Jan Smuts Park falling into ruin

Once a popular recreation area of which the town could be proud, Jan Smuts Park has become an embarrassing eyesore to the community.

The park was closed until further notice in November 2017 for the removal of hyacinth, which has plagued the Brakpan Dam for years.

In 2019, despite the hyacinth infestation, the park underwent an upgrade with a variety of new facilities, mostly focusing on the youth, including a skateboard park, basketball, netball and soccer courts, as well as an area for younger children to enjoy the play equipment.

The park was re-opened in June 2022 following the multi-million rand upgrade but has since been left to decay.

It was also reported at the time that a long-term solution had been found that will see a public/private partnership removing hyacinth from the dam and turning the plants into compost.

This service was to be rendered at no cost to the municipality and was also supposed to create jobs. Now, less than two years later, the park resembles an overgrown wasteland and the hyacinth problem remains.

This has left many residents frustrated.

“There is no way into the park because of all the sewage water from leaking pipes. The grass is over one metre tall, and the sidewalks and walkways are overgrown to the point that you can’t see the paving,” said resident Willie Jacobs.

“The trees are falling over and left to rot, and the grass hasn’t been cut since last year.

“The toilets are completely destroyed and stripped to the point that they’re just empty rooms. The windows are smashed and the security doors and gates are bent open.”

He added the children’s play areas are stripped and broken.

“The merry-go-round is broken. The only thing that still works are the swings,” he said.

“There’s rubbish everywhere from people who dump their refuse in the park and visitors leaving their rubbish everywhere.

“There are condom wrappers and condoms all throughout the park. Children bunk school there regularly and I’ve seen children and adults smoking drugs and drinking.

“Drunk people go to the toilet next to almost every tree. You’ll see a guard by the gate but nothing is done about the vandalism or drug use.

“There are holes everywhere which is a safety concern, especially for children. With the long grass you wont see the holes at all.

“The lights don’t work and there are electrical wires hanging from the lights, which is also a safety concern.

“The dustbins haven’t been emptied in probably a year, that’s if you can find one.”

Eddie Bosch is another resident who lamented the neglected state of the park.

“The dam smells at night and we have more mosquitoes now than ever before,” he said.

“Is this now just one of those things that we must accept like our bad roads, bad state of our town and service delivery?

“What are they doing with our rates and taxes? Where do they spend this money?

“Hopefully we will see some changes soon as this cannot carry on. What happened to this once beautiful town?”

A visit by the Brakpan Herald to the park on Monday afternoon confirmed the park is in a deplorable state.

The area is engulfed in long grass and the paved pathways are covered in weeds. It is clear that anyone wanting to use the ablution facilities would have to fight their way through a jungle to get there.

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The dustbins are teeming with rubbish, and water or sewage is leaking onto the road leading to the playground area.

This too, seems to be a perpetual problem, as the Herald first reported on this issue in 2018. The hyacinth also continues to flourish and the dam’s surface is not visible.

The area is not safe for children as one of the courts was covered in shards of broken glass, and there is evidence of fires being lit.

The paint on the playground equipment still looks bright and fresh, which stands in stark contrast to the unsightliness of the surroundings.

Comment is awaited from the City of Ekurhuleni.