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Dingilizwe Ntuli, Sports Editor
WHILE lots of effort is being put into developing and renovating sports infrastructure in the country to meet international standards demanded by international sporting bodies, recreation has been completely ignored as evidenced by the rapid nasty phase of abandonment and vandalism of parks.

Most children that grew up in the 1980s and 1990s learnt how to play, explore and socialise in dozens of recreational parks that were dotted around Bulawayo.

Most of them, who are now adults, retain happy memories of playing on a swing, a merry go round, a seesaw and rushing down a slide or just climbing trees and chasing each other on the well manicured lawn that carpeted most local playgrounds.

Sports stars were born in most of these recreation parks that have now become an eyesore and turned into dumping sites by residents.

These parks were located all over the city and every suburb, low or high density, had safe open spaces where parents could take their children to play or picnic on a weekend.

However, most parks in the city have fallen into disrepair or disappeared altogether in recent years, leaving children with nowhere to play outside their school playgrounds.

This wilful act of social destruction has left more and more children hostage to their bedrooms and computer games, denying them the the pleasure of free, simple play and learning that recreational parks offered in yesteryear.

Parks helped develop children physically before they were even introduced to physical education at school.

Although a handful of parks such as Bulawayo Central and Centenary still hold out hope of rebirth or restoration, years of neglect, theft and vandalism haven’t been kind to them, fading their allure.

When these two parks were in their prime, they were fun and fantastic, and rung with zestful children.

Central Park, particularly, was a sparkling place of merriment which was a popular spot for picnics, skating, train rides, exotic birds, animals and theatre in the park.

Today all that remains functional in Central Park is the amphitheatre, which only hosts musical shows once in a while. Sadly the park now stands as an eerie reminder of the devastation Bulawayo City Council neglect has had on parks and other recreational facilities that once flourished in the city.

Although not strictly abandoned, Central Park, like the majority of parks in Bulawayo, is now creepy and overgrown with weeds, and is now a haven for criminals, making it unsafe for a person to walk through the park alone, let alone relax.

It has virtually become a no-go area and council needs to reclaim this park from criminals that have made it a home and attack and rob residents in broad daylight.

Central Park is a recreational place, not a crime den, and if council restores it to its intended purpose, residents will flock back to the park and once more make it an attraction in the city as before.

The water fountain at Centenary Park was restored following an outcry after being left derelict for ages and in like manner, residents need to demand that council revitalises and saves all parks from extinction for the health and wellbeing of Bulawayo residents.

Council needs a definitive plan for and to invest in restoration of all parks as march as it is doing to renovate other revenue generating sources like Barbourfields Stadium to meet international standards.

Sport is seasonal, but recreation is an every day activity that also requires real investment.

Council is there to serve residents and needs to shift from its current tendencies of just taking from residents and not reciprocating by providing good basic services.

Recreation is a basic social service that ratepayers pay for and are unfortunately not demanding as much as other services like clean water, sanitation and roads.

No international requirements are being sought for recreation parks, but just decent, safe and well maintained places for both children and adults to relax, socialise and play outside from their homes and schools.

While budgetary constraints may be cited for failing to maintain city parks, council ought to be reminded that the health and wellbeing of residents it serves cannot be measured in monetary terms and their value is beyond the balance sheet.