By Lelethu Zono and Ntombentsha Yamiso
Hooggenoeg, Sun City and Ghost Town residents constantly fear for their safety as most streets in these areas are without functioning streetlights.
Community members say the streetlights have not been fully functional since the early 2000s. Because of this, each night, they are vulnerable to violence, including sexual violence, murder, robbery, cable theft, house-breaking and other criminal activities.
This lack of safety is in contravention of Section 24 of the SA Constitution, which states that everyone has the right to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. It also compromises Section 21, which says everyone has the right to freedom of movement.
In a recent and disheartening case, the body of 28-year-old female Myrodine May from Ghost Town was discovered in a shallow grave a week after her family reported her missing. According to the local SAPS, after Myrodine was reported missing, her clothes were found in an open field in Sugarloaf Hill, and this led to further search by the SAPS with assistance from the K9 unit and community members. SAPS say the cause of her death was determined as strangulation and that a case of murder is under investigation.
Distraught mother, Geraldine May feels that had the streetlights been working in Ghost Town, there would have been a chance to prevent her daughter’s death or at least assist in identifying the perpetrators. May attests that Hooggenoeg is a very dangerous area at night.
“It is dark here at night, and we are all scared; maybe someone might have seen something if the streetlights were working”. Geraldine wants the perpetrators of this gruesome murder to be found and justice to be served.
“Our children are not safe, and we cannot send them to the shops at night; I also struggle in the nighttime as I am a person living with a disability,” says resident Salama Daniels.
Another resident, Amanda Peters, said, “We want the streetlights to work because we cannot send our children to the shops at night. We also have to care for older people as we do not feel safe. These street lights have not worked for years, and our lives are in danger.”
Mervyn Dramat, a Ghost Town resident, says the cable theft, which happens in the darkness, is the cause of broken streetlights.
“Not only are women, children and the physically disadvantaged affected by this, but men also feel that they are unsafe at night, “We as men also are not safe, and we are at risk of being robbed or attacked at night due to the street lights not working,” says Eugene De Lange, a resident in the Hoogenoeg community.
However, Nicola Arends, a member of the Ward 3 Committee in Sun City and Ghost Town, told the Makhanda Action for Accountability (A4A) that Councillor Andile Hoyi is busy with progress to fix the broken streetlights in both areas. However, the implementation period is yet to be confirmed.
The Makhanda Action for Accountability (A4A) will continue tracking the issue and advocating for its prompt prioritisation.
Lelethu Zono and Ntombentsha Yamiso are CivActs members and Media Fellows in the Makhanda Action for Accountability (A4A) project at the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM).
CivActs contacted SAPS and Makana Municipality for comment but has not received a reply. Grocott’s Mail will update the article once feedback is received.
