Residents are concerned about the long grass at the eMgodini Soccer Field next to Risko Fakude Stadium in eMbalenhle.
They said people and children who pass there are being robbed of their cellphones and money, and women are in danger of being raped.
Residents are accusing the Govan Mbeki Municipality of neglecting to maintain the soccer field by not cutting the long grass that hides criminals.
The soccer field is adjacent to the Thomas Nhlabathi Secondary School and the Laduma Art Centre where young people are performing many art activities.
Howard Ngwenya, the art director of the centre said they regularly hear people screaming at the soccer field and when they run to check what is happening, they often find that criminals had robbed someone.
“Our centre is full of young people and school children who are performing art and sometimes we knock off late.
“It is risky for us because some of the artists are being robbed of their cellphones when they walk out of the centre. We wonder why the municipality doesn’t cut the grass.
“Last year, a woman was raped inside the concrete subway and also the body of another woman was found there,” said Ngwenya.
Residents said even the elderly are now scared to train at the soccer field because of criminal activities.
Donald Green, acting communications manager of the municipality, said the municipality is aware of the number of complaints about the overgrown grass at public facilities such as sports fields, cemeteries and community halls.
He said grass cutting machinery that must be serviced on scheduled intervals and breakdowns resulting in downtime, impact the schedules of the municipality grass cutting.
Green said the delegated department will be attending to the maintenance challenges and the Risko Fakude Stadium, including other facilities, was on the grass cutting programme
