Alberton role players meet to discuss Alberton North
Alberton North was the point of discussion at another meeting held by role players in the community recently.
ALBERTON North was the point of discussion at another meeting held by role players in the community.
On Tuesday, August 16, business owners, ward councillors, and representatives from various organisations, gathered at the NG Eeufees Church, home base for Ligstad, to discuss the state of Alberton North and possible solutions for many problems facing the area.
Much of the meeting was a rehash of what was discussed at the previous meeting, with no real progress being made to solve the problems.
The issues included drugs, the squatter camps, loitering, crime, bad governance, harassment of the public by car guards on Van Riebeeck Avenue, among others.
An interesting perspective was given by one of the attendees as to why there is a problem with the loitering, public intoxication and the like.
“The problem is that the national law has changed, which allows loitering and drinking in public, but many of the by-laws have not been adjusted accordingly, which is what causes a lot of the confusion,” said Willie Basson, a concerned resident who attended the meeting.
There was once again no representatives of any of the departments, such as Health and Safety, and Education.
A big bone of contention was the informal settlement in 2nd Avenue and how to deal with it. On the one hand, the human rights aspect upheld as most important, with some stating that the people living there have rights to water, sanitation, electricity, and shelter and that that is the most important thing. The other camp made the point of asking “What about the residents’ rights, the ones who actually pay taxes?” also stating that most of the biggest problems in the area come as a result of the informal settlement, including the drug and crime problem, excessive noise, littering and violence, making Alberton ugly, and the cause of the unhygienic state of the whole area due to their living conditions, sewerage problems and the like.
The problem seems to be a fairly complex one, with many conflicting ideas on possible solutions and philosophical disagreements, making the issues even more difficult to tackle.
The next meeting is planned for Tuesday, September 13 at 10:00 at the NG Eeufees Church, Van Riebeeck Avenue, Alberton North.
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