Gang tags and expletives disappeared under a layer of red paint as graffiti clean-up operations were launched in Lavender Hill.
|||Cape Town - Gang tags, expletives and even crudely drawn mushrooms disappeared under a thick layer of red paint on Monday as graffiti clean-up operations were launched in Lavender Hill.
The mass mop-up, which will see teams of people from the area take to the streets with buckets of paint and brushes, will run until June 7.
Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the operation was just one part of Operation Choke, which was launched after traffic officer Wesley Woodman was gunned down in the area while issuing a fine to an alleged gangster two weeks ago.
The effort seeks to loosen the gang stranglehold on Lavender Hill by disrupting gang activity with raids and patrols. “We want to give Lavender Hill back to the community.”
Smith joined in with the clean-up on Monday, spreading red paint over the side of a semi-detached home, covering up the initials of the Mongrels Gang. He said many cynics would see the operation as “petty”, but he believed the simple act of covering up unsightly scrawls could achieve a lot.
“I believe if you clean up the indicators of disorder, such as broken streetlights, abandoned cars and graffiti, people will behave better.”
He added that it was also an act of reclaiming the area.
“Gangsters use these tags to mark their territory… If graffiti was pointless then why would they do it? In fact they do it so religiously because it has such powerful symbolism.”
Christina Jacobs, a Grindal Avenue resident whose home was cleansed of graffiti on Monday, agreed that the tags had a negative impact.
“They attract gangsters and then they hang out around here.”
The clean-up team’s manager, Shafiek Thompson, said it was great to be able to contribute positively to his own community.
The group, which started cleaning up the area in early February, had to postpone operations until Monday due to escalating gang tension. But he said the gangsters were not usually a problem.
“Sometimes they will come up to us and ask us what we are doing. We make them understand that we are just trying to help,” said Jacobs.
While taggers could respray their signatures on the clean walls, Smith said it would not be an issue.
“We have deeper pockets than the gangs.
“If they retag, it gives me more room for job creation. The faster they tag, the faster we clean up.”
kieran.legg@inl.co.za
Cape Argus