Joburg in new move to breathe life into recreation facilities

17 November 2016

 

The City of Johannesburg has embarked on a series of imbizos to consult stakeholders on the state of recreation facilities across the city in order to make them viable and attractive to communities.

 

Speaking at the first imbizo at the Johannesburg Stadium Auditorium on Wednesday November 16, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba said the imbizos were for her department the first step towards the realisation of 5% economic growth by 2021 as articulated in the City’s new 10-point plan.

“Our major goal is to ensure that the city’s economy grows by a minimum of 5% by 2021. By achieving this growth, we will ensure that the unemployment rate in the city is eradicated. Our imbizos are aimed at engaging communities so we can hear what their concerns are,” she said.

Cllr Sifumba said the imbizos also provided a platform for the City to foster good relations with business owners, sporting organisations and other stakeholders.

Barry Hendricks, President of the Gauteng Sports Confederation, said his organisation was looking forward to working with the City in the implementation of the 10-point plan.

“We want a working partnership with the City so we can do what we have done in other areas. We want to help the City to build a great sporting culture,” he said.

Boxing promoter Anton Gilmore told Cllr Sifumba that some of the recreation facilities in the city were not “in a suitable condition”.

“If the centres are run properly, we can get more community members involved in our activities. It’s very important for us to have proper recreation centres as they can be used to develop the youth and help create jobs. We’re currently drawing up a working model to show what recreation facilities are supposed to do to function to their full capacity,” he said.

Arts and culture enthusiast Tumi Moruleng and founder of GMT Talent Management said: “I’m passionate about creative arts and culture. Some of the centre managers have told me that recreation centres are for funerals and weddings. This is a problem.

“It has taken me almost five years to get a response regarding the use of the recreation facilities. I hope there is a plan regarding access to these facilities,” he said.

The imbizo was followed by the Cllr Sifumba’s visit to Joburg Art Gallery, Workers Museum and Chancellor House.