Upgraded park could still be a positive addition to community

For the older generation there is a foot path, as well as a bicycle route throughout the park.

August 28, 2020

Brakpan Herald 3 minutes read

DA ward councillor Brandon Pretorius has called on the municipality to resolve the hyacinth issue at the Brakpan Dam so residents can fully enjoy the upgraded facilities at Jan Smuts Park. The park remains closed.

DA councillor for Ward 97 in Brakpan, Brandon Pretorius, is cautiously optimistic the Jan Smuts Park will be a great asset to the Brakpan community.

This follows a site visit to the newly upgraded park earlier this week.

With the Brakpan Dam’s hyacinth problem still unresolved, and if the municipality fails to take control and ensure future maintenance, Pretorius is concerned the park will mean nothing to residents if it cannot be utilised.

“The park is now a one-of-a-kind and boasts all sorts of entertainment features mostly focusing on the youth with a new skateboard park, basketball, netball and soccer courts, as well as an area for younger children with play equipment.

“There is even a rock climbing wall to ensure some amusement and excitement,” he said.

“For the older generation there is a foot path, as well as a bicycle route throughout the park. The park also has a collection of outdoor gym equipment.”

According to Pretorius, the upgrade of the park has been on the Ward 97 integrated development plan for years and was envisioned before the hyacinth infestation took hold on the dam.

“Even though I am excited about the new park, I would have rather first resolved the hyacinth problem before spending millions on the park,” he said.

The park boasts an area for younger children with play equipment, and a rock climbing wall.

“I myself, as most residents, would have rather seen the water cleared, but unfortunately that is not how the administration works.

“The choice we had was to probably forfeit the money allocated to the park or have it developed. There was no option of relocating the funds to combat the infestation.

“I can see that the investment could easily become a white elephant for years to come.

“Pretorius told the Herald it has been almost three years since the park was closed to deal with the hyacinth infestation. The infestation had been flourishing for months prior.

“On November 14, 2017, I received a notification that stated the Jan Smuts Park will be closed until further notice,” he said.

“The acting divisional head for parks and cemeteries at the time said that the City of Ekurhuleni closed the park for the removal of the hyacinth from the dam.

“Years later and still nothing is being done to remove the invasive plant from the dam.

“The matter was escalated in 2016 for the first time and even after being brought to the attention of Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina, nothing effective has been done.”

The Watermaster machine was deployed to Brakpan to remove the hyacinth, but was redirected in 2019 to Benoni when the dam wall at Middle Lake cracked.

“One understands the circumstances which called for immediate action to prevent any sort of disaster, but the City of Ekurhuleni forfeited approximately one year’s work and about R1.5-million in taxpayers’ money.

The park also has a collection of outdoor gym equipment.

“After all, all progress made at the Brakpan Dam would be lost as the hyacinth flourishes once again,” said Pretorius.

At the time, the municipality stated the Watermaster would return to the Brakpan Dam as soon as the work in Benoni was completed and that other equipment would be procured to augment the work.

“It was explained that due to the extent of the problem at the Brakpan Dam, more equipment was required to physically remove the plants and that only after there was considerable progress with the clearance that a biological method would be explored to manage the growth.”

The municipality envisaged the operation could take between 12 and 18 months.

“To date no further effort was made to remove the invasive plant yet millions was spent to upgrade the park,” said Pretorius.

The park has many new features, including a basketball, netball and soccer court.

“After initially giving them the benefit of the doubt, the city almost immediately proved myself and the community right and our concerns are already becoming a reality.

“The contractors have hardly left and the state of the upgraded park is already under threat.

“The park remains closed which means no access to the refurbished playgrounds and also leaving it vulnerable to theft.

“Written questions will be submitted to council to ensure accountability and the way forward.”

Pretorius vowed to revert back to the community once answers to the submitted questions are received.

“One thing is for sure, if the city does not combat the hyacinth infestation, the upgrade will become nothing more than a fruitless exercise,” he said.

“As the Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni, we will demand the relevant MMCs meet with our community, even if it is virtually, to explain the way forward and be accountable to the residents of Brakpan.

“We want to see and use our dam again, what is Brakpan without the Brakpan Dam?”