GENERAL
Page 6 People’s Post Lansdowne
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Your SMSes Lansdowne’s camera shy ‘ladies’ RE the Joanne Road article: I could not see any prostitutes in the photo. Did they all become very busy all of a sudden? Did they all have a meeting to attend? Or did they just hide from the camera? It seems like they don’t like free marketing publicity! Just joking. I know it must seem like a serious problem for those residents. As for the Rondebosch Common article; as far as I know, Cecil John Rhodes left Rondebosch Common in his will to the people of South Africa. He did not leave it to the municipality. That is why that property can never be sold or developed. I agree that permission must be granted for the various marches as they will be using public roads. I also agree that safety plans must be in place. So why don’t the council help the organisers
instead of threatening them. After all, their social issues (rampant unemployment, hunger, etc) are the root causes of crime. By addressing those issues, they will also be making an impact on crime. I think it is a noble cause that the council has obviously failed to address since the start of our democracy about 20 years ago. Richard Bosman should not be complaining about the organisers being 30 minutes late. He could have called them to confirm if they were on their way. Anything could have happened en route to the meeting. I think the council should make a more concerted effort to help the people who voted them into positions of power and also help the (disadvantaged) communities! ANONYMOUS Ottery
Criticism of local dancers ‘unfair’ YOUR report on ballroom dancing (“SA ballroom champ off to Italy”, People’s Post, Tuesday 24 January) and Stephanie van der Poll’s negative criticism of local dancers are unfair. As an ex-ballroom dancer myself, in these circles since I started, I am proud to say that in those days the Western Cape produced fantastic champions for many years. Cameron Johnson comes to mind, so does Lorelle Whitehead, Albert Kruger, Patti Gerbach, Phillip van Niekerk, Gavin van Rooyen and Lisa Samuels, who started long before the age of 10. Many dedicated teachers had their own
dance studios, including Jacky and Mercia Pryce. And who can forget our own World Ten dance champion, Michael Wenting? Yes, it was and still is a very competitive sport. It is just a great pity with so many TV channels available, ballroom and Latin American dance competitions are not featured very much. Television is a powerful medium to promote it and it can at least keep those interested out of mischief. LEWIS SCHROEDER Lansdowne
Festive convoy a great success AS A MEMBER of the Ottery Baptist Church, I appealed to one and all using your newspaper to donate toys or sweets and chips which we as a church could hand out to poor children on the day before Christmas. The response was not what I expected and some citizens actually used me and my friends as dumping grounds for their broken and very damaged toys. This reminded me of the Biblical story of Caine and Abel. Cain gave his worst fruit to God but Abel gave the very best of his flock. People from all over appealed to me that if there should be an overflow, would I pass over to them – so great is the need in our communities. We placed our faith and trust in God and to my surprise at the last minutes toys and sweets just flooded in. Some cases I want to mention: a little girl, Michelle Boshoff of Boshoff’s Nursery, made up over 100 gifts when she heard the call. Mr Lieu CEO of Chinatown donated a huge amount of toys and sweets and Mrs Carter of Constantia, a pensioner, donated toys she made with her hands. On Saturday 24 December, the convoy lined up at 08;30 at my home. It consisted of about 15 motorcycles, a red beach buggy driven by Father Xmas, and a police vehicle. Police stayed with the convoy from start to finish, as did the Ottery Fire Department A four-
tonne truck was decorated and filled with the donated toys and sweets and chips. As the convoy set off we were followed by friends in their private vehicles. The first stop was at the Bonnytoun informal settlement in Wynberg, second stop was at Flamingo informal settlement in Lansdowne, third was in Becott Road Wetton, fourth was the premises of Chinatown Ottery, where children from Freedom Park and Eden Park Informal settlements and farm employees children of the surrounding area in large numbers were waiting for us. The final stop was in George Rd, Ottery, where a very large crowd awaited us. The Metro police were in attendance and had to close off the road during the handing out of the gifts. KEITH BLAKE Ottery
Joanne Road – a prostitution hotspot . About the problem in Joanne Road, Lansdowne, which is infested with prostitutes: They are there because the drug dealers are in the area. Get rid of the drug houses and the pathetic, disgusting women will vanish along with their mentally challenged customers. Finish and klaar. . Maybe we should be able to name and disgrace their customers. Publish their number plates. I am a resident in Ambrose Crescent and I wish I could have the number plates published of customers parking in this road to purchase drugs in Silica Walk. . Do you know that the authorities also make use of these ladies’ services at night? I’m a driver and have seen it many nights. Amina Finding common ground . Your headline “Prepare for common takeover” refers. Wanza claims that “we don’t have space to move”; this is not caused by people living in affluent areas. It is caused by the irresponsible use of the penis. Twenty kids per person is a crime against humanity. Leave our public open spaces alone. Why not have your protest at Athlone Stadium? . I support the takeover of Rondebosch Common for development, job creation and housing for the poor. . I believe the poor have the right to stand up and to say “no more will we be treated as if we don’t contribute to this country of ours”. We have right to housing as most of us work and pay taxi fare but the money is not enough to apply for a bond at the bank. The wealth in this country is being distributed unfairly whereby certain minorities that have money can have a say in the country but the poor have none. . We all know that we all have a biological right to have children. We need to remember that we don’t need to
exercise that right. We don’t need sex to live. . There are other more civilised ways and alternative venues that can be used to get freebies from government! I hope the resident snakes on Rondebosch Common bite a few protesters! . Mario Wanza, stop using the word “poor” when referring to our people because we will become poor if you say so. Believe in God and we will prosper. . Once again, an ecofriendly piece of ground is under threat by communities who continue to breed even when they can’t feed their families. The more the poorer sector insist on increasing their families, the less housing there will be for them. Birth control education or enforcement of one child per family needs to happen first before the entitlement of taking over of common ground. Get things in perspective. . No to losing one of the last green lungs in the city to squatters and badly built ANC shacks. . The invasion of land at the Rondebosch Common must be a joke. Those poor communities are criminally intent. Crime will double and the tikkoppe will cause mayhem in the leafy suburbs. Let them rot on the Cape Flats. . It’s an injustice that we as white South Africans live so affluently while the majority of the people in SA live in poverty. There is plenty of land and wealth and it needs to be utilized to help those in need. . The rich work hard to earn their wealth, they don’t peddle drugs and behave like hooligans or steal what doesn’t belong to them. They pay a lot of money to live in privileged areas! You can’t get things for nothing! You can’t expect to come and live in privileged areas with your thieving ways and uncouth behaviour! Work hard, educate yourself, behave yourself and don’t do drugs and eventually you can own your
and City Vision are print media partners of the Big Walk. All the entries support Red Cross Children’s Hospital and a community library. The legacy of the walk has been embraced by the people of Cape Town and it has the ongoing support of the City of Cape Town as official partner. The walk’s 10th annivesary was celebrated in 2009 and it was the first public event inaugurating the use of the West Forecourt of the new Cape Town Stadium. The 10km Big Walk will take
Just a thought . Will the residents in (house number withheld) St Johns Street stop setting off their fireworks in the park late at night as it’s against the law to do this in a residential area. You have no consideration for the rest of us and our pets as they are the ones most affected be your actions. Councillor Anthea Green, please ensure that the gates get locked at night. . How about an arrow for cars turning left into Oliver Tambo Drive when the light is red for cars in Vanguard Drive? In response . I questioned a zealot the other day at the break of dawn, and asked if he believed in ghosts. He said “no, I’m a religious guy”. He only believes in the holy one. Holy moly? . Thank you, Jason Bosch, for a well written letter. Anon, Lansdowne . I passed the grounds of a school at midday on Tuesday. All the children were practising for sports. They were wearing t-shirts, shorts but no hats. Not one had a hat on and all were sitting in the full midday sun. Teachers, use your common sense. It’s common knowledge to wear hats in the sun! . The entertainment at the Mardi Gras is always good. However, since the revival of the event the stalls resemble a fleamarket. If I need AMC Classic pots I can get them at a supermarket; if I need samoosas I can get them at Wembly. The concept of the Mardi Gras has been lost. If it has not changed this year, it will be our last visit. Steve Just a thought . I suggest that People’s Post add a section on items which have been stolen to help reduce crime and prevent anybody from buying stolen goods. Let’s give it a try at least, please. Cheers. Ish
Cyclists: obey the rules of the road I FULLY support Mark Kleinschmidt’s plea to respect all road users (“Write to us”, People’s Post, 24 January). Unfortunately, he does not stress the fact that cyclists are also required to obey road laws. Sadly, records show that a fair proportion of cyclist accidents are caused by the cyclist ignoring the law. To illustrate: on Thursday 26 January at ap-
proximately 7:00 my wife and I made to cross Lansdowne Road at Second Ave under the (supposed) protection of the pedestrian green light, when a cyclist came full speed down Lansdowne, forcing us to jump out of his way, and showing no regard for the red light against him. After all, pedestrians are also road users! HENRY EDWARDS Claremont
Sun continues to shine on SA’s biggest 10km walk THIRTEEN YEARS after it launched the popular 10km Big Walk along the scenic coastline of Sea Point, the Exco of the event has welcomed two new major sponsors on board. The announcement was made at Wembley Centre in Athlone on Thursday 24 January. Cape Oil and Margarine, manufacturers of the brand Sunshine D, and Polar Ice Cream are new title sponsors of the event, which will now be known as the Sunshine D Polar Ice Cream 10km Big Walk. Media24’s People’s Post, Die Burger
own land!
place on Sunday 4 March. Walkers will meet at the start in the West Forecourt of the Cape Town Stadium at 07:30 and walk along the Sea Point promenade and finish inside Green Point Park. Entry forms are available at the offices of the Big Walk, 3 Mavis Road, Rylands, as well as at Radio 786, Voice of the Cape, outlets of the sponsors and the new offices of Muslim Views. Registration of entries, which involves the issuing of race numbers to each walker, will take place at the College of Cape Town,
Crawford Campus from Thursday 1 March to Saturday 3 March. Contact Saaid Waggie, office manager of the Big Walk, on (021) 637 1607, fax (021) 633 6239 or email bigwalk10km@mweb.co.za.
BIG WALK LAUNCH: The CEO of Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust, Lou ise Driver, at the media launch of the 10km Sunshine D/Polar Ice Cream Big Walk. This will be the 13th year that the walk which is known as the “third biggest social sporting event in Cape Town”, takes place.