ANCYL PICNIC DRAWS RESIDENTS’ IRE
Bergsig residents had to call the police on Sunday evening to have a group of people removed from the Aalwee tennis and netball courts, after they allegedly disturbed the peace with loud music and littered the area with alcohol and food containers.
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the Chris Hani region held a power walk on Sunday morning where participants walked along the heritage route in Mlungisi, followed by a picnic at the Aalwee Club in Bergsig.
The picnic was supposed to have ended at 6pm, but residents complained that it took longer than planned.
A resident of Amatola Close which is adjacent to the club and who keeps keys to the venue, Colleen Pugh, said Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) manager in the office of the chief whip Zithulele Sigonyela visited her home about a week ago requesting the keys.
“He came here last Thursday indicating they would have a picnic, but later changed the story and said some construction company wanted to build houses, so it would need to work on the place.
“I did not know what story to believe, but he visited again on Saturday asking for the keys because he claimed they wanted to clean the place before the picnic took place. My husband had put locks on all the gates leading to the courts because there were vagrants who slept there.
“On Sunday, my husband opened the gate for them and asked what they would use as a bathroom because the toilets were not functioning properly there. There is no water or electricity there so they put mobile toilets against our wall.
“They arrived in the afternoon and left after 9pm. The music and people’s voices were very loud so it was disruptive for the residents who live nearby, especially on a Sunday evening when everyone wants to rest in preparation for work or school the following day. When we went to check the next morning, the locks to the courts were broken and one window of the club had been broken.”
Pugh said it was unfair that the picnic attendees led by the ANCYL left the place untidy because the local authority did not maintain the club and the neighbours paid R500 a month to have it cleaned.
DA councillor Chris de Wet said as the councillor for the area he was not informed that there would a public picnic next to a residential area.
“I arrived there around 9am on Sunday after receiving complaints from residents, and found a few people who said they were from the youth league council and had permission to use the place from the EMLM department of parks and recreation. They said they could not remember the name of the person they spoke to and also indicated the picnic would be a once-off thing.
“What shocked me most was the number of alcohol containers which were scattered all over the place on Monday morning. In the poster I have seen they indicated they were only going to serve soft drinks, but that clearly was not true. I do not have a problem with people hosting picnics, but they could have chosen a different venue, far away from a residential area and there would not have been a problem.”
ANCYL secretary Aphiwe Mkhangelwa indicated the police and traffic department were informed about the picnic following a meeting for planning and record-keeping purposes between the organisation and the station commander and his team.
“The function ended around 7pm and we could not have cleaned at night as there were no lights available in or outside the clubhouse. I agree that the poster indicated that there would be soft drinks served, but that did not mean attendees could not bring their own kind of drinks. The proper procedure to obtain the venue was followed and we had no obligation to go to those few white people to get their permission.
“The only obligation we had was to give them a notice informing them about the function which we did and invited them, including councillor De Wet who met me on the morning of the picnic. We ensured the place was cleaned by Monday afternoon.”
Mkhangelwa said the clubhouse had not been maintained and had faults when they arrived which should not be attributed to them as they did not break any windows.
“The municipality opened the locks for us and we cleaned the place as it was very dirty. After the programme, a municipal representative locked the place. We are not aware about locks having been broken as we had keys.”
Police spokesperson Captain Namhla Mdleleni confirmed ANCYL representatives had met with station commander Colonel Loyiso Ngalo and had an agreement that they would use the venue until 6pm.
“The community policing forum (CPF) was also aware of this, but residents in the area complained after 6pm when the noise did not die down.
“Ngalo and members of the CPF went there around 7pm to ensure everyone had left the venue.”