This is all that's left of a R7m 'smart park' in Cape Town's gangland

Rubble and ash are all that remain of a R7.6m “smart park” opened just 16 months ago in in one of Cape Town’s most troubled neighbourhoods.

“There is nothing left,” Zahid Badroodien, the mayoral committee member for community services, said on Wednesday.

“Wanton destruction and vandalism” had turned Seawinds Smart Park, near gang-plagued Lavender Hill, into a charred skeleton.

Badroodien said: “The park ... provided families with world-class features that included a water play area where children could learn about the water cycle and splash around in shallow water; a younger children’s play area; a multipurpose playground; two multipurpose courts that could host a variety of ball games; a picnic area and covered stage; as well as outdoor exercise areas.

“These features are now burned to ash, vandalised or stolen. The park has been damaged to such an extent that it is unrecognisable as the same space it was when it opened.”

Badroodien said the community services department was seeking “long-term solutions to abate this reprehensible behaviour”.

He added: “In the end, there is only so much government can do. Vandalism and theft are behavioural issues which affect all of us in one way or another. They’re social ills which need to be addressed speedily so that we may focus our attention on more pressing issues facing our communities."