As thieves and vandals continue to wreak havoc at the Boksburg Lake, calls for the municipality to safeguard the multimillion-rand state-of-the-art recreational facility appear to be falling on deaf ears.
The Advertiser recently reported that the newly constructed recreational facility at the lake has now been ruined by vandals and thieves. Part of the fence has been vandalised and water taps have been stolen.
READ STORY: Councillor disappointed in the lack of security, vandalism at lake’s recreational facility
Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos has since last year been appealing with authorities to hire a security company to safeguard the public facility, but to no avail.
To rub salt into the wound, the metro is not maintaining the property and it has become a jungle of weeds, with rubbish, including plastic, cans and bottles, littered about.
The municipality had not replied to our questions, which were:
- When will the damaged fence and tap be repaired?
- Why are the new sections of the facility not secured and maintained properly?
- Who will be held liable should vandals and thieves steal all the newly installed pricey equipment?
- Is there logic in investing more than R13-million of taxpayers’ money in revamping the public facility, and then leave it exposed to theft and vandalism?
Metro promises to maintain park
However, in an email thread between de Vos and municipal officials about the state of the facility, officials acknowledge they are aware of the situation at the park, and they cited labour actions by employees as the cause of the lack of maintenance.
Officials, in the email, apologise for what they call lapse in maintenance at Boksburg Lake. They thus promised to address the maintenance problem within a week, starting with the collection of litter on October 15. Chemical removal of weeds is expected to follow early next week, followed by grass cutting thereafter.
