Metro comments on sad state of park in Pretoria West
The metro says that while upgrade plans had been in place, they were hampered by budget constraints.
The Tshwane metro has blamed the poor state of a park in Pretoria West on “budget constraints”.
This follows recent residents’ complaints about the decrepit Cronje Park.
Their complaints focused on cleanliness, maintenance, the homeless population, sub-par clean-up jobs and decaying infrastructure.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo told Rekord that upgrade plans were in place, but they were hampered by budget constraints.
“The said facility was previously used as a cricket spot,” said Mashigo.
“The City is responsible for maintenance, which is done once a month by a service provider. Regarding the allegations of not collecting the waste after cutting, the service provider was requested to collect the grass before they are paid.”
This was in response to residents who say that bagged grass clippings weren’t removed.
The metro also says that it had conducted a meeting on-site with a contractor to discuss erecting fencing around the park, though the project had not been carried out due to financial constraints.
Fencing around the park has been stripped and sold to scrap yards over the years, the remaining decaying structure has been made home to by some of the local homeless population. The wiring inside the electrical box in the park was also not spared as well from being ripped out and sold, leaving the park with no lights for night-time activity.
ALSO READ: Cronje Park in disarray
The metro says that a maintenance job order was issued to remove hanging wires from the vandalised box after the matter was escalated.
“The issue of the homeless population has also been brought to the attention of the Tshwane metro police for law enforcement including the CPF in the area. Sadly, they are removed and come back immediately after,” Mashigo continued.
The metro also said it offers shelters for the homeless, but cannot hold them against their will.
“The department will conduct an assessment to identify the number of [homeless persons] in the affected area and determine if they need placement,” Mashigo concluded.
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