Tempers flared during a public meeting held last Thursday at YMCA in Orlando East regarding the implementation of the re-development of the rugby field on Mooki Street as part of the Orlando East/ Noordgesig Framework Development Project.
The project aims to re-develop the rugby field which is currently been used as a soccer and training field.
According to Johannesburg Development Agency the ‘Number one Rugby field’ will be re- developed to be a multi-purpose sports facility which will be used as rugby, soccer and indoor sports facility.
Part of the rugby field re-development will be a property development and a business area.
Residents aired out that they don’t want the re-development of the rugby field.
“They can fix up the rugby ground, but we don’t want the property development or a business area within the rugby field area. I grew up playing and exercising on that field and my children and grandchildren play on that field, they must just clean and put a fence around the field and nothing else,” said 63-year-old Tiny Ngwenya.
The meeting got chaotic as residents shouted “Sechaba must go” saying the ward 30 councillor Sechaba Khumalo is to be blamed for this re- development.
“I feel that Sechaba Khumalo has failed us, we were not consulted about this re- development, we were just told that it will happen,” said a resident.
Khumalo’s attempts to explain to residents that he had held a meeting in November 2014 to inform residents about the re-development of the rugby field was drowned by residents booing and shouting “Sechaba must go”.
Residents said they were not informed about the meeting.
He explained that it is through developments such as the Orlando East/ Noordgesig Framework Development Project that Orlando is turning from a township to a suburb.
According to JDA phase one of the re-development of the Rugby field will begin this month.
