The newly renovated Ingwe Park in Motherwell’s NU1, was recently officially handed over to the community by Nelson Mandela Bay MMC for public health, Thsonono Buyeye.
This comes after the metro spent R1,5 million on developing and upgrading the park, which was previously widely misused by residents dumping waste at the site.
As part of the project, the city inter alia fenced the site to provide a safe playing environment for children, planted trees and grass in line with its mandate to turn green and beautify open spaces, and installed playing equipment.
During the handover, Buyeye told the residents present that the metro was upgrading nine parks across the city during the current financial year, in an effort to eliminate illegal dumping and respond to climate change.
“It remains important that we work together to change the face of our city. Today’s event was very successful. We are happy with the outcome of the finished project.
“The aim is to provide recreational facilities for both present and future generations. We are pleading with our communities to take ownership of the facilities; we cannot continue to rebuild vandalised facilities,” Buyeye said.
“The people who vandalise our facilities live among us; we know them. We will be counting on you as residents to be our eyes and ears to make sure that this facility will remain safe. This park is for the enjoyment of our children and will take them off the streets and away from danger,” he added.
“The municipality is providing a service to collect waste on a weekly basis.
“We strongly discourage illegal dumping, as it flies in the face of our constitution, which clearly states that we ought to take care of our environment at all times to promote healthy living and a sustainable environment that will take care of us in return.”
Responding to Buyeye’s address, the residents present committed themselves to look after the facility and requested further development, including the installation of outdoor gym equipment.
Speaking on behalf of the residents, Reverend Mzamo Ben Frans, said that the city’s campaign to combat illegal dumping was welcomed, as residents were also trying to adopt environmentally friendly habits that would assist the city in making the metro green and clean.
“If we could change our actions and be afraid to litter anywhere, we could really start to see a difference in our township. In our ward we already have an initiative that is underway to eliminate illegal dumping; we are active in this regard.
“We wish that everyone would cooperate and refrain from illegal dumping. We are the ones who must oversee what is happening in our communities and stop illegal dumping. We are really happy about today’s hand-over and we promise that we will be your eyes and ears,” he said.
