be taken to the municipal court years ago but none of the officials are able to tell me where we are with these cases. I asked the MMC for Development Planning, councillor Thapelo Amad, a question in council about the Las Vegas Inn Establishment and he said ‘they are still getting affidavits’.

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“I hope there is an outcome to these cases sooner rather than later. I have also laid a complaint with the City’s Group Forensics and Investigation Services (GFIS) about the structure that was illegally erected next to 15 Crozier Street. GFIS is also investigating other problematic properties within the area such as the old driving range at 1 Ruby Street.

“When it comes to the drug dens, by-law infringements and illegal dumping, I am in touch with the JMPD and SAPS on an almost weekly basis in an attempt to have these issues addressed. I am also sending pictures of litter on the streets and pavements in Townsview to Pikitup on an almost daily basis.

“Pikitup then clears the litter but within no time there’s people that dump there again, usually on the same day. It’s of critical importance that we bring these culprits to book. If anyone knows who is dumping in the area, I implore them to notify the JMPD’s illegal dumping WhatsApp line on 082 779 1361. They can also send the details to me so I can also take it up from my side.

“I also have to state that I am rather shocked these comments have come from John Moodey, who happens to be a seasoned politician having previously served as a municipal councillor and a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

“However, his remarks sadly come across as very naïve and expose him as being someone who knows very little about the intricacies of how local government works or even someone that has an understanding of how it works,” explained Crichton.

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