Mashishing Stadium goes to waste under vandalism and theft

Vandals and thieves have destroyed the Mashakeng Stadium in Mashishing Township, negatively impacting local sport and community life.

Aside from social gatherings and school events, the stadium is also used for soccer, tennis and netball matches. Poorly maintained grass covers the playing field. The changing rooms have been stripped down to bare walls, and part of the roof is missing.

During 2016, Glencore Lydenburg Smelter renovated the stadium. Community members raised concerns over the dilapidated building becoming a refuge for criminals and drug users.

Now, six years later, the community is up in arms on social media, asking what happened to their local facilities.

ALSO READ: Stadium a drug den

Here are some of the comments:
• It’s Comrades even at the tennis courts. The whole tiles are gone. Eish! When are we going to develop? – Jacques Matalane
• Who are those people? I think those from the informal dwellings. Let’s fight this as a community! – Thato Mapulane
• When I walk around the stadium, I feel disappointed. Everything has been looted and those thugs continued to loot. Thaba Chweu Municipality, why didn’t you hire your own security, not security tender? This was now destroyed by Lydenburg’s children. I cross my fingers. Look at the recreational centre: they have looted and vandalised the infrastructure, but our kids are still getting together and playing there, even our local DJ’s still get together there. – Titus Patricks
• The municipality likes the tendering system because they steal extra. Again we residents are the ones vandalising our own places. Knowing we will blame the municipality to fix it for us. – Zozo Sun
• When the stadium was refurbished, it was supposed to benefit us as a community, but now those who are selfish decided to steal so that they can benefit at the expense of the whole community. They should be arrested now. – Amani Goodwill