Several years after the clubhouse at the City-owned Eikendal sports grounds in Kraaifontein was illegally occupied, the City has started eviction procedures.
However, upgrades and major projects to the facility that are managed by the recreation and parks department are not on the cards due to budget constraints.
According to Jan Kotze, the chair of Hands and Hearts Rugby Club, the grounds and facilities that include the toilets are in a dire condition.
The house on the grounds that is supposed to be home to the caretaker who died many years ago, was illegally occupied by a group of youths that according to Kotze pose a danger to players who practise there, especially the juniors who practise in the evenings.
“Parents are worried, and coaches are worried. There are six or seven people living there and all sorts of strange things have happened. At one point there were even people ‘camping’ on the field. On big days when games are on it is dangerous for players and spectators. We have heard allegations of criminal activity and people coming to the house to drink and do drugs. Even the security guards are scared.
“They have no dogs and are armed with only a club,” says Kotze.
“The electricity boxes are being vandalised and wires are cut, all for copper cables,” he adds.
“The general state of the facility is dire and at meetings with the facility management we are simply told there is no money to fix everything up. The toilets are not working, and lights and taps are not working and the spectator stands are falling apart.
“Despite many complaints from our side neither the facility management, nor the City’s parks and recreation department is showing any interest in fixing this,” he told TygerBurger.
Ward councillor Brenda Hansen says it must be remembered that the grounds are not only the City’s responsibility, but also that of the different sports entities.
“On tournament days fees are charged at the gate and those fees go to the sports clubs,” she says.
City aware of problem
In her response to a TygerBurger media enquiry, Mayco member for community service and health Patricia van der Ross said the department was aware of the illegal occupation by the family of the late caretaker but could not start legal eviction procedures during the Covid-19 period.
“However, when the Disaster Management Act was lifted, the department could go ahead with this process. The official eviction application was then submitted on the 16 November 2022 to City’s legal department for further deliberation. The long-term impact of this illegal occupation is exorbitant in terms of cost and prohibitive in terms of usage.
Van der Ross says the City has an informal agreement with the municipal facilities management committee who are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the interior of the clubhouse.
“Engagements between the City and committee takes place on a regular basis on emails and on site. Another meeting will be scheduled soon, a date to be confirmed once all stakeholders confirm their availability,” she says.
According to her the sports grounds are maintained on a regular basis and repairs to the ablutions were made as recently as 3 February.
“However, the impact of vandalism is extremely costly, and repairs cannot be sustained in light of competing priorities,” she says.
The grass on the fields she says are mowed bi-weekly and is conducted according to a standard maintenance schedule.
“It must be noted that there was a challenge with mole eradication, however, four additional EPWP workers were appointed to assist in that regard.”
