Newly renovated Jan Smuts Park reopens
Residents are now able to enjoy the upgraded facilities at Jan Smuts Park.
Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell officially unveiled and handed over the renovated Jan Smuts Park to the Brakpan community on Wednesday morning.
Residents can now enjoy the perks of walking into a state-of-the-art community park after the City of Ekurhuleni completed renovations.
The new facility boasts an amphitheatre, paved pathways, an irrigation system, a parking area and a stormwater channel.
The opening was attended by various senior officials including EMPD chief of police Jabulani Mapiyeye, various MMCs, Brandon Pretorius (MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, councillor for Ward 97), other councillors and staff members.
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The mayor previously visited the park in April as part of the back-to-basics approach adopted by the multi-party coalition.
It was reported in the Herald’s April 15 edition, ‘Mayor tackles town’s issues’, how Campbell and strategic MMCs inspected various service delivery hot spots in the area, one of which was the park.
The park was closed until further notice in November 2017 for the removal of hyacinth, which has plagued the Brakpan Dam for years.
In 2019, despite the hyacinth infestation, the park underwent an upgrade with all sorts of new facilities, mostly focusing on the youth, including a skateboard park, basketball, netball and soccer courts, as well as an area for younger children to enjoy the play equipment.
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Until Wednesday, this was yet to be utilised by the general public.
“When we visited the park a month and a half ago, I saw this stunning park that had been completely closed for three years,” said Campbell during her keynote address at the park’s opening.
“It was a travesty that this park was closed to our community and residents. “It is a proud moment for us to open the park today for our children and communities to enjoy. “I am amazed by what we have achieved.”
She appealed to residents to look after the park.
“Take ownership of looking after your facilities. These are for us to enjoy fresh air and exercise. Not only our health but our mental well-being is looked after,” said the mayor.
MMC for Environment and Waste Management André du Plessis described the park as a ‘green lung within our city’ and reiterated how important parks are for future generations.
“They will be enjoyed by communities in the future,” he said.
Pretorius stated the opening of the park means a lot to residents of Brakpan and he is hopeful it will keep the youth off the streets. He thanked the multi-party coalition government for its commitment to residents.
On the subject of the hyacinth infestation, Pretorius explained that a long-term solution has been found that will see a public/private partnership removing hyacinth from the dam and turning the plants into compost.
He added this service will be rendered at no cost to the municipality and will also create jobs in the ward.
