R22m KwaLanga multipurpose centre stands unused
For five years, residents of KwaLanga and Tambo Village have been waiting with bated breath for their R22m multipurpose centre to be opened to the public.
But instead, the building – which was meant to be a centre for sports, arts and culture and events – has been vandalised.
Broken windows, overgrown grass and the remains of a netball court are the sore sights that residents have to look at every day.
The centre was built by the department of human settlements in 2014 but its doors remained closed to the public.
The only people allowed to enter the grounds are the community work programme (CWP) cleaners, who only a week ago started clearing the tennis court of weeds and bush.
Residents complained that for years their ward councillor had been unable to give them a clear answer as to when the centre would be open for use.
George Samson, who lives opposite the centre, said they were told it had not been completed.
“They tell us inspectors still need to come and approve the building and we’ve been waiting years and years.
“We want this centre to be opened. We want to use it because it was built for us community members and not security guards. The way it’s sitting right now, it’s not useful to anyone,” Samson said.
Another resident, Jonathan Monnie, said prior to the structure being erected, they used to play soccer and cricket with their children in the open field, but now they had no space to do that.
One of the CWP workers, Virginia Prins, said they were meant to be cleaning at the centre from 8am to 4pm but struggled because there was no running water and they were not able to use the toilets.
“We have to go and ask at the houses in front of the centre to use the toilet and ask for water to fill our bottles.
“We keep being told there’ll be water but we’ve been here since last year and nothing,” Prins said.
He said the centre could be used for various other purposes, such as a clinic, a police satellite station and a social development office.
“Social workers can use this space because we don’t always have money to go to town and we only have one clinic in the area, so this would help us a great deal,” Prins said.
During the construction of the centre in 2014, KwaLanga residents protested in 24th Avenue and North Street Extension, urging the department to build a clinic instead.
Ward 50 councillor Lunga Nombexeza said he could not answer questions relating to the multipurpose centre.
But he said there was a meeting planned with the MEC of human settlements, Babalo Madikizela, to discuss opening the centre to the public.
Department spokesperson Simthandile Ford said the centre had not been fully completed to a stage where it could be certified as safe to use.
Ford said the appointed contractor had abandoned the project during its final stage.
“The department is currently in the process of ensuring that a contractor is put on the project in March 2019.
“It is envisaged that a period of three months will be adequate to bring the project to its finality,” Ford said.
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