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Yet this is an environment where one would expect a fresh breeze, green vegetation and beautiful flowers to relax one’s mind.
Heaps of dumped rubbish which include empty cans, plastic bags, fruit peels and tissue paper are scatteredabout and this affects not only the residents who still visit the place but the environment as well.
Scores of college students are seen in groups seated right in the middle of the rubbish trying to concentrate on their books and couples still choose to spend quality time on the dry grass, oblivious of possible health hazards the park can pose.
This has become the dominant feature of the park which was once the pride of Bulawayo. Its beauty made it the centre for photo shoots for weddings and a very popular rendezvous for lovers. The park also offered a number of entertainment options for the young and old which included fun rides on a miniature train. The Centenary Park, which was once the pride of many on their wedding days, is now close to a dumping site, with empty beverage bottles piling up. It now endures many deserted weekends, different from those of the past.
Most toilets in the park are defunct, causing a health hazard to the few residents who overlook the dirt scattered all over the place and visit the place for studying, playing and recreational purposes.
A recent tour of the park showed that the authorities have not been tending it for a long time, with litter awash, forcing many couples to hire private residences to shoot their wedding pictures.
An unidentified resident who was taking a walk in the park said the city’s standards of cleanliness had decreased at an alarming rate.
“This park is very dirty and I wonder what happened to Bulawayo being one of the cleanest city on the continent. It is disheartening to see that recreational activities are being phased out because no one can expect our children to come and spend the whole day playing in this dirt without clean toilets.
“Children have since resorted to sex, drugs, Facebook and movies that are harmful to their personalities because they do not have such facilities as we had long back,” she said.
She said she had noticed that toilets go for weeks without being cleaned and naughty youngsters had evenmessed the walls by painting despicable graffiti on them.
“This park needs revival. We would like to see our children come here for social programmes, recreation, and nature walks and swings,” said the woman.
Another resident who frequents the park said parents were also concerned about the condition of the parks which disadvantaged their children.
“Recreational parks and youth centres have always helped us as parents to bring up children in the best way we can, as they offer them extra curricula activities which deviate their minds from vile thoughts.
“Over the years, I have seen these community centres break down and fade into oblivion and the chief culprit is not only our failing economy but also lack of ideas by parents and our city fathers on how to mitigate the collapse,” says Mr Mandla Mpofu, a retired teacher.
Recent reports said that some residents have turned the park into a mubobobo market where multitudes of men flock, not to relax , but to buy the supernatural powers that enable them to have sex with any woman they fancy.
A man identified as Mutambara is alleged to be making a killing by selling juju right from a base at Centenary Park. It is reported that Mutambara is charging $2 for his services, as he is mainly concerned about buying beer and cigarettes with the money.
He allegedly targets male street kids who reside at the Centenary Park and has been operating at the park since 2011.
The condition of other council parks situated in high density areas is also poor. They are also deserted, with tall grass taking the place of lawns, while litter is also worsening the situation.
Mpopoma Park is no longer an attractive recreational facility. The grass is left to grow so tall that criminals lurk in there to pounce on residents as they pass through. Residents from the suburb have also carved out foot paths on what used to be flower beds across the park, and its tower lights no longer function. Residents have forgotten when the pump that was used to water the park last worked.
In an interview, a vegetable vendor who sells her wares near the park, who identified herself as MaMbambo, said it had turned into a den of thieves.
“We are appealing to the council to do something because our children have nowhere to go after school, that is why young people commit crime. There have been reports that people are now being robbed in broad daylight because we have lost the essence of the park and the recreational activities that used to take place here,” said MaMbambo.
Residents from the suburb also expressed concerned over the neglect of the park saying youngsters now engage in notorious activities because the park facilities are dysfunctional.
Of late the city council has been struggling to provide proper service delivery, and it has in some instances adopted community-based clean-up campaigns to try and involve residents in keeping Bulawayo clean.
Because of economic challenges council has in recent years struggled to deliver key services like potable water supply, sewage treatment and road rehabilitation. With the local authority striving to improve in some of its most pressing responsibilities, parks as they are recreational facilities anyway, tend to be down on the list of priorities.
In 2009 the local authority embarked on an operation to resuscitate the parks but the present condition proves that not much has been done in that area.
Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Thaba Moyo recently said without the parks the city is not same. He acknowledged that the local authority has a big task in restoring infrastructure in its parks.
Online Reporter