KNYSNA NEWS - Days after it came to light that rubbish was heaping up at a vandalised structure in Joodsekamp, municipal officials and Ward 8 councillor Thando Matika, took action to clean up the site.
On 11 March, Knysna-Plett Herald (KPH) reported on a Joodsekamp resident who stays near a vandalised house in the area, calling on the municipality to do something about the derelict building which had been turned into a dump site and drug nest.
Joodsekamp resident, George Ntlangeni, said he was sometimes woken by screams coming from the ruin at night and would chase away boys who used drugs there every day.
When KPH visited the building on Monday, an excited Ntlangeni said work was being done to clean inside the building.
"After Matika visited the area, Community Works Programme employees came in and cleaned the structure. All the refuse was taken away by truck," he said, adding that since then the place is spotless. "All the trees and the piled up rubbish inside were removed. The boys who used to smoke there are no longer coming here and I can now enjoy a peaceful night," he said.
The vandalised building before the clean-up.
Ntlangeni thanked Matika for making sure the structure was cleaned.
"I have been asking the municipality to clean this place since 2019," he said.
Matika said: "The owner of the house promised to put on a roof, as well as replace windows and doors," he said.
The vandalised building before the clean-up.
The vandalised building after the clean-up. Photos: Tembile Sgqolana
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