A Maintenance plan is currently being put in place for recreational parks in Nelson Mandela Bay after several of these parks across the metro had been badly vandalised and left in a state of disrepair.
At some of these parks, parts of the fencing surrounding the facilities have been stolen, the outdoor gym equipment damaged and the round picnic tables and benches vandalised.
Even the trees that were planted at the parks have been damaged as vandals have allegedly been littering all around the trees, making it very difficult for the municipality to wet the trees and plants.
During a recent oversight visit to numerous parks across the metro, including Kariega (Uitenhage) and KwaNobuhle, MMC for public health, Lance Grootboom, expressed his discontent at the condition of the parks.
“It was disappointing to note that in most of the cases, the parks were in poor condition. Infrastructure has been damaged or vandalised, equipment has not been properly maintained, fencing and concrete benches have been damaged; the grass needs attention and there is a general appearance of neglect,” he said.
“Our parks should be places where children can play and residents can socialise and enjoy themselves, in addition to beautifying the area.
“We need to ensure that we maintain a high standard when it comes to our open spaces.
“They should be kept in a pristine condition, making them open spaces the public can be proud of. We will also engage with communities to assist us to ensure that vandalism does not take place.
“These incidents have been reported to the municipality, as is the protocol when municipal assets are vandalised,” he added.
According to Grootboom, there is a plan to address this vandalism and an anti-vandalism steering committee has already been established to monitor this process. “The plan is to curb vandalism and establish which of our infrastructure has been damaged.
“We will then do an audit on all our assets and set up a database of all our damaged property so that a protection plan can be drafted,” Grootboom said.
“The committee will also be looking at appointing security officials at the parks and installing security cameras. We also want to make use of the metro police to help with monitoring.”
He said that it was difficult to provide a timeline, since they have only been in power for three months, but the Public Health Directorate currently has a normal repair and maintenance budget for parks, totalling R10,08 million.
“These parks need to be repaired as some of the damaged infrastructure can be dangerous for children who want to play there.
“Our parks need to be pleasure-grounds that can be enjoyed by our residents and children and places that they can be proud of.”
Grootboom said that he would continue his oversight visit to all the parks across the metro and would be focusing on the northern areas this week.
