Sports, Heritage, Recreation, Arts and Culture- Lack of Maintenance and the Ruin of Our Sporting Infrastructure

by Ald Dean Stone- DA Shadow MMC for Sports, Heritage, Recreation, Arts & Culture

Date: 25 March 2021

Release: Immediate

Communities, especially in the townships, need public green spaces as they play a pivotal role in maintaining sustainable communities and social cohesion while uplifting residents. These spaces do not always provide direct financial benefits to the City, however, they contribute immensely to the well-being of society and the environment.

There is currently no maintenance taking place at our sporting facilities. PAM Brink Stadium, Daveyton Golf course and our swimming pools to name a few, have all been neglected to a state of collapse under the ANC-led Coalition* government. Communities are left with no sporting and recreational facilities to escape, practise and participate in their favourite sport and recreation. These facilities are non-existent in Ekurhuleni and are being overtaken by ever increasing urban developments.

Instead of using the opportunity that the Covid-19 lockdown period afforded the City to do an audit on the City’s sport facilities and do some much needed maintenance, the Metro instead decided to launch a multi-million rand O.R. Tambo statue at the Airport which is of no benefit to our residents. The cost of the function ran well into millions while basic service delivery was left to suffer. Moreover, the ANC-led coalition* government is now also planning on taking away a much needed golf course from the community of Daveyton and replace it with a developers housing development.

The DA in Ekurhuleni will not stand by quietly and allow this to happen. The true state and potential of Ekurhuleni will only be realised under a DA-led government.

A DA-led Ekurhuleni will:

· Maintain and upgrade recreational and sporting facilities by hiring competent staff in parks departments and ensuring that adequate funding is available for maintenance;

· Construct parks and recreational facilities (green spaces) in communities. Ensure that all communities have access to sports and arts facilities;

· Use public amenities, including sports recreation and library facilities, in promoting health and wellness in an effort to provide young people with constructive alternatives to antisocial behaviour;

· Promote Arts, Culture and Heritage sectors for recreation and tourism.

*Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr Dean Stone

DA Shadow MMC for Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture in Ekurhuleni