GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Concern was raised by the Dr Beyers Naudé Sports Council recently, regarding the facilities of the municipal sports grounds in Graaff-Reinet.
In particular, the soccer field at the Fred Hufkie Cricket Oval in Kroonvale and the Collie Koeberg Sports Complex in Asherville.
The Dr Beyers Naudé Sports Council is a local organisation responsible for the development of all sporting codes in the municipal region.
However, at present, the committee states that they are not able to perform their duties to the best of their abilities as they have been in constant battle with the municipality since 2015 regarding the upkeep of the sports grounds.
In a letter of complaint addressed to the Advertiser, the committee of the Dr Beyers Naudé Sports Council stated that they are extremely disappointed with the upkeep, or lack thereof, of the sports grounds and facilities.
“We can hardly practise or play games here, it’s embarrassing to bring other teams here,” they said.
"At the Collie Koeberg Sports Complex, the A-field is poorly maintained while the B- and C-fields have no grass anymore and are covered in thorns."
The committee is of the opinion that the grounds need to be tended to so that the community's primary schools can make use of it again.
At the soccer field next to the Fred Hufkie Cricket Oval in Kroonvale, sewerage has been seeping onto the field persistently rendering the field impossible to use.
This is not only a health hazard but a disgrace to the local soccer clubs who are in need of the field to practice and play league games.
In the past couple of years, the committee has sent numerous letters of complaints to the municipality and have tried on several occasions, unsuccessfully, to engage with them on this matter, only to be met with empty promises.
“It is embarrassing to think that our wonderful sports grounds are not being maintained,” the committee said. “The municipality should seriously consider looking after the sports grounds that are still in use in Graaff-Reinet,” they said. "Otherwise, in a matter of years, there might be nothing left of them."
The municipality was approached for comment regarding these complaints, to which, Leolynn Smith, the municipality's communication's officer, responded that "The sports fields at Collie Koeberg are maintained as best as we can with the resources at our disposal. Due to deteriorating water capacity, the watering of all fields has been drastically reduced. Field A is the field that we focus on as a way of at least providing a facility within the complex. For the soccer field adjacent to the Fred Hufkie Cricket Oval, we have sought funding to enable us to attend to the sewerage that has become an issue in the middle of the field."
The committee's ire, however, isn't soothed by the municipality's "lacklustre" response, as they fear it is only more empty promises being made and believe that the municipality is capable of much more than is presently being done with regards to this issue.
At the soccer field next to the Fred Hufkie Cricket Oval in Kroonvale, sewerage has been seeping onto the field persistently rendering the field impossible to use.
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