Gang taggings have been removed from the walls in Eastridge.Armed with paint, runny cement

slurry and paint brushes, the City of Cape Town’s Gang Unit were ready for action during Wednesday’s

clean-up operation.The walls of the park and gardens in Buffalo and Elephant streets have been

cleared.The names of gangs operating in this neighbourhood were previously scrawled across these

cement slabs.Residents are elated the gang graffiti has been removed.Hajiera Hendricks has been

living in Eastridge for 30 years.

 

With a great sense of pride in her community, she is glad the gang taggings are no more.“Now the walls look bright and clean. Our only challenge will be to try and keep these walls in a pristine condition,” she says.She is glad the writing is no longer on the wall, but insists officials need to do more to upgrade the public space.

 

“There are only two pieces of play equipment in the park. Basic items like a

swing is what we need,” she insists.Edmund Daniels who upgraded Buffalo Park

is also glad the gang taggings have been removed.

 

The wall in this park has been painted a bright burnt orange, much to his delight.

“Now the park looks even better,” he says.JP Smith, Mayoral Committee member

for Safety and Security, joined the unit for the clean-up.Smith says the unit is

making great strides in enforcing the Graffiti Bylaw of 2010 and creating jobs

in the process.“The Graffiti Unit is steadily gaining a reputation as a big driver of

the Expanded Public Works Programme. In the latter part of 2012, the unit started

using EPWP workers for this purpose,” he says.

 

Laila Majie ~ Plainsman