Mixed reviews for Fynnlands clean-up
THE South Durban Basin (SDB) Area Based Management (ABM) office hosted a clean-up of the beleaguered Fynnlands area on Tuesday, 22 October, with mixed reviews.
About 30 community volunteers joined members of the SDB ABM office, SAP, Metro Police, Community Orientated Policing (COP), Durban Solid Waste (DSW) and Tactical for the three-hour clean-up on Tuesday morning.
Project co-ordinator, Irene Chetty said the event was a success, with much of the litter and filth being removed from the streets. Hundreds of bags of trash were collected by DSW and Metro Police set up road blocks, with charges being laid against violators. Of those violations, 105 were general traffic violations, such as driving without a licence, 46 were bylaw offences, such as parking on sidewalks, two vehicles were found to be unroadworthy and suspended and two derelict vehicles were towed away.
SDB ABM manager, Eurakha Singh said the purpose of the clean-up was to engage with the community and she believed they achieved this goal. “DSW was on-hand to speak to residents and they educated them on keeping their community clean. This was an one-time clean-up, with residents keen to get involved and I believe it was a successful endeavour in educating them.”
Bluff Ratepayers Association (BRA) chairman, Ivor Aylward said the clean-up was a pointless exercise without any follow-up. “People not adhering to the bylaws and turning areas into slums should be charged. If this doesn’t happen the area won’t stay clean for long and the efforts of all volunteers will be wasted,” said Aylward.
“A better approach would have been for the municipality to join together with the Bluff Community Policing Forum, BRA and councillor Duncan Du Bois and going to the various problems areas to note them and tackle the issues by enforcing the law.”
– erinh@dbn.caxton.co.za
