Pretoria –When Stoni Madlala moved to Lotus Park in Northdale, Pietermaritzburg in 1995 the place was peaceful and residents lived in harmony.
But, she said, with time, crime gradually increased. “We are now scared for our children. Drugs are perpetuating crime in this area - especially whoonga. We no longer feel safe when walking at night in this area.”
Madlala was among the more than 100 volunteers and members of community groups from the northern areas of Pietermaritzburg who participated in the cleaning and beautification of Lotus Park on Friday.
She said the beatification of the park brought hope to the community, although she hoped for more police visibility in the area.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Finance, Ina Cronjé, on Friday said the clean-up initiative forms part of the initial phase of a comprehensive approach to a fight against social ills in the district under Operation Sukuma Sakhe umbrella.
She said it also formed part of government’s war on drugs and substance abuse, domestic violence, alcohol, teenage pregnancy and other social ills in uMgungundlovu district.
Residents including community leaders, government officials, police and organisations, showed up ready to beautify the park where they assisted with cutting of grass, landscaping, picking up trash and the general cleaning up of the illegal dumping areas.
Cronje said she saw the need to get people involved in beautifying the community, which is part of the campaign to beautify the whole city and whole district.
“We are working very closely with our mayors and all the councillors. The police are also on board and we want to make a difference. We are sending a clear message to the criminals that they do not have a place in our areas and in our country. What better way to start than the parks and the streets that are used by the community.
“We are saying to the communities - all spheres of government are here to serve the people, but we are also asking people to be here with us in this partnership to get rid of crime, dirt, drugs, killings and stabbings.
“We want to reclaim our city. We want to reclaim our parks and our streets. Our children and our old people must be free to walk at any time of the day without worrying about their safety,” said Cronjé.
uMsunduzi Municipality Mayor, Chris Ndlela, who also participated in the clean-up of the park said that it has come to their attention that the maintenance levels that are low in terms of the parks are contributing to a certain degree to the proliferation of some social ills.
“By beautifying the public spaces we are closing a space for social ills to persist in our communities and we are also encouraging our communities to make full use of our public spaces for creative reasons,” said Ndlela.
The Sukuma Sakhe initiative will continue to all parts of uMgungundlovu District. – SAnews.gov.za
