Back rooms debacle in Cosmo City

COSMO CITY – The City halts the issuing of the standard contravention notices to residents until further engagements with residents.

Members of the Cosmo City Task Team are Edward Mariba (secretary), William Ramotlane (chairperson) and Richard Nranwashe (spokesperson)

The City of Johannesburg‘s effort to halt the extension of properties in Cosmo City in an effort to control buildings was faced with mixed reactions from residents.

The City’s Department of Development Planning recently started issuing the standard contravention notices to residents who were extending their properties to rent out backrooms.

This process was initially started last year in Extension 5 but has since spread to Extension 8.

Residents did not heed the call but instead resort to engage with the MMC for Development Planning, councillor Funzela Ngobeni.

Some of the infuriated residents allegedly held hostage the MMC and the Ward 100 councillor, Rosina Mosito, during the bylaws contravention meeting on 4 March.

MMC Ngobeni addressed them and promised to seek an amicable solution to the problem.

Residents have incepted the Cosmo City Task Team (CCTT) structure to liaise with the City about this plight and ensure consultation was done appropriately.

The City has since stopped issuing notices until further discussions with residents.

Stakeholder relations manager from the MMC’s office Poppy Louw said the letters were standard contravention notices from their Building Control and Land Use departments.

“However, the notices have been put into effect, following a discussion with the community and pending further engagements,” she said.

She indicated that the intention of the notices was to encourage residents to comply with the City’s bylaws.

The department has participated in extensive engagements, including meetings and workshops, with residents of Cosmo City since November last year to help educate them on the City’s building and land use bylaws to encourage and enhance compliance.

She said the department remains in regular communication with resident and business organisations within the area.

Also read: DA promises residents title deeds

The chairperson of the newly started CCTT said their committee will communicate with all stakeholders including property owners, residents and the City to communicate these issues.

“All along the City knew that people were building back rooms, why give people the house key and only educate them later?” he asked.

He said their committee would ensure that no one was victimised.

“We need to ensure that there is proper consultation with all residents in our area,” he said.

He said most residents were not aware that a certain procedure should be followed before building houses.

“They cannot demolish other people’s investments. It must be discussed and ensure that there is not any single person who is victimised,” he said.

The committee’s spokesperson, Richard Ranwashe, said they would continue to communicate with the City.

“Some of the homeowners do not work and rely on those houses for income. The issue of back-room houses is all over Gauteng and why only Cosmo City?” asked Ranwashe.

Details: City of Johannesburg, 011 407 6695.

Four men wanted for supermarket robbery COSMO CITY – Shop owner devastated after burglary and robbery at his shop.

Cosmo City businessman, Chalhv Ali, with the cement post that was used to break through his shop wall.

COSMO CITY – A Cosmo City businessman Chalhv Ali (31) is counting his losses after his mini supermarket was burgled and he was robbed at knifepoint in the early morning of 7 March.

Ali, a supermarket owner, told our sources that the four suspects used a cement post to break through the shop’s wall, where he was sleeping with his wife and four-month-old baby.

“We were awoken when the suspects broke a hole through the brick wall using a cement pole. The two suspects entered the shop, held us at knifepoint and looted the shop,” said Ali.

He added that the suspects made off with R6 700, important documents and his two smartphones. He also had to hire a local builder to repair the wall.

A devastated Ali said the incident has shaken all other business owners in the area.

“We are worried that these criminals will start planning attacks on other businessmen,” Ali explained.

He also mentioned that they now rely on the police to help them because when they fight back against the criminals, they are either victimised by the community or arrested by the police.

Honeydew police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan said a case of business robbery and damage to property is being investigated.

Cosmo City - Have you seen Donald? Last seen by female friend.

Donald Moselakgomo

Last seen by female friend.

30-year-old Donald Moselakgomo has been missing since 27 February.

He is tall and slim, has brown eyes and is bald. He weighs about 90kg and is 1,68m tall. He has scars on the back of his head. Moselakgomo was last seen by a female friend in Cosmo City between 6pm and 8pm on the day he went missing. He was wearing blue jeans and a Studio 88 T-shirt.

Anyone with any information about his whereabouts can contact detective Sergeant Duma on 011 801 8400.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

Gautrain expansion between Sandton and Cosmo City station at Randburg ,will have ‘significant socio-economic development benefits’

The expansion of the Gautrain rail network has the full backing of the province’s road and transport department as it will have “significant socio-economic development benefits”.

MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi said the project is estimated to create 211,000 jobs in construction and will have a R19 billion procurement spend on black-owned entities.

Furthermore, it will increase black ownership of companies in the rail sector.

The department said the expansion project will have a strong focus on local content in the supply chain, as well as increase capacity in the rail sector through skills development.

Feasibility study

The Gauteng Management Agency (GMA) has completed the feasibility study on the extension of the Gautrain rail network.

Results of the study supports the principle of an extension of the Gautrain rail network and outlines the preferred routes that should be developed.

“The Gauteng Provincial Government believes that that extension of the Gautrain rail network and the modernisation of the Prasa Metrorail system must be supported if rail-based public transport is to grow to the required levels to prevent urban sprawl and unsustainable road congestion in the province,” Vadi said.

“This project gives access to private sector funds locally and internationally as well as opportunities for innovation and world-best-practice during design, construction, operations and maintenance,” he added.

The feasibility study on the extension of the Gautrain rail network has been submitted to Provincial and National Treasuries and to major stakeholders that were consulted during the feasibility process.

Vadi said the feasibility study concludes that the extension of the Gautrain rail network will provide significant economic and transport related benefits to the province and the country at large.

It also suggested that the expansion will offer value for money and appropriate risk transfer if procured as a public-private partnership.

“Demand modelling was done to determine transport needs for Gauteng in 2025 and 2037,” Vadi said. “Through the modelling process it became clear that the ‘cost of doing nothing’ in the province will lead to major road congestion in 2037, at which stage cars will travel at an average of 15 kilometres an hour due to doubling of car growth,” Vadi said.

The feasibility study identified the following main links and stations of the Gautrain rail network extensions:

The link between Jabulani via Cosmo City and Samrand to Mamelodi. Stations include Roodepoort, Little Falls, Fourways, Sunninghill, Olievenhoutsbosch, Irene, Tshwane East and Hazeldean.

The link between Sandton and Cosmo City has a station at Randburg.

The link between Rhodesfield and Boksburg. There will be a station at East Rand Mall and a possible link-up with the OR Tambo International Airport Midfield terminal development.

A future link from Cosmo City to Lanseria Airport.

Due to the magnitude and complexity of the project, it will be split into five phases.

Police trainee plans to improve Cosmo City - Future constable ready to make a difference in his community

Future police officers, Lesedi Leketi from Cosmo City and Mandla Mazibuko in police training at Honeydew Police Station.

Cosmo City is known to be one of the few areas of Honeydew Police Station precincts, where crime is always high, but a young police hopeful, Lesedi Leketi aims to change that by improving safety in the community.

Captain Balan Muthan, Honeydew Police Station spokesperson, teaches the trainees.

Leketi (24), from Cosmo City, is among 24 police trainees placed at Honeydew Police Station to be taught the fundamentals of policing under the South African Police Services banner before being sent to the police academy in Pretoria.

The self-driven individual told Roodepoort Northsider that he studied a geography-related field, but always had a love of policing since he comes from a family of policemen.

“I grew up in a household where my father and uncle are policemen. I can’t say I had a passion for policing but now the passion for it is gradually developing because of the things I’ve been learning in this training,” he said.
He added that once appointed as a constable, he will apply all the knowledge he learnt and fight the negative stigma that police cannot spell and write properly.

Captain Balan Muthan with 24 police hopefuls at Honeydew Police Station.

Another excited candidate Mandla Mazibuko from Muldersdrift said he always wanted to be a policeman and enjoys the way Captain Balan Muthan, the station’s spokesperson, applies his knowledge when teaching police theory.

Muthan said the course is to prepare them for college. He highlighted that the students are taught discipline and how to conduct themselves when dealing with a suspect or victim.

Diving deep into a detective’s life COSMO CITY

 A Honeydew detective shares his investigative experiences…

Honeydew Police Station's Detective Sergeant Letsie Molapo.

HONEYDEW – Last year was a difficult year for many, but Honeydew Police Station’s Detective Sergeant Letsie Molapo managed to turn the stressful year around when he finally convicted a mysterious Zandpruit serial murderer and rapist.

Molapo, who normally investigates murder cases, said he was thrown into the deep end after he was tasked to investigate a mysterious case involving a man who terrorised Cosmo City and Zandspruit.

Detective Sergeant Letsie Molapo describes the mysterious case.

The serial rapist, Rudzani Donald Mbasigidi (33), also known as Supa, was charged with six counts of rape, one count of kidnapping, assault and murder and was sentenced to seven life sentences by the Gauteng High Court in October last year.

“From 2012 to 2013, Mbasigidi, originally from Limpopo, started terrorising Zandspruit and Cosmo City. He ambushed women, assaulted and raped them. He threatened to kill the women if they were able to recognise him,” said Molapo.

He added that the suspect remained a mystery because all his victims were unable to identify him.

“He ended the lives of those victims who fought back and who he suspected would report him.”

The most gruesome incident which pushed the detective to solve the case was when he was called to a scene in Motswako Plot 57, where a woman lay in a pool of blood.

“It was then when I knew I had to put an end to this rapist. After the intervention of other police units and help from the community, we managed to trace the suspect and link him through DNA tests,” Molapo explained, adding that they arrested Mbasigidi on 12 July 2014 after a long investigation.

The suspect had been on trial without bail since 2014 and was finally sentenced in October last year, according to Molapo.

The Limpopo-born officer said out of all the cases he investigated, this serial rapist case stood out because it taught him the importance of teamwork within the police and the importance of interaction with the community.

He said the most satisfying part of the conviction was that the terrorised communities were now able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the suspect would be behind bars for a long time.

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Man arrested after Cosmo City Mall robbery COSMO CITY – One suspect gets away and another arrested in connection with Cosmo City robbery.

Items found by Douglasdale Police officers after they arrested a man who was allegedly involved in a robbery at Cosmo City Mall.

Douglasdale police officers arrested a 25-year-old man on 30 January at about 11.45am in Hoogland who was suspected of a business robbery at Cosmo City Mall on 11 January.

The police followed up on leads and found the suspect and an accomplice in a blue Toyota Hilux parked on the corner of Riverbend Road and Epsom Avenue.

As police officers approached the vehicle, one suspect allegedly jumped out of the car and fired shots. The shooter managed to flee but the officers arrested the other suspect who was still in the vehicle.

Read Police warn of new crime trend

No one was injured.

“The 25-year-old suspect was in possession of an unlicensed 9mm firearm, a magazine and 15 live rounds,” said Douglasdale Police Station spokesperson, Captain Mpho Kgasoane.

“The police then went to the suspect’s home in Kya Sands informal settlement and recovered another unlicensed 9mm firearm and ammunition, seven cellphones and a chisel.”

The arrested suspect appeared in Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 2 February and police investigations are continuing.

Read Gauteng is heavyweight contributor of crime in country

“The police thank the community members for a good working relationship and appeal to anyone with information that might assist the investigation to phone 011 699 1333.”

Details: Douglasdale Police Station 011 699 1300.

What can community members do to reduce crime in our communities? Let us know what your thoughts are on the https://www.facebook.com/Cosmo-City Facebook page.