Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
City invests R4,9 m in Kewtown synthetic pitch to promote redress
and sports development
Note to editors: this is an extract from the speech delivered by Mayor De Lille
at the opening of the new synthetic sports pitch in Kewtown today.
It gives me great pleasure to be with you all today to open another
successful City of Cape Town facility for the benefit our residents.
This administration is committed to a programme of redress, aimed at
addressing the inequalities and imbalances of the past, and to building a
caring, inclusive city that provides quality services and amenities to its
communities.
While we have prioritised the provision of basic services to communities, we
also recognise the need for recreational spaces and amenities, including
sports fields.
Sport is not only a wonderful unifier, but it also allows young people to
develop a set of skills, build confidence, and learn to become more
disciplined and conscientious.
Sports fields often provide a safe haven for young people, where they can
avoid the lure of the many social ills, such as substance abuse, that affect our
communities.
Among the range of recreational and sports spaces we provide, we have
since 2012 installed a total of 26 world-class synthetic pitches across the city.
These pitches are all compliant with FIFA regulations, and have been built in
areas such as Langa, Hout Bay, Mitchells Plain, Ocean View, Bishop Lavis,
Grassy Park and Nyanga .
They represent a combined investment of R40 million into our communities,
which for years experienced under-investment and lack of development.
Today, I am delighted to officially open our most recently completed Hickory
sports field synthetic pitch here in Kewtown, with one month to go before the
local soccer season starts.
This project sees an investment of R4,9 million into Kewtown and the
surrounding communities.
When the floodlights are installed with a further investment of R827 000 at this
field in the coming weeks, the facility can also be used for evening matches
and training.
During the construction phase, we created work opportunities through the
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), where we provided employment
to 20 people from our job seekers database.
This project has been beneficial to the community in many ways as it is also
used by four local soccer clubs, namely Chelsea FC, Barmsley Spurs FC,
Avendale FC, as well as the Kewtown Sunday League.
The local football associations based in the Athlone area affiliated to the
South African Football Association Cape Town will be able to use this as a
base for local football development training programmes and football
fixtures for the local community.
Schools from the greater Athlone area will also be able to use this pitch for
their leagues.
In conclusion, projects such as these are proof that there is no limit to what
we can achieve when we work together as government and communities to
provide opportunity and redress by investing in development initiatives.
While we will continue our mission to build a caring and inclusive city, I call on
residents to work with us to build communities that we can be proud of, and
to look after these facilities so that future generations may also benefit from
them.
By working together, we will make progress possible.