A NEARBY sign states ‘Umbilo Park Sanctuary Welcomes You,’ however what can be seen at Umbilo Park is less a sanctuary, and more a dump site.
Councillor Mmabatho Tembe said she is shocked by what she has seen at this beautiful park in Oliver Lea Drive, Umbilo and feels something needs to be done urgently to remedy the situation.
“This ‘sanctuary’ is a D’Moss area, but it is now an eyesore. As a D’Moss area it doesn’t fall under the Parks Department, but under Natural Resources, however this department has been non-responsive to my queries on this matter for a long time,” said Tembe.
According to Tembe, what started off with a few bags of rubbish dumped in the park, has escalated to the dumping of building rubble, bags of discarded clothing and items which are not removed by Durban Solid Waste.
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“I did a drive around before lockdown with officials from the department as well as Metro Police and SAPS, however nothing materialised. This is a huge area and it has been neglected. I don’t think residents in the area are dumping here, I think these are people from outside the area, and it is increasing as no enforcement is happening,” she said.
Tembe said she was pushing for decisive action from officials from the Natural Resources department and Parks Department.
“This is a beautiful park and something needs to be done to stop this. I have taken it up again and will follow up with the new manager. I will also contact the senior manager at the Parks Department to ensure there is some resolution,” she said.
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