KUKU Ground Sports Complex has been vandalised by unknown people.
Chawama Member of Parliament Tasila Lungu disclosed the development after she conducted an inspection of the sports complex yesterday.
Ms Lungu said the ground was initially upgraded from a bare land dirt football pitch to a sports complex with artificial running track, artificial football pitch, basketball and netball courts.
She said the complex also had seating places, a police post to provide security, lighting and a wall and grill fence, borehole and water tank, parking spaces, toilet and changing room facilities.
The parliamentarian said the project which was first conceived when she was a councilor has however been vandalized.
“The community was concerned that due to the fact that we have very few recreational sites in Chawama for our youth, we should protect the site from any developers. In addition, we decided that to reduce injuries for the young who played football on the dirt pitch, which often flooded during the rains and other games there, we would redevelop the ground into something modern and suitable.
“We worked with a wide team of community supporters and well wishers, including Lusaka City Council – who own the site to develop a master plan to create, execute and handover to the community a fully completed sports complex, including ensuring a 24 hour police presence by constructing a modern police post within the Ground that is also accessible to the general public from a front entrance separate from the Ground main entrance,” she said.
Ms Lungu bemoaned that in the last few months the site has been to be vandalized and left unattended and unprotected.
She said her office is now looking into new plans with the community, stakeholders and well-wishers as to how best the complexity be maintained.
“We are looking into new plans with the community, stakeholders and well-wishers as to how best we can continue to provide security, maintain the facility and ensure it continues to serve the community.It would be a great loss to our community and our young if we cannot come up with sustainable, workable solutions”,she said.
(Mwebantu, Sunday, January 9th, 2022)