Westville residents may boost rates for better security

MEMBERS of the Westville North community, fed up with living “under siege” from violent criminals, are considering a plan that will see them pay extra rates to beef up security in the area.

This came after four residents were murdered at their homes since the beginning of the year.

In the most recent incident, 46-year-old businessman Paresh Bodalia was gunned down last weekend in front of his 6-year-old twins in what appeared to be a botched hijacking on his property. Four arrests were made this week.

Last night, hundreds of community members gathered at Atholl Heights Primary School hall to discuss making residential areas surrounding the New Germany Nature Reserve into a Special Rates Area (SRA). This is around the Dunkeld Road turn-off from the M19, along Otto Volek, Josiah Gumede, Birdhurst, Methven, and Rodger Sishi roads.

Buy-in from 66% of about 1 030 property owners in the demarcated area will allow the five-man SRA committee to make a submission to the eThekwini Municipality in September next year. If approved, the new rates will kick in in July 2018.

Money from additional rates will go into funding a section 21, or non-profit, company, to ensure the safety of residents.

A member of the panel who presented the plan, Guy Boardman, said they would mainly invest in CCTV cameras, which had “shown to be successful.”

“We currently have a Westville North Community Project run as a similar idea to what the SRA will be, and it has helped us stop crime coming in.”

Mostly, crime was dealt with “retroactively”, Boardman said. “We do things after the fact.”

Another speaker, Ronald Clancy, said the pattern of crime in the area was constantly changing. “We’ll never see a stop in crime. It’s just a fact. The plan is to deter criminals and make it difficult for them.”

Crime statistics released in September confirmed that murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and home robbery in Westville had increased from last year.

In January, 55-year-old Gordon Bruce Donaldson was murdered in his home in Gardenia Place during a break-in.

A week later, Pierre van Schalkwyk, 50, was killed at his home on Alistair Road.

In September, 35-year-old Gary Mackay was shot dead in his home while trying to protect his family from intruders.

The source said residents were living in fear.

“I got a call earlier today from a person who said they cannot attend the meeting because his wife is afraid to go out after dark. People are being affected emotionally.

“This is a very, very real problem. Three of the murders this year happened within less than 1km from where I live,” Boardman said.

A community member at the meeting, who had lived in Westville for all his life, said that he was now “nervous” to live in the area.

“When I go outside at night to put my car away, I lock my gate because if something happens to me, at least it won’t happen to my wife and children.”

The source said the SRA would not affect the jurisdiction of the police.