WATCH | Abandoned sports project in Palm Springs now a crime hotspot

Emfuleni municipality has so far spent R24m building an incomplete multi-million rand sports facility, which has now become a crime hotspot and a gathering place for young people to smoke drugs.

The construction began in 2017, but only earthworks were done as the municipality struggled to raise funds to complete the structure at Palm Springs.

Community members told Sowetan that the unfinished Palm Springs Multi-Purpose Centre, which was meant to include soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, an outdoor gym, and other recreational facilities, has become a danger zone where residents fear being mugged, and children are exposed to drugs and crime.

Residents say children now gather at the abandoned site to smoke instead of playing sport, while the area has become unsafe, forcing many to avoid walking through it alone.

According to Emfuleni municipality spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni, Phase One of the centre was completed in 2018 at the cost of R24m.

“The work included stormwater drainage, water and sewer networks, electrical cable sleeves, attenuation ponds, V-drains and platforms to prepare the site for the above-ground facilities planned for Phase 2, including sports fields, courts and buildings,” he explained.

Sangweni mentioned the project requires R160m in Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funding and was designed to be implemented in phases.

Community member Lesego Pitso said the project had failed to deliver on its promises, leaving residents with an unsafe space instead of the promised sports facilities. “This place has become a danger zone. We were promised soccer fields and tennis courts, but nothing has happened,” he said. “People walk in pairs because you can’t walk here alone.”

He added that while some children play soccer on the open field, many use the abandoned site to smoke.

Local football coach Bongani Mahlaba said residents had cleared part of the abandoned site and turned it into an informal soccer field after waiting years for the promised sports facilities.

“What now looks like a soccer field is our attempt as a community to bring this place back to life,” he said, adding that residents were asking the municipality to provide goalposts.

Mahlaba said the space helps keep children away from crime and substance abuse. “We are trying to protect children from becoming addicts and criminals by bringing them here. People get mugged, cars are hijacked, and criminals know this place,” he said.

Another resident, Precious Setiba, said several disturbing incidents had occurred at the site over the years.

“Earlier this year, a burnt newborn baby was found here. People are stabbed and shot in this area. It’s a danger zone, and criminals know their way around this place,” she said.

Furthermore, Sangweni said the reason why the project did not continue was that the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) told them to redirect their priority to fixing the sewer problems in Emfuleni.

“The municipality had planned to begin Phase Two in the 2019/20 financial year. However, Cogta instructed the municipality to redirect its MIG funding towards bulk sewer infrastructure projects following hearings by the South African Human Rights Commission into Emfuleni’s sewer spillages.

He said the Palm Springs project has since been reinstated in the municipality’s implementation plan and residents will be informed when construction of Phase Two resumes.

Community member Carol Radebe rejected the municipality’s explanation of reprioritising sewer infrastructure projects.

“They say they redirected the money to fix sewer spillages, but even today sewage is flooding in our community. It smells from morning until night. They fix one section and another pipe bursts somewhere else,” she said.

DA mayoral candidate in Emfuleni, Kingsol Chabalala, criticised the municipality’s explanation that funding had been redirected to sewer infrastructure.

“It’s madness. They say the money was redirected because of the sewer crisis, but residents are still living with sewage. How do you spend R25m and leave the project like this?”

Chabalala said investing in sports infrastructure would help address social challenges facing young people.

“Sport goes a long way in fighting social ills. This facility was supposed to give children a place to participate in sport and develop their talent.”

Sowetan