Jubilee Park rehabilitation ruined
Westville Conservancy members say their hard work has been was ruined.
EFFORTS to rehabilitate Jubilee Park in Westville were trashed by the Roads Department and Sewer’s heavy duty vehicle, leaving conservancy members up in arms.
Westville Conservancy members, John Hinck and Marion Spence spent months working long hours in the municipality’s Jubilee Park and made a remarkable difference by reducing the heaps of dumped house-hold junk and builder’s rubble, and then tackling the invasive alien plants (IAPs). Hinck built the board walks and the area improved so much that they won the mayor’s biodiversity award for the category ‘environment’ in 2011.
However, a week ago, their efforts in rehabilitating the park were destroyed by a Roads Department and Sewer’s CAT vehicle that drove into the park to clear the ‘drainage line.’
Once the vehicle entered the wetland, it trashed the park before getting stuck in the mud up to its axils. Extricating the vehicle caused further damage. More than 10 Strelitzia, pigeon wood and coral trees were destroyed in the process, leaving the Durban Municipal Open Space System (DMOSS) area totally destroyed.
According to Hinck, the Parks Department had no knowledge of the so called ‘drainage’ and when they were informed, they came out and had a discussion with the foreman to stop what they were doing.
“What do we do now? The invasive alien plants will not come back, now that the land has been disturbed. We also can’t get just anyone to come in to rehabilitate the land as it is quite lumpy for anyone to work in. I really don’t know what action the Parks Department is going to take against the Roads Department,” said Hinck.
Spence added that it was saddening to work so hard on this land for the past four to five years – and to see such abuse.
“It shows their lack of respect for nature and this area and total disregard for the work we have done,” said Spence.
Jean Senogles, a Westville Conservancy member said the emotions of the conservancy members range from being distraught, angry and disappointed as they believe the municipal staff are ignorant, uncaring and inefficient.
“The Conservancy can’t win. They have offered to discuss what should be done, problems that arise and a way forward but this is ignored and this sort of destruction of our immediate environment follows,” said Senogles.
Kenneth Mbala of the Parks Department was in a meeting and was unavailable to comment at the time of going to press.
