The Rethabile Mini Sports Ground in Mamelodi, which once played an important role in training youth in sports and hosting sports matches, is now in a state of ruin.

Rekord spoke to members of the community, who allege that the sports ground in Mamelodi East has been abandoned, and no one has given any reasons for this.

This state of affairs apparently dates back to 2016.

During operation, the Rethabile had four tennis courts, two basketball courts, and three soccer fields. Today, everything is gone.

Samson Ndlovu from Mamelodi East said in the past, the facility used to be packed every day, particularly over weekends, with children from around Mamelodi participating in many different sports.

Now, local teams and community members complain the facility has been destroyed by criminals and that these criminals are using it as a base for their operations.

According to Ndlovu, the metro should be blamed for the state of the Rethabile sports ground.

“The facility used to have security guards 24 hours a day, and removing the guards was the biggest mistake Tshwane metro has ever made,” he said.

Ndlovu added that the same has happened at the historic Solomon Mahlangu Freedom Square heritage site, which has also been stripped by criminals.

“Criminals [stole] almost everything at the heritage site, destroying toilets, doors, gates, lights, and electricity cables. The fence surrounding [the] site has been damaged too,” he said.

The security guards were also removed at that facility, with no reasons given.

Johnny Makgubedu from Mamelodi East said criminals then started vandalising the sports facility. They have so far removed the roof of the toilets, the brick wall, taps, window frames, and showers.

On the soccer field, everything except the goalposts has been stolen.

Makgubedu said the sports facility could play an important role in keeping children busy and away from the streets.

He added that the facility could be revived because there are several local soccer teams using the facility to train.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said in 2020, the metro started to secure the facility against further vandalism and restore security to the facility.

According to him, security personnel were posted at the facility for day and night shifts.

“To further secure the facility, gates were installed and the perimeter fence was repaired,” he said.

The metro has since announced that it will be getting quotations for some of the much-needed repairs and that engagements with potential donors to help with the cost of restoring the facility to its former state are ongoing.

It emphasised that repairs in question will be considered once safeguarding the facility is in place or has been addressed, but no formal applications have been received to restore the facility.

Mashigo added that vandalism of buildings and infrastructure is extensive and will require capital to restore.

He concluded by saying that currently, there is no budget allocated for capital refurbishments.

ALSO READ: Metro ramps up Soshanguve power upgrades to improve supply stability

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok