King George’s Park still a problem

What was once a beautiful park is now land marked as one of the filthiest places in town.

With a doctor’s practice across the road and a hospital down the street, it calls for serious intervention to be done.

WITBANK NEWS did receive more complaints, one of which reads:

“I work just around the corner of the beautiful old park in the Central Business District – surrounded by Smuts, Rhodes and Botha Streets. Although this park has always been a place where homeless people might find shelter at night, it was also a safe place for the community to have a stroll or perhaps go and have their lunch in the park. Since the last few months of last year, the park has become the new free ‘party venue’. Anytime from lunch time, each day, people will arrive with their vehicles, camping chairs and expensive drinks. Some vehicles even park on the grass. Most Friday afternoons and public holidays it is very bad. Nobody at my work feel safe to use the park to have lunch or even walk past the park after work, as the people are intoxicated. The roads around the park have become hazardous with drunken people walking across the roads. Even the church’s lawn is used as a picnic area. Two things that are very troublesome for me is – did the law change that the police is not doing a thing about the drinking in public? And every morning the park is full of empty liquor bottles and boxes and blue plastic bags (bought with ice) litters the park, but a whole team of people cleans the park each day – ready for the next party. Who are paying these cleaners? If you look at the liquor brands consumed, the party goers are not poor people. Why are they not forced to go to a private venue?”

This was brought under the attention of the municipality as was done on a previous occasion when complaints were received regarding the park.

Kingdom Mabuza, municipal spokesperson said: “We are going to erect a secure fence around King George’s Park in the next financial year which in July. We are also going to built ablution facilities. The intention of fencing the Park is to regulate access and some unacceptable behaviour. Any concerned citizen will not approve of some deeds which take place there and it even becomes worse when some people start drinking on the church lawns. If drinking in a park is public drinking, Police will have to arrest people who drink in public.”