A routine patrol by Highveld Park Neighbourhood Watch group landed some ‘entrepreneurs’ in some deep ‘pooh’.
On June 27, chairman of the neighbourhood watch, Mr David Wessels, spotted men selling compost without the required permits and intimidating residents into paying for compost they did not ask for.
Emalahleni Law Enforcement was asked to intervene.
“Our Law Enforcement Unit will not tolerate lawlessness when alerted to it. We received a call about the people who were selling compost without a valid permit, upon arrival we confiscated the goods and a spot fine was issued. We encourage residents to report illegal incidents to our Law Enforcement. There are clearly demarcated spaces where hawkers are allowed to trade when they have a valid permit,” Mr Kingdom Mabuza, municipal spokesperson said.
Ms Maureen Scheepers from South African Community Crime Watch (SACCW) said that these men have been a nuisance for quite a while now.
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She explained that they look for soft targets like elderly people and even women. They stop and throw the compost on residents’ lawns and when they are confronted, start intimidating the resident.
“The group comes from Lenasia and they sleep in the veld until all their compost is sold. They then go back, fetch more and look for more residents to catch with this trick.”
Quick response from Highveld Park Neighbourhood Watch and Emalahleni Law Enforcement landed these men in trouble for selling compost illegally.
Scheepers also said that they keep empty bags with them and when it comes to paying for the compost, they will count all the empty bags and tell residents that they used more than they anticipated. This leaves residents with a huge bill and they end up paying for compost that was not even used.
Ms Hannetjie Tollemache was caught like that.
“We were caught about two years ago. For 10 bags we ended up paying R2 700.”
If you spot these men trying to sell compost, report it to the Emalahleni Law Enforcement Unit or call it in on the SACCW open channel on Zello.
