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PRETORIA N EWS
THURSDAY MAY 16 2013
A spaza shop at Melgisedek building using an oil lamp after electricity was cut off.
ESIDENTS of Melgisedek complex in Riviera have claimed that Tshwane Metro Council illegally cut off their
Uncollected refuse at Melgisedek building on the corner of Steve Biko (Beatrix) and Annie Botha Streets.
take control of the situation. While the municipality has failed to provide answers to the Pretoria News regarding the situation at Melgisedek, ANC councillors, who included former member of the mayoral committee for environmental management Tessa Ernest and Edward Musehane, paid a surprise visit to the complex on Monday to obtain first-hand information on what is happening. Ernest said they made some observations and would discuss what they had seen with the municipality . A plan needs to be made to address some of the issues raised by residents, she said. Residents of the nearby Riviera Close and Medi-Village complexes have also spoken out about the goings-on in the complex, which they say often spill over into their complexes. A resident occupying a block of flats next to the Melgisedek perimeter wall said she could no longer sit on her balcony , as each time she did, she attracted unwanted attention from malcontents at Beersheba, as the complex is notoriously known. They start calling me all sorts of names like, lovey, sister or sweety, and I find it extremely annoying, said the tenant who declined to be named. She said at times she could not keep her windows open as the smell of marijuana from Beersheba wafted into her house. I am definitely on my way out, she said, adding that she was looking for accommodation somewhere decent. A security guard at Riviera Close complex, who also declined to be named said the rate of turnover in their block of flats bordering Melgisedek was very high because of the nuisance arising from the complex. He said besides the smell of drugs and noise emanating from the complex, there was at times an unbearable smell from the sewer system there. The security guard said residents from the surrounding area who dropped at a nearby bus stop were not safe after dark, and that there had been incidents of bag snatching, with the muggers running and disappearing into the complex. If this place got shut down or demolished, people here (at Riviera Close) and those at Medi-Village would definitely be very happy , the