A group gathered at Eldorado Park Secondary school for the memorial of Ayob Mungalee. Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency.
Johannesburg - DA councillor in the City of Joburg and former MMC for Development Planning, Belinda Echeozonjoku, has appealed to police to pay special attention to Eldorado Park and other former coloured areas that are riddled with gangsterism.
Over the past few months, Eldorado Park has been in the news for a number of gang-related murders. The area has become notorious for gangsterism, lolly lounges and youth unemployment.
Echeozonjoku said there were a number of problem areas in Eldorado Park, especially where there was little or no service delivery at all.
According to her, the predominantly coloured township had been neglected mainly for political reasons.
“The sad thing about the situation in Eldorado Park is that there are politics at play. Areas which are under ANC are well looked after there is an element that coloured people have been forgotten by this government, but the police are not doing much as well,” Echeozonjoku said.
She said she had been doing some community work in that area and had noticed that community members were afraid to come out in public to speak about what they knew about criminal activities in the area.
“People know what is happening, but they are just afraid to talk— not that I would blame them, but it’s a seriously neglected area,” she said.
Echeozonjoku called on community leaders, business leaders and politicians to come together to ensure that Eldorado becomes a safe area for future generations.
“These are human beings that we are dealing with, and we need to put our own selfishness on the side as politicians and come together to find solutions for Eldos,” she said.
She also urged the Joburg municipal leadership to ensure that the grass was cut in Eldorado Park and that there were recreation facilities for young people to use.
Some members of the community had been camped out in front of the Eldorado Police Station for several weeks in protest of police negligence in Eldorado Park.
Since the protest, the station commander had been removed, and the community was awaiting a new station commander.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety has called for the speedy arrest of the killers of prominent Eldorado Park anti-gang activist Ayob Mungalee.
Mungalee was gunned down on Sunday night in what the police called a hit.
The Star