Children’s playground used as open-air toilet
Fire pits, filth and litter take over public areas in Middelburg.
Just four days after the park at the Tosca Centre was cleaned, it looks like a pigsty again.
Councillor Helda de Klerk arranged with the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality for the park to be cleaned.
Photos were circulated of a park where children could happily play on the swings. That was a Sunday.
By Thursday, the park was again a pigsty.
What’s more, a security guard with a gun at his side is using the park as his personal toilet.
While the Observerwas busy taking a video of the dirty park, he unhesitatingly urinated next to a dustbin.
But the problem isn’t just at the Tosca Centre.
The town’s parks and sidewalks are littered with homeless people and drug addicts.
There is garbage everywhere, especially in Cowen Ntuli and Wes streets, and people defecate and urinate on the sidewalks. Last week, near St. Joseph’s Old Age Home, there were signs of where a fire had been made against a wall.
With winter in full swing, fires are being made everywhere, including on sidewalks and in the park by Tosca, especially in the evenings and early mornings, with leftover ash and burnt areas left behind.
De Klerk said she has personally cleaned the park several times, but it is not sustainable, “It also does not help to contact law enforcement because they don’t respond to complaints.”
So what is the solution?
Get someone to maintain the park!
A private company that asked to remain anonymous has been maintaining the park in Clubville over the last few years.
The park remains clean, the grass is cut, and no litter is lying around.
Councillor Elsie Vermooten said she is very grateful for the company’s help and has also asked AfriForum to clean the park in Gholfsig.
Arthur Hill of Dagpatrollie has offered to take the parks in Kanonkop under his wing.
However, he is waiting for a mandate to ensure that the park next to Tosca, in particular, is maintained.
De Klerk said she will immediately get the ball rolling so that Dagpatrollie can ensure the park is not turned into a pigsty by the homeless who hang out there every day.
