The Kapteinsklip Informal Settlement Committee says it has officially started serving its community.
The committee was elected in February, and all communication with and donations to the community should be done through it and not any individual person, said Charmaine Adams, the chairperson of the Tafelsig West sub-forum, who has assisted the committee.
The committee was working closely with the neighbourhood watch, the sub-forum, the ratepayers of Tafelsig West, and SAPS, she said.
The community comprises 190 people living in shacks on a field in Tafelsig, near the Agapé School For Cerebral Palsied Children and the Kapteinsklip train station.
“There was no initial board in our informal settlement. There was no leadership, and we needed to put a committee in place. Previously when our community were given donations, people would end up selling it to one another, and this wasn’t fair. Now that our team is in place we can thoroughly help our community,” said the chairperson, Mogamat Yusuf McCraw.
The committee’s secretary, Catherine Manes, said: “We’ve been making sure everything is in order in our community.”
Sherilene Fisher, the committee’s assistant secretary, said elements from the Rocklands area had been breaking and stealing the property of those in the settlement.
“These crimes need to stop. They’re calling us the ‘field people’. Those not living in the informal settlement community are blaming us for stealing and theft. I am happy a committee has been put in place to assist with these issues,” she said.
They’re also seeking donations to help with feeding their community, she said.
Ms Adams said: “We need to locate the people and departments to help this community as they are highly affected by crime. We want to work collectively so that we make sure we give our community the best help.”
For more information, contact Mr McCraw at 076 048 9548 or 061 610 8259 or email kapteinsklipinformalsettlement@gmail.com.
