By Bongekile Gumede
North and South Beach residents shopping at Mangrove Centre in North Beach have raised concerns over homeless people who are pretending to be car guards at Mangrove Centre and are harassing shoppers, even demanding they give them money.
A regular shopper said she is tired of being sworn at every time she goes to the shopping centre. “Every time I go to the Centre, especially when I go to KFC, the guys who stand outside the Centre just do not stop harassing me. It’s not only me, everyone who goes there is harassed. This one time the one guy asked me how I can afford KFC and not be able to give him R2. If you are driving it’s even worse because they demand you pay them and I think the Centre’s management should do something about it.”
The shopper said that she has contacted Metro, however, she was told that the SAPS are the best people to deal with the matter. “I then resorted to speaking to Superintendent Moodley who acted on it and after I reported I saw that there was not so many of the vagrants at the Centre, however, now they are back again,” she said.
She said she has also contacted the DA PR Councillor, Sharmaine Sewshanker, who said she will personally contact the Metro officials to deal with it. Sewshanker confirmed that homelessness is a big issue in eThekwini and it is rather concerning that they are now frequenting tourist hotspots more often.
“This has deterred residents from visiting key tourist destinations like the promenade and other attractions on the beachfront. The homeless have become very brazen in demanding money from people. They are just all over, sleeping on the sidewalks, in between buildings, doorsteps of food outlets, and it’s becoming a problem and we have seen that there is just no resolution coming from the City as this has been reported all over the media.
“I feel that the City needs to get some political will to address this seriously as crime is also escalating. It is a matter that is on the agenda all the time. We have had private businesses offering solutions, however, the municipality is failing to address this,” said Sewshanker.
She added that with five old age homes in the ward, the senior citizens are often seen taking walks to the shops and with the homeless on the sidewalks it has become really unpleasant and potentially dangerous for elderly residents in the area.
