dyton mupawaenda
Herald Reporter
A team from WestProp Holdings yesterday participated in the National Clean-Up campaign at Greenwood Park as they continue turning it into a lifestyle theme park helping to complete the live, work, shop and play environment for the communities living around the park.
There is a nearby shopping centre — Five Avenue Mall, office and residential buildings around the park.
Founder and CEO of WestProp Holdings Mr Ken Sharpe’s wife , Johanna Sharpe who is the director of West Group security led a team from WestProp in the National Clean-Up campaign that falls on the first Friday of each month. The park is now resourced with more than 14 benches. More are expected to decorate the huge park that will soon rank as the most user-friendly multi-use park owing to WestProp. The company dedicates 10 percent of its profits to corporate social responsibility activities that charity work, care of cancer patients and lately rehabilitation of community facilities such as the Greenwood Park. The decision to rehabilitate Greenwood followed a visit to the park last year.
WestProp believes that once the park is beautified it will rekindle memories and help attract tourists to Harare. The park is adorned by the beautiful jacaranda trees which always come to life when they bloom purple from September to the end of October.
In an interview, WestProp Holdings chief parks and cemeteries officer Mr Godfrey B Munetsi said they had done quite a lot in the park and it is their hope that by the end of this year it will be a beautiful park.
“We have done quite a lot because to us it was a jungle, there was grass all over but we managed to spruce up the area to acceptable standards. Then we have the issue of the kids’ play equipment, which we managed to repair though we now have some vandalism taking place, it’s an issue we need to look into again on how best we can protect and repair the equipment.
“You see we have got the benches, there wasn’t even a single bench in this park but now we have quite a number and people are enjoying sitting under shade on benches. The clean-up campaign itself will also assist us in cleaning to keep the park in acceptable standards. ” he said.
Mr Munetsi said they had also managed to install flood lights in the park to deter vandals, to curb thefts and other illegal activities in the park.
West Group Security board member and WestProp Chief Relations Officer Mr Michael Chideme also said their main worry was a slight increase in cases of vandalism in the park.
“Our greatest worry is vandalism to infrastructure. Four of the benches that we brought here have since been vandalised and our investigations have led to one of the vandals who stays in the park who is reportedly coming in and destroying the benches. So we have been speaking to our colleagues from council to make sure that there is security in the park. ”
Earlier this year Mr Sharpe made a commitment to spruce and furnish the park in which as a child he used to play.
WestProp are the developers of premium luxury lifestyle mixed estates that include Pomona City, Millennium Park that encompasses Pokugara, Millennium Heights and the soon to come to shape Mall of Zimbabwe. The company will soon unveil one of the best golf estates on the African continent – The Hills Golf Estate in Warren Hills which will come with branded homes, a hotel, retirement home and branded swimming and tennis facilities.
Online Reporter