The bottom line is that we can’t have anyone living in public parks. If you allow one person to live there then you have set a precedent to allow others to live there, and it becomes a slippery slope. Parks are not meant or designed to be lived in – they are there for recreational enjoyment by all residents.
Philip Kruger is DA councillor for Ward 86, Johannesburg.
Mark Heywood’s article (Why can’t we live together? The conflict between suburbanites and the homeless in a Johannesburg park) highlights the very complex issue of homelessness in Johannesburg, an issue that affects all cities and for which a considered approach is necessary to deal with it in a sensitive and caring manner. When you add conservation of a sensitive environment in an urban setting which has to accommodate a variety of stakeholders, that issue becomes even more complex.
I would like to provide more of the history of efforts by the local community and stakeholders to deal with the variety of issues at Alberts Farm, which have resulted in, among other things, the erection of the fence.
