Schools and the community of Ward 74 to be able to use their sports grounds again
The grounds are graded to allow the community to use them.
Kwa-Thema – Four informal sports grounds in Ward 74 are being graded after they were uncultivated for months.
Ward 74 Clr Thulani Simelane said he approached Liebbher (a company that sells construction machines and mining and material handling equipment made by it) for assistance after the metro said the grading machine was broken and can’t be used for land cultivation.
Liebbher came on board, offering labour and a front-end loader because they don’t have a grading machine.
“Communities and nearby schools use these grounds for their sports activities,” said Simelane.
Liebbher’s yard supervisor Chris Groenewald said they were happy to come on board as a company and give back to the community.
The grading started at the ground near Theo Twala Primary School. Groenewald said it would take almost four weeks to grade all the grounds.
A teacher responsible for sports, arts and culture at Theo Twala, Shadrack Sumbani, said although the grading was overdue, they were grateful because the project would come with great results.
“We have no sports grounds inside the schoolyard, so we will now be able to have our physical exercise and training, and sports practices, especially for cricket, at our nearby ground,” said Sumbani.
Sumbani said they had used other schools’ grounds to host their sports days, but that would now be a thing of the past.
Heweet Mosoathupa of Hygza Enterprise (REVISE: CANNOT FIND ON INTERNET) said they would also lend a hand to this project as a small business.
“We will come with manpower, rakes and refuse bags to make sure we leave the area clean and tidy afterwards,” he concluded.
Simelane said the soil left after the grading would help to close a man-made hole about 300m from the ground near Theo Twala.
The hole has become a dam for cows to drink water, and children swim there after school, on weekends and during school holidays.
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The ward committee member responsible for sports, arts and culture, Elias Ngcobo, said, “The grounds should be operational so we can keep our children busy after school and during weekends so they can’t focus on crime, drugs and other substances.”
Ngcobo said the grounds would help people to showcase and nurture their talents. He said a group of maidens in the ward would use the grounds to practise their dances.
The other three grounds are one near Sakhelwe Primary School, one near Kwa-Thema Skills School and one behind Kwa-Thema Hostel.
