A Macassar pensioner is pleading with the City of Cape Town to assist with removing the beach sand from her doorstep.
Faheema Majiet claims the City officials have informed her that it is her responsibility to remove the sand.
“Where do I, a pensioner, get the money to remove all that sand?” Majiet asked. “Yesterday (17 March) I had to pay people to remove the sand, and they were able to fill 70 wheelbarrows. Today (18 March), half of my driveway is full of sand again!”
According to Majiet, she must fork out thousands of rands because removing the sand requires a bulldozer.
“The pavement belongs to the City. They must come clear it up. I pay my rates and taxes!”
Faheema Majiet
Majiet’s entire pavement and driveways are buried beneath the dunes. Sand has begun to accumulating on the property in Cape Cod Road in Macassar. This blocks one of her garage doors from opening, and there seems to be no end in sight for the winds that are causing the problem.
The 63-year-old lives alone in the main house, while her son occupies a separate entrance on the property. The beachfront home is isolated behind a resort.
With the street nearly completely covered in sand, she had to live at her sister’s home for a few days in the hope that the winds would subside.
“Normally I remove the sand at my own expense. However, this year the winds have been so strong that the sand just continues to pile up,” Majiet said.
On Thursday 27 February, her son reported the dunes to the City and received a digital ticket as a reference. After two weeks of no response, he followed up by visiting the office of Ward 109 councillor Peter Helfrich.
Majiet alleges that her son was informed by a member of Helfrich’s staff that the ticket had been closed because the City does not remove sand from pavements and roads on the beach. She then contacted Helfrich through a WhatsApp group run by the councillor, and alleges he completely ignored her.
Helfrich expressed his sympathy for the situation but denied that it was a member of his staff who informed her son that the ticket had been closed.
He claims it was an official of the City’s Revenue Department who assisted the son.
The councillor also denied that he ignored Majiet’s message, explaining that he is only a member of the group.
Helfrich believes she may be confused, since the administrator of the group is also named Peter, alleging this could have led to her belief that he read her message.
“I frequently explain to residents that I am part of many public groups, and it is not possible for me to monitor every conversation,” said Helfrich.
He claims that Majiet’s son approached the City requesting that sand be removed from their property, which he was unable to assist with. This is because it is the residents’ responsibility to remove the sand themselves, and the City does not perform work on private property.
“Now that Majiet raised a new request to clear the sand from the sidewalks and the road, I have no doubt that the City will be more than willing to look into the matter and assist,” said Helfrich.
DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette reached out to the City’s media office for comment, but no response was received at the time of going to print. The publication undertakes to publish the comment once forthcoming.
Meanwhile, Majiet said she is frustrated by Helfrich’s response to her dilemma, as well as her perceived lack of accountability from the City.
You must be logged in to post a comment.