For months the residents of St Helena in Welkom have been begging to have the illegal inhabitants of a municipal shed removed.
This municipal structure was located in the park adjacent to Langeberg and Naude Street.
On Tuesday (22/02) a local businessman, Patrick Fouché, and his workers accompanied Supt Bokvel Pietersen of Bylaw Enforcement to the park to remove the shed from its foundations.
This action, which effectively evicted the unwelcome inhabitants, came after a renewed debate on one of the residents’ groups asking why these intruders could not be removed.
The lack of action by those in authority, and even by police officers, left residents feeling frustrated and angered.
Fouché of Fouché Plumbers offered his tractor loader backhoe and a truck with a claw to assist the Bylaws Department with the removal.
Pietersen, who for months has been frustrated by a lack of support from the municipality in providing a truck and equipment, immediately took up Fouche’s offer.
The shed, situated between two electrical substations which supply an extensive area with electricity, has been located in the park for many years. In its heyday the structure served as an equipment storage space for municipal departments working in the area.
The debate around the “intruders” in the park has raged on WhatsApp groups since they first moved in in the middle of 2021.
Helpless homeowners in the vicinity watched as illegals came and went leaving garbage and waste in their wake. Their continual presence was intrusive and worrisome to homeowners concerned about property safety.
For months distraught residents have urgently and continually asked questions as to why these illegals were being allowed to make this shed their habitat.
The illegals’ living conditions were unhygienic, and bags of human excrement were often found on the pavement outside adjourning residences.
On WhatsApp groups police officials said their hands were tied as there was no evidence of criminal activity. People in authority were telling the “complainers” that they could not act and that the municipality had to evict the illegals.
This reaction came amidst a flurry of unwelcome intruders on residential properties in the vicinity, and also break-ins and the petty theft of gate motors.
When the squatters were removed, various suspect items – including a computer monitor – were found in the shed.
One of the concerned residents who has been monitoring the vagrant situation closely, collected a sum of money from her neighbours. This was handed to Fouché to help with the petrol he used in his vehicles to make the eviction possible.
St Helena has shown that a community’s spirit cannot be dampened by the inaction of figures of authority. When no one was prepared to help them, they helped themselves.
