John Knight, Muizenberg
As regular walkers and residents of Muizenberg, it saddened us immensely to see the amount of rubbish littering scenic Boyes Drive.
People come from far and wide to see the view and are stopped in their tracks by the natural beauty of this area.
We are indeed privileged to be living right here.
Sadly, it has become a dumping ground for all sorts of litter.
We have also observed that while there are many bins along the way, they are often unused and also the lids have been removed.
In addition the round concrete seats have been upended and even removed. We cannot understand why this is being done and not stopped. Vandalism, theft?
Last week we smelt fire coming from the bushes as we walked past the section behind the police station, and we called out, wanting to raise an alarm by calling the fire brigade.
Then to our astonishment, people living in the bush shouted at us that they were “not making fires, they were just busy cooking”.
Ahem, fire in the bush – why are people being allowed to live in the bush and making fires, which is a tremendous fire hazard for this area which experienced major devastation just a few short years ago?
The area is under constant threat of fires and firefighters’ lives are endangered every day when battling raging fires… drastic action needs to be taken please.
We took photos on our walk of bags of rubbish that were just turned out.
Would it not be helpful to have the whole area fenced off or barricaded as is the top end of Boyes Drive, so that vandalism and or squatters will not be allowed free rein to the area.
And what about placing more bins strategically along the way?
We are appealing to the municipality or the police to patrol the area and start putting fines in place once more.
Christiaan Botha,
Fish Hoek
As I am a pensioner without medical aid or insurance I have been very grateful to have been able to have my teeth thoroughly checked and cleaned free of charge at the False Bay Hospital dental clinic these past 10 years.
Imagine my dismay, therefore, when I recently tried to make my six-monthly dental appointment to learn that the dental clinic no longer provide a cleaning service. Henceforth, the clinic will only provide fillings and draw teeth.
I would very much like to know how the hospital manager justifies this decision as I am at a complete loss to come up with one good reason. Isn’t prevention suppose to be better than cure? Or does this only apply to those who can afford private dental care? Oh and by the way, pray you never wake up one morning with a screaming tooth ache because the waiting list is close to three months. Why is that? Is the less fortunate also less worthy?
Maret Lesch, spokesperson for the Western Cape Health Department, responds:
We would like to thank the resident for taking the responsibility to take good care of his teeth and apologise for his negative experience. The dentist at False Bay Hospital provides emergency treatment for patients with acute dental problems, this is a walk-in service.
There is a waiting list for non-urgent cases.
Unfortunately, due to the recent large increase in patients at the facility, False Bay Hospital does not have the capacity at present to deliver a scaling and polishing service.
The dental department is continuing to offer preventive services in the form of fissure sealants for school children, as well as an oral health programme where children are supplied with toothbrushes and toothpaste.