June 2024
- Jacqui Du Plooy
- Sep 14, 2024
- 8 min read
In our newsletter, we will attempt to report and share "new" items of interest to the community. Some articles may be repeated or updated from time to time. The content is designed to be informative and factual.
We cannot be all things to all people and won't even attempt that. In some cases, we may choose to offer an opinion on a matter.
The newsletter is a re-introduction of a previously published narrative on issues affecting the community. The format is different this time.
SOME INFO:
Planned frequency: Quarterly (March/June/September/December)
Content supplier: APRA Committee; APRA members
Editor: BigD
Format: PDF and web format
Circulation: APRA WhatsApp groups (± 1 174 members across 5 groups)
APRA Facebook page
E-mail (on request)
COMMITTEE MEMBERS - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The APRA Committee
Estelle Schoeman (Chairperson)
Ricky Chabedi
Etienne Coetzee
Mohamed Mactoom
Ruan Kotze
Henry Kriek
Shiraz Monga
Darryl Wilson
The APRA Committee was founded many years ago and continues to function, albeit with different members. APRA was founded by the late John Hunter (MHDSRIP) in 2002 (I think).
The reason for forming APRA was solely to address security concerns of residents. At the time, crime was rampant with house break-ins and invasions the order of the day. Motor vehicle theft was also a problem. John asked for volunteers from the community and started patrol groups to traverse the area in the evenings - the so-called "neighbour watch". The initiative was hugely successful, and crime was greatly reduced. John was instrumental in establishing a good working relationship with SAPS and other neighbourhood watch groups. The palisade fencing and the fence along Tamarisk/R59 are there as a result of the original committees' initiative. Some of the original chaps are still in Arcon Park. We salute you!
Today, the APRA Committee continues with this initiative as its main responsibility and focus. The initiatives that John started, all continue, in an attempt to provide a safe and secure suburb for us all.
Over time, some members of the Committee started to involve themselves in other matters that were posing challenges to the community. This was purely due to their concern for their neighbours and their wish to make things better. Some of them remain, and all of the current Committee members persue personal initiatives to make Arcon Park a better place. Some individuals have created informal groups to try and get things done.
It must be noted that any of these groups and initiatives are outside the scope of what APRA was intended for.
So, anything that these groups and/or individual do, is purely at their discretion and without any obligation to deliver any specific outcome.
All of these groups and initiatives are largely funded by the individuals concerned and they use their own time, money and other resources.
Unfortunately, the efforts of these members are often ridiculed and criticised. Despite having to put up with rude people, we soldier on in the interest of the greater good. It is true to say that we also receive a lot of support and gratitude.
Please continue to support what we do formally and informally. We face so many challenges across the full spectrum of daily life in Arcon Park.
UTILITIES GROUP
The Utilities group was formed to attempt to address service delivery issues and in particular, service delivery failures. The group instituted a reporting system that we use to report both individual household (Incident Report) as well as area power failures/outages. We also report water leaks and loss of water supply. We liaise with Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) on refuse removal and post their weekly schedule.
It is to be noted that members of this group offer their time and resources on a purely voluntary basis. They receive NO compensation for any expenses incurred. This group is not part of the APRA Committee structure and functions independently as a group of concerned residents. Involvement of group members is entirely at their own discretion and when their personal circumstances allow same. We are very fortunate to have such willing and able members on the group. Residents are to PLEASE NOTE that any actions taken, or arrangements made by any/all of the group are done WITHOUT OBLIGATION of follow up and WITHOUT GUARANTEE of success. Information on outages are posted on the groups as and when they are received.
It is to be noted that ELM have their own ways of responding to and dealing with the matters we raise with them. We rely ENTIRELY on ELM to attend to and fix the problems. They do this in their own time and with their own resources. NO PRIVATE CONTRACTORS may be engaged by the group to attend to these issues. We rely on our contacts that we have established within the structures to act on our behalf and make the necessary representations to the respective departments. The Ward 16 Councillor is part of the group and is aware of all matters raised.
Our infrastructure is failing at a rapid rate. The short-term prospect of this being reversed in the short term is slim at best. So, we will continue to face significant challenges for some time to come. We do our best with what we have. Repairs are the best we can hope for when things go wrong.
KEEP ARCON PARK CLEAN
We have started an initiative to clean the open areas in Arcon Park as well as the perimeter fence areas. We are trying to improve the general appearance of the area and make it a place we are proud to live.
We remain frustrated and disappointed by members of our community who dump household refuse in bags or loose, as well as garden refuse in our open areas. People are now using the public waste bins along Johannesburg Road to dump black bags of refuse. We urge you to please not do this!
We are fully aware of the frustration and inconvenience caused to us all by the closure of the transfer station (dump) on Lee Avenue. There doesn’t appear to be a short-term solution to this. Household refuse collection is unreliable at times, and this adds to our frustration.
We recently had a clean-up day at the dump. It was supported by AfriForum and Red Door Properties. Unfortunately, public participation was almost non-existent. But those that were there worked hard and we succeeded in cleaning up nicely. Thanks to those who made the effort.
COAL APRA
The fight against the proposed coal mines continues.
It is going to be very difficult to stop!
We will need to continue the fight in every way possible. Please continue to support all actions in this regard.
A protest was held at the Menar Holdings (mine operators) on Friday 12th July. It was a small group led by Extinction Rebellion and VEJA (Vaal environmental Justice Association). But it was a high impact, well done protest. The protest was planned to be in front of the office on Grayston Drive in Sandton - a very busy street! But the company refused to come out and receive the memorandum, saying it was not safe to have a gathering on the street. This was of course their way of avoiding the unwanted publicity. They moved us to a side street culde-sac, where there was no one! But we went ahead there in the quiet street and made our point. The COO of the company came out and accepted the memorandum. We had media there from News24, Daily Maverick and Sandton Chronicle. The media reports had some inaccurate information, which is unfortunate. Nonetheless, we did the best we could with what we had. The protest was all privately funded from our own pockets. This was the first of several protests that are planned. Hopefully the numbers of participants will grow! We desperately need funding to support these actions. And we haven't even begun with legal proceedings. So, it is a struggle against the corporate giant with deep pockets. Please continue to support the fight.
The Coal Apra WhatsApp group is not very active since the resignation of BigD. No one has stepped up to fulfil that role. BigD will post updates from time to time.
SECURITY
SSG are the contracted supplier of security services to APRA. Many residents also use them in their private capacity as alarm clients. Other security companies are also used by residents.
The services provided to APRA include:
LPR Cameras: Strategically placed at exits and entries, monitored 24/7 for enhanced security.
Patrol Vehicle: Covers daily routes of 160-210 km, tracked by all APRA committee members for transparency.
Response Team: Two vehicles daily - one patrol, one alarm response - with additional backup within 10 km.
Crime Stats: Despite rising crime, Arcon Park boasts with one of the lowest crime rates in the Vereeniging precinct.
Fund allocation: SSG Contributions are allocated for alarm response and reaction in the event of alarm activation. APRA Funds are used to maintain and upgrade camera systems, the 24/7 patrol vehicle, and upkeep of fences in Arcon Park and the R 59. Funds also used for repairing fences damaged by accidents on R 59 and landscaping around substations.
Closure of certain access points to Arcon Park
The Committee is planning to erect structures at certain junctions which will allow those to be closed/manned at night in an attempt to restrict access of non-residents to the area. Plans are well advanced, and we have engaged with the necessary authorities on this. We are currently busy with a costing exercise and finalising the logistics prior to implementation.
We are also investigating possibilities for improving the flow of traffic in front of Arcon Park Primary School, as the current situation is posing a risk to pupils during drop-off and pick-up times.
Be vigilant, stay safe, report suspicious activity and utility failures.
APRA MEMBERSHIP
Membership remains stable. Residents are urged to recruit as many new members as possible. Demands on our finances are ever increasing and we need all the support we can get.
The current monthly fee for membership is R 100 per month. This ranks as one of the cheapest rates for the services provided. There are many members who are not contributing this amount. We ask all members not paying R 100 to please contact Estelle to make arrangements for the correct contribution. We realise that most of us are hard pressed by the poor economy, and we need to spend each Rand wisely. However, we are of the opinion that R 100 for the service we get, offers good value. Thank you for your continued support!
ZELLO
Zello is a live voice push-to-talk (PTT) communication platform that turns any smart device into a digital two-way radio that works over Wi-Fi and cell networks anywhere in the world. Purpose-built to connect frontline teams and communities, the push-to-talk walkie-talkie app offers instant voice communication with one or many in unlimited secure, private channels, as well as message replay, emergency alerts, location tracking, dispatch capabilities, and Bluetooth device support.
APRA uses Zello to communicate with members in an emergency situation. Members also use it to communicate with SSG Control Room to report security concerns or other emergencies.
Zello is by far the most effective way to communicate with residents in an emergency situation. Provided the app is connected, all members receive an audio message as it is being broadcast.
Please note that SSG DOES NOT monitor the APRA groups at all, so requests for them to respond will not be seen by them.
All APRA members who are not on Zello are urged to download the app and then contact one of the Committee members to connect them to the APRA channel.
WHATSAPP GROUPS - GENERAL
There are many WhatsApp groups associated with Arcon Park and its residents. There are open groups (APRA:1-5Neighbourhood Watch) where any member can post messages. The intention of these groups is for members and Committee members to post messages relating to security/safety/emergencies. As part of our initiative to keep messages relevant and accurate, the Committee has decided to monitor content in the various WhatsApp groups. Content that is deemed to be non-related to the core intent of the groups will be deleted by Admins. There is no malicious intent in this, and it is not a witch hunt! Just good governance.
Things like advertising or requesting information on service providers do not belong on these groups. We urge members to please NOT post such messages on these groups.
There is a group “Arconpark classifieds” where these messages can be posted. It is a large group, so people are more likely to get a response using this group. Please use the following link to join “Arconpark classifieds” https://chat.whatsapp.com/CxYN6rAgV8KJ3Hgi9CmOHf
AGM
The Committee is planning to hold an Annual General Meeting in September. Details will follow once arrangements have been finalised. Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please feel free to send me an e-mail with any comments or contributions. Please use “APRA Newsletter” in the subject line and send to
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