THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, last Tuesday, delivered on its promise to develop and upgrade the Walmer Sports Precinct when Executive Mayor, Councillor Nqaba Bhanga, officially opened the facility.
The construction of the new hall, ablution facilities and change rooms, valued at R13 million, started earlier this year and will give support to the already completed two football and rugby fields in an effort to develop Nelson Mandela Bay’s sports stars from the schools and sports clubs.
Bhanga said, “The precinct itself is a multi-year project which started with the multi-purpose centre with an outdoor gym that is being used by the community currently.
“Phase two was the construction of sports fields which were also fenced and remain in a great condition thanks to the community of Walmer.
“And today we are opening phase three and it is indeed a great moment for us and promising a bright future for the children of this community and the NMB community at large.
“There are four change rooms – two for rugby and two for soccer clubs. We have two change rooms for match officials, a meeting hall and an office space, and the facility also caters for people living with disabilities, with (the inclusion of) ablutions and ramps,” Bhanga said.
He added that residents would be happy to see their inputs from the integrated development plan being implemented and called on residents to continue to protect the precinct.
Resident, Solly Booi, from the Walmer Football Association, said, “It has been a long time coming but we are happy that we are finally here. This facility will go a long way in assisting the Walmer community to develop our children.”
NMBM sport, recreation, arts and culture executive director, Noxolo Nqwazi,said phase four of the precinct was still being planned. “We will install cricket nets that will be within the enclosed facility. We are planning the construction of a swimming pool after the Ironman donated R500 000 so that the community can participate in Ironman.
“That swimming pool will be inside this facility as well. Floodlights will be put up, as well as netball courts and a borehole, as we are currently faced with a drought and cannot afford to use tap water to run these facilities,” she said, adding that in an effort to secure the facility, tight security measures, including CCTV cameras, would be installed.
– ISSUED BY NMBM COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
