Following a Twitter post by Glen Austin Residents Association chairperson John Mpatshoe in which he complained and made allegations of storage of hazardous petroleum products in a residential area, Newsnote decided to investigate.
Mpatshoe’s post came shortly after the explosion of a gas truck in Boksburg that killed 34 people and injured scores on Christmas Eve.
The Boksburg tragedy has put public safety concerns from gas and petroleum tanks in the spotlight.
Glen Austin residents are assailed by an awful fuel smell that immediately grabs your attention when you drive in there. In fact the smell is unbearable.
We found a company whose name is known to the publication, allegedly storing and distributing petroleum products, right in the middle of a residential area.
Mpatshoe has also alleged that this company was disregarding by-laws and continuing to operate there despite being told to halt operations because they occupy property that is not designated for that.
“Where they are operating are so many tanks that are parked there, should there be any explosion or any fire it’s going to be worse than that of the Boksburg explosion because they are neighbours with so many families,” he warned.
“You can smell the fuel fumes out here when it’s raining in this part of the wetlands,” he said, adding that another concern was that the trucks are damaging the small roads which were not designed for such big vehicles.
“The roads are so narrow for the trucks and they were not made to pass here regularly and during peak hours they cause so much traffic and that is a serious concern.”
Mpatshoe said a previous company was stopped from operating there but then rented the premises to another company which is currently still storing the fuel.
“This property is owned by another company that is in the same industry, and so on. They applied for consent from the City of Joburg but they kept operating and they were declined; they had to stop operating. When they moved out they rented the property to another company that is doing the same business.”
Again, the residents complained to the City of Joburg and the ‘inspectors’ told residents the owner of the property has appealed the decision by the City not to grant them rights to do their business in this area.
“But they are not supposed to be operating because before you do any business you have to apply for consent. They are just playing a game where one is a tenant and the other owner. The property owner should be held to account, to stop this operation,” emphasising that the city has to stop the company before it’s too late.
The chairman of Glenn Houston Conserves Dave Allenby concurred that the business was an environmental risk.
“What you are looking at here, firstly is the violation of all legal aspects of what should be happening in this area, the environmental risks outside of the potential fire hazard and explosion.
“You have these big trucks pass the primary school at school opening and closing times. The fact that their application to do business here tells you it’s not the right place to do that kind of business due to proximity to the wetlands, potential damage to the environment and the actual business doesn’t fit the agricultural landscape that we currently stand in, Allenby said.
Efforts to get comment from the City’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Development Planning, Belinda Echeozonjoku were unsuccessful as she couldn’t be reached on her phone.
The story will be updated as soon as we get her comment or comments from the City of Joburg.
