WATCH: Clean-up of Umbilo Park plagued by crime, vandalism and flood damage

During a clean-up of Umbilo Park, an awareness campaign was also held to teach residents about the risks of illegal dumping and the importance of taking care of the environment.

A clean-up of Umbilo Park led by eThekwini Municipality in partnership with Transnet, Durban University of Technology (DUT) and pupils from Brettonwood High School was held on Tuesday. Picture: Screen grab of video.

Published Jun 29, 2022

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Durban - eThekwini Municipality partnered with Transnet, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and pupils from Brettonwood High School in a clean-up campaign at Umbilo Park on Tuesday.

The municipality said the clean-up was led by the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture Unit.

“Stakeholders joined hands to clean-up Umbilo Park yesterday(Tuesday). The park has been negatively impacted by crime, vandalism, and vagrants. Debris was also strewn across the park after the floods earlier this year,” it said.

The city said by working together, the park was cleaned so that it can once again be safe for the community to use.

“An awareness campaign was also held during the clean-up to teach residents about the risks of illegal dumping and the importance of taking care of the environment,” said the municipality.

Themba Mngadi, deputy chairperson of the city’s Community Service Committee said by working together, more can be achieved.

“It's a good thing because we always say working together we can do more. So we are in partnership because this area does not only belong to the municipality, it belongs to everyone,” he said.

Saret Knoetze from Transnet Pipelines invited other role-players to support eThekwini and the parks department in such initiatives.

“It’s amazing to see and I think we can all contribute by either sending volunteers to help or just cleaning up around us. It will make our city and our environment such a beautiful place to live in,” she said.

DUT student Londiwe Hlongwane said: “Our main concern at the moment is trying to preserve what we have, our land. It’s actually something to do that is going to help the environment and the people who live in it. Especially after the floods, we have had a lot of debris and plastic going into these ponds, and wildlife is currently dying. So we are trying our best to actually save what is left and then we can move on from there.”

THE MERCURY