KEETMANSHOOP – For ten years the Krönlein Sports Field, once the pride of the southern town, has slowly been allowed to fall into a state of neglect and decay, while the municipality struggles to secure funds to upgrade the complex.
The CEO of the Keetmanshoop municipality, Quinten Visagie says funding remains a big problem, although he is confident money will be made available in the current fiscal year to upgrade the sports grounds. “It is a priority, but where it is on the priority list is another question? There is pressure on Keetmanshoop to look at this field and the other thing is that the residents themselves are not looking after these things. It was used by schools in the past but they (schools) failed to maintain it properly,” he explained.
He said a municipal worker has been allocated a house near the sports grounds in order to look after the facility, which is a stark reminder of urban decay, which is visible in many towns across the country. “After the roof was blown off by the wind and the boundary wall pushed over, we put someone in the house to look after it,” said Visagie. Meanwhile, according to the Chief Control Officer of the Keetmanshoop Urban constituency, Bennie Diergaardt, an amount of N$200 000 was made available two years ago for the renovation of the sports field. “We informed the municipality about the money in a meeting that we held with them. The question is why is the sports field not taken care off? It has been like that for the last ten years. The thing with government funding is that if you do not use it for the intended project then we channel it to other projects. And that is what happened with that money.
When they failed to use it we allocated it to another project,” Diergaardt explained. Keetmanshoop Rural constituency councillor, Jims Christiaans, also agrees that the facility has become an eye-sore. “There is no money, but I am busy to approach a few places to look for money. I will send out a press statement on the progress one of these days.
It looks very bad, we have tried since 2011 to renovate the place, but money is just not enough. But renovating that place is a very urgent project and we are soon going to start,” Christiaans said. The Krönlein Sports Field comprise a basketball court, a rugby field, a netball court, a tennis court, a volleyball court, dressing rooms and a tuck-shop with public bathrooms.
By Jemima Beukes