Springs car guard pleads for appreciation after 35 years on the job
After guarding cars on Fifth Avenue in Springs CBD for 35 years, David Molopo says he feels unappreciated by motorists who often park for hours without offering any form of thanks or payment.
A familiar face along one of Springs CBD’s busiest roads expressed frustration about how he feels unappreciated by motorists.
David Molopo (50), from Tornado in KwaThema, is a car guard on Fifth Avenue in the CBD. He told the Springs Advertiser that for 35 years, he has looked after vehicles in the CBD, but many motorists do not show appreciation through money or food.
He expressed his frustration over how car owners leave their vehicles parked for hours but don’t pay him. He added that in many areas, car guards insist on motorists paying them.
Photo: Zamokuhle Ndawonde
“The owners leave their cars parked, and they do not tell me to guard them. If anything happens to the cars, they immediately come to ask me. I tell them that you told me not to guard your car,” said Molopo.
Molopo said that when cars are stolen without his supervision, the owners would accuse him of stealing and selling them, and that he has been accused many times.
Molopo added that he would ask the owners, “How can I sell your car while I am here every day?”
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He said that he is the breadwinner at home, and being a car guard is his only way of survival.
“Honestly, I do not need much from them; please just pay me because this is my job too. People go shopping for hours, and when they come back to their cars, they don’t even give a loaf of bread or a cold drink,” he said.
He added that he would appreciate it if motorists parking on the road could pay him at least R5. Molopo also said that Springs residents should show appreciation to car guards because they look after valuables when they are not there.
