Tsutsumani youth concerned about crime
ALEXANDRA - Youth in Tsutsumani are concerned of crime and social decay which are impeding residents' freedom of movement and threatening their health and hygiene.
The youth in Tsutsumani are concerned about crime and social decay which is impeding residents’ freedom of movement and threatening their health.
Tsutsumani was constructed as an athletes village for the all African Games in 1999 and converted into residential homes afterwards. Located in the north eastern fringe of Alexandra, it also borders with an open bushy tract of land which separates it from the industrial area of Longmeadow.
Youths in the area said residents close to the bushy area were forced indoors soon after sunset to avoid becoming victims of criminals. They said the criminals also mugged workers who used narrow paths when returning home from the nearby industries and sometimes attempted to rape women on the same route.
“The community organised themselves into patrol units in 2012, but couldn’t sustain this initiative as it did not get support from local leadership, and also criminals armed themselves and sometimes shot at the units leading to the initiative being abandoned,” said Pascal Mthembu, one of the youths. Mthembu also added that police did not patrol the area regularly and often did so during the day, which wasn’t helpful as the criminals operated mostly in darkness.
The youths also expressed concern on the irregular collection of garbage by Pikitup. ” Sometimes the garbage is uncollected for weeks resulting in rubbish being strewn all over because of dogs and cats scavenging for food. “This impacts on our health, in particular children who are unaware of the dangers associated with handling trash,” Mthembu said.
