Durban’s Albert Park, known for its crime and grime, will be transformed into a sports fan park for the Nedbank Cup Final on Saturday.
Image: Supplied
Durban’s Albert Park, known for its crime and grime, will be transformed into a sports fan park for the Nedbank Cup Final on Saturday.
Kaizer Chiefs will challenge Orlando Pirates for the trophy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium which the eThekwini Municipality expects to be a drawcard for tourism. For more than a decade the Albert Park vicinity has been overrun by vagrants, drug addicts, and criminals. eThekwini Ward 32 and ANC Councillor Protas Mngonyama, said a clean-up operation was held on 29 April to address these issues. Mngonyama said the enforcement aimed to restore the park and rebuild business confidence in the vicinity.
Mngonyama said plans for the park included fencing and security. The municipality stated that during the clean up one person was found dead among the debris and makeshift structures. City officials also cleared vagrants from Margaret Mncadi Avenue and Maydon Road alongside the Durban Port and train lines.
The eThekwini Municipality had conducted a clean-up of Durban’s Albert Park. Police will be on standby to prevent vagrants and drug addicts from returning to the park.
Image: Supplied
During an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the situation at Albert Park has significantly improved. Xaba is expected to join the public at the park to watch the soccer match on a big screen that will be set up.
“The ward councillor has mobilised the community to reclaim the park from vagabonds. The councillor and role-players came to the city management and said this is the kind of support we need. Some months ago we started gradually moving them out and cleaning and cleansing the area. Our team was very responsive. They deserve a commendation for doing a good job,” Xaba said.
Andre Beetge, DA exco member, said Albert Park was the first feature visitors and residents view when they enter the city of Durban from the south. Beetge was concerned as to where the more than 400 vagrants had been moved to and what impact this was having on neighbouring suburbs in Durban. Beetge said vagrants had also been flushed out of the Umbilo area and illegal structures were destroyed.
Xaba said there were ongoing programmes to rehabilitate vagrants and drug addicts.
Xaba said the city was trying to find shelters for the vagrants and have also successfully reintegrated many of them with their families. Xaba said eThekwini safer cities were on the ground working on these issues.
The municipality stated that four truck-loads of debris were removed from the park. A bulldozer raked the entire park, clearing inaccessible debris. The Durban Metro Police closed entrances to prevent re-entry and maintained crowd control.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za