R32 millon sports complex not in use
WESTBURY – Security guards are also at risk following them being stabbed on the site.
Ward 69 councillor Genevieve Sherman is hoping that the Gauteng Department of Sports and Recreation can complete its work on the Mabeleng Oval.
The oval is also known as the Westbury Sports Complex which is situated on the corner of Hay Avenue and Florida Street. According to the councillor, for more than three years, the department has not completed the R32-million project due to outstanding issues that were yet to be addressed.
These include the general maintenance of the facility as grass and weeds grow waist-high, adequate security and the cushioning of concrete along the astroturf soccer field. Sherman said, “It is very unfair and unfortunate because there are children who are drooling to play in this beautiful stadium. At this point, this can be seen as wasteful expenditure because there is no urgency in opening this up to the community.”
The sports grounds were meant to benefit the communities of Westbury, Westdene, Martindale, Sophiatown and others but due to the incompletion of the site, its gates have remained shut. One member of the public who wished for the grounds to be open was lifelong Westbury resident Christopher Lynch. He felt that the opening of such a facility would get children off the streets and direct them to a positive place where they could grow to be better people.
Lynch said, “The children are hungry to come to play here. Because I live next to it they are always asking me when they will be able to play soccer here but I have no answers.” Sherman has continued to contact the department to find out when the grounds could be expected to open but to date, no tangible responses have been given to her.
She said unknown members of the public gained access to the grounds and because security officers on site did not have adequate equipment or support, they were left powerless to stop these people. “The security guards are also at risk here, some have been stabbed while on duty, all they have is a baton and aren’t safe either.”
Lynch added that he had often had to charge the security officers’ cellphones so they had some form of a flashlight on them. There was also a growing rodent problem that had been reported by the ward councillor.
The Gauteng Department of Sports and Recreation has been contacted for comment on the issue. An update will be made available once they have responded.
