MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 20th AUGUST 2025

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD VIRTUALLY OVER THE INTERNET

ON WEDNESDAY 20 AUGUST 2025 at 18H30

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PRESENT:      Wayne Ford (Killarney Village); Charles Whyte (Beverley Heights); Ismail Randeree (Castlerosse); Kim Robinson (Killarney Hills); Nadia Nikakhtar (Killarney Park); Tracy Royal (Mediterranean); Andrew Kgantsi (The Riviera); Mqondisika Dube (Montevideo); Shereen Kajee; Samu; Malik.

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1. WELCOME

• Wayne chaired the meeting. He opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.

2.  APOLOGIES RECEIVED

• Eleanor Huggett (Councillor Ward 73); Mr Papadopoulos (Hanover Gate); Mr Devorik (Hanover Gate); Ian Morison (Killarney Park).

3. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES, AND MATTERS ARISING

• The minutes of the previous meeting have been circulated to all attendees, and have been approved by them. The details thereof were incorporated into the monthly newsletter.

4.  STATUS OF OUR SUBURB, AND LIST OF ISSUES REQUIRING ACTION

• The recycling project run by PikiTup has faltered in places. Cllr Huggett will follow this up.
• The “Themba Cleanup Project” continues to do a lot of cleaning up around the area. This is a very valuable project. It was noted that PikiTup are no longer clearing the pavement bins, and the concern was raised that because Themba is doing such a good job, maybe PikiTup feels they no longer need to service Killarney. It was also noted that on a previous occasion, the NKRA street cleaners put the litter into black garbage bags and put these bags into the pavement bins, and when PikiTup collected they took the beige PikiTup bags but not the black bags. These issues will again be raised with the Ward Councillor.
• It was also noted that employees in buildings often drop residential refuse into the pavement bins, presumably on their way home, thereby overloading the limited pavement bin system. Residents must be asked to ensure this doesn’t happen. A poster is being made to spread the message.
• We need more pavement bins. Pavement bins are the property of PikiTup, and they are moved around as PikiTup see fit. Ultimately, this comes down to money. The pavement bins earn revenue for PikiTup, so to keep these bins in Killarney, we need sponsorship. The bin project is managed on behalf of PikiTup by a company called Street Talk – 011 514 1400. We need to contact PikiTup and Street Talk, and ask for more bins. If we put our own bins on the pavement, PikiTup may or may not empty them – we need to clarify this as well with PikiTup. Based on previous experience, they will not allow us to put advertising on our own bins – there are strict by-laws controlling outdoor advertising.
• It was proposed to create a team of volunteers to contact the City of Johannesburg, on every issue which requires municipal service delivery, whenever needed. We will ask for residents to volunteer to join this team.
• Pavement and street repairs –: a lot of money has been collected for street repairs, but we are now constrained from using it for that purpose. It was suggested instead to use some of this money to undertake big pavement repair projects.
• For pothole repairs, we must continue to report this to the JRA hotline, and get reference numbers. The report must give a street location, including the closest corner. The more people who report, the better our chances of getting a response. We should continue to contact the Discovery Pothole Patrol as well, although they mainly focus on busy roads with a lot of vehicles.
• It was noted that the Urban Inspector – Marvin Nkuna – has invited Ismail to liaise with him directly. It was agreed to copy all concerns and reports to Ismail as well.
• The pothole in 10^th Street is getting steadily more dangerous. It was noted that the Council once refused to provide services in 10^th Street because they considered it to be a private road. This may be a reason why the municipal services here are so poor. It was resolved to repair this particular pothole ourselves, on the basis of 10^th Street apparently being a private road not a municipal road.
• Riviera Road pavement –: a lot of work has been done here by Charles and his team. We are working on providing a level surface which is safe for pedestrians, particularly at night when the lighting is poor. To complete this project will require many more paving stones, a large quantity of river sand, and a large amount of casual labour. It was resolved to provide NKRA funds for this project, once we know what will be required.
• It was agreed that this pavement repair must not be an expensive and perfect solution, because we fully expect the Council to dig up the pavement again repeatedly in future to fix the various water, power and fibre-optic lines that run underneath that pavement. However, it must be stable, level and safe. This will be a learning experience, which will inform our future pavement repair projects as well. Charles and Ismail will consult with Zeenat, and ask her professional advice.
• The manhole construction project on that pavement has been put on pause, because it seems the water leak has not yet been properly repaired. This has been reported to Joburg Water, and now we wait.
• It was noted that at the Oxford-Riviera corner, the Council is working on new cables for traffic lights, and they are painting new lines.
• We need traffic cops to be stationed at the Oxford-Riviera intersection to deter cars from jumping red lights. There are still a lot of taxi marshals at that busy intersection, parking on the pavements and islands, in a very dangerous manner. These issues will again be reported to Ward Councillor Huggett.
• Community Street Walks -: as the weather improves, so the number of participants is increasing. The groups are getting bigger for the mid-week evening walks as well as for the weekend walks.
• NKRA Community Gardens project -: The volunteers are busy building the raised veggie-beds, using donations which they sourced themselves for this purpose. A number of the proposed beds have already been built, with the help of scholars from Parktown Boys High School and from the Holy Family College.
• It was proposed to improve the pavement garden around the new park art-gate in 4^th Avenue, using low-maintenance and water-wise succulents. Donations of suitable plants would be welcome. Nadia requested that R1,000 from the Uplift fund be used to obtain some suitable plants to improve this spot. There were no objections to this proposal, which was therefore accepted. Nadia will liaise with Priya and the garden team, about selections and suppliers.
• Community Policing Forum – a volunteer is needed to represent us until Christmas, when Floh will return. Kim will speak with Floh.
• The problems with illegal hawkers and illegal drinking on pavements is getting worse. This is happening in several areas around the suburb, including the 7^th Street car park. All residents should keep reporting these incidents to JMPD, as the more reports they receive, the more likely they are to act. It was noted that Vision Tactical have better direct links to JMPD than we do, so we should continue to report these incidents to Vision Tactical as well. We can do this by reporting on the Issues WhatsApp Group, and specifically flagging the Vision Tactical contact person.
• The risks of cell-phone snatching on pavements, and pick-pockets, is on-going. Vigilance is our best defence here.
• Killarney Mall refurbishment progress -: We have not yet had any further feedback about the progress with the sale of the Killarney Mall. However, we have been told that the proposed buyers are aware of the taxi issue, and that they are willing to create a taxi rank on the Mall premises. We have nothing in writing.

5. NEW ISSUES

• Library –: we are still waiting for the Mall to provide the promised store-room for the donated books. The Mall is apparently in the process of preparing a space. Wayne will follow this up with Elesha.

The Meeting closed at 20h02

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Our next meeting will be held virtually on

WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2025 AT 18H30

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS

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City emergency hotline on 011 375 5911

SAPS patrol van – 071 675 6001

If you get no response from the patrol van, please call 10111

Councillor Huggett – by SMS or WhatsApp – 071 785 8068

JMPD call centre hotline number – 080 872 3342

JMPD Control Room – 011 758 9620

JMPD number to report Homeless People camping in the vicinity – 011 490 1538

JMPD number to report Illegal Dumping – 011 490 1684

JMPD number to report Noise Pollution – 011 718 9684

JMPD number to report Illegal Advertising – 011 490 1547

JMPD number to report Illegal Trading – 011 490 1744

JMPD number to report other By-Law issues – 011 490 1684

To report a water leak: 24-hour hotline – 0860 562 874 or 011 688 1699