GAUTENG Premier David Makhura officially opened new state of the art, multi-purpose sports courts in Itireleng, outside Laudium in Tshwane.
This is the fourth of its kind in Gauteng, with three others on the West Rand.
It is aimed at promoting a healthy and active lifestyle and to get the youth involved in sport.
It has soccer fields, netball, basketball and tennis courts.
Makhura said they visited the community in June and residents complained about the youth engaging in wrong things because of a lack of facilities.
“We made a commitment to build these courts. This doesn’t belong to the province or the municipality, but to the children in the community,” he said.
While most residents were excited about the new courts, others were not. They said pupils from Itireleng were not even present for the opening of the facility.
“Our children are not even here to witness the opening of this facility they have been waiting for and which we requested for them,” they said.
Ward 61 Councillor Mahomed Essop said: they had a meeting with the Itireleng leadership and the department of sports before the opening. “We had agreed that a team would come from Itireleng to play netball or soccer, but to my surprise only a few came Most of the kids here were from other areas.”
“Members of the community are complaining that the pupils should be here and I think it’s fair, but their leaders are the ones who failed them,” he said
