Things got heated at a civic meeting in Brooklyn last week when the ward councillor stepped in an hour after it started.
About 40-odd residents attended the Brooklyn, Ysterplaat and Rugby Residents’ Association (BYRRA) meeting at the Focus College hall in Brooklyn, on Thursday, March 4.
An hour into the meeting, the association’s chairwoman, Fay Vogel, was complaining about ward councillor Fabian Ah-Sing’s absence when the councillor stepped through the double doors and took a seat.
The meeting continued, following an agenda noting ongoing service-delivery issues in the area, “illegal” open braais on Koeberg Road, and a petition to get rid of the horse-and-carts that residents say dump illegally in the area, including at Vasco Road Park, where, according to residents, illegal shelters have been put up.
Ms Vogel said the illegal braais had been causing a mess on Koeberg Road pavements since 2018. Last year, law enforcement had fined two of the “culprits” but they had been back the next day, she said.
She said she had reported the “horse-and-cart dumpers” to the councillor and to the Cart and Horse Association for months, but no action had been taken.
“We have complained to the councillor about the illegal dumping and structures but nothing is being done,” she said.
Cart and Horse Association spokeswoman Marika Kotze told Tabletalk that they saw to the welfare of horses, and dumping should be reported to law enforcement.
“We can only do something about this if the owner of the horse is arrested and the horse has nowhere to go or if the horse is hurt,” she said.
Residents asked Mr Ah-Sing to answer their questions one by one.
Brooklyn resident Moegamat Salie said illegal shacks in the area were lowering the value of his property.
“When will it be broken down and the people be removed?”
Mr Ah-Sing replied that no evictions could happen under the lockdown regulations.
Mr Salie shot back saying: “You are talking bullshit to all of us here, as you always do,” and he stormed out.
Mr Ah-Sing warned attendees that he “will not be disrespected” and went on to talk about his “past achievements and good deeds”.
Ms Vogel said people attended the meeting to hear positive outcomes and “not the past and promises”.
She said the BYRRA was being frowned upon by some residents because conditions in the community had deteriorated.
“We are fighting tooth and nail and doing our best to get the communities in good shape,” she said.
She encouraged residents to attend monthly meetings.
