Cops to help rehabilitate park bulldozed for Mangaung

The police would help residents of Universitas in Bloemfontein to rehabilitate part of a park that was bulldozed for the ANC’s elective conference, police commissioner Mangwashi Phiyega has said.

The residents were fuming when they heard the park would be used as a security checkpoint during the elective conference.

Derek Litthauer, a member of the Universitas Neighbourhood Association, said a bulldozer arrived last Friday and began scraping the park’s lawn away.

He explained: “This came as a shock to me because we started a process to renovate the park where residents like to take their kids during the afternoon.

“We had just started to plant trees and we are in the process of applying to have the park declared a conservancy.”

The plans to turn part of the park into a security checkpoint was abandoned after residents drew up a petition and had a meeting with the Mangaung Metro municipality.

Phiyega told City Press that provincial Commissioner Khehla Sitole would look into the damage to the park and “apply the necessary corrective measures”.

– City Press