ZDDT appeal: Inyathi Youth Centre in need of restoration
BULAWAYO – Built in the nineteen sixties, Inyathi Youth Recreational Centre was the product of a progressive thinking Local Authority that presided over the affairs of a well run and prosperous City. It was a time when Bulawayo became renowned as the Nation’s industrial hub with a solid commercial base to boot.
At this time, the City Council enjoyed a robust economy of its own, established upon a wide revenue collection portfolio, accrued from alcohol sales at its liquor outlets, together with the distribution of water and electricity in areas within its jurisdiction. The Local Authority also collected rentals from numerous residential properties it owned, besides rates paid to it by individual property owners, businesses and institutions.
This was a time when the City Council poured substantial sums of money into construction of community facilities such as Inyathi Youth Recreational Centre and others like it. Inyathi and sister centres, located in the City’s less advantaged neighbourhoods, boasted sporting and entertainment facilities that were second to none.
Today, after two decades of dwindling resources in the City, due to national economic mismanagement, such centres which were once the pride of local communities, stand decaying and forlorn; pale shadows of what they once were. Among these, Inyathi is one of the worst affected.
Designed to encourage the development of potential talent or skills among youths in order to prepare them for future careers, the Centre is comprised of several distinct sections. Among these is the barely operational Welding Workshop, where students are taught the skill of producing products and artefacts from sheet and angled metal. Much of the work here is out-sourced from members of the public, and the City Council itself. The local Authority commissions the Centre to repair items of furniture from its various public halls and institutions of learning, while surrounding communities occasionally hand over household items for repair. Funds accruing from this venture go towards maintaining the facility and its students. Instructor, Mr. I. Ndebele, says the facility faces closure due to low levels of support it receives.
The Centre’s once thriving Fitness Gymnasium is now defunct because much of its equipment has been rendered inoperable over the years. Lack of funding makes replacement of equipment an almost impossible task.
A positive development in all this gloom however, has been the generous donation of basket ball court infrastructure and equipment to the institution by a well-wisher.
Various rooms at the Centre are utilised by youths from surrounding neighbourhoods for the honing of cultural skills in music and drama. Continued use of these remains uncertain, due largely to lack of resources. Students occasionally use the Centre’s hall to stage drama and musical shows for the local community’s benefit. With the Youth Centre’s impending closure, residents stand to be deprived of a rich source of entertainment, while students would be left without an essential opportunity to develop their potential, besides losing out on much needed income realised from shows.
Inyathi Youth Centre’s sporting grounds lie rutted by erosion or overgrown with weeds and bushes. The soccer field needs resurfacing, while the once impressive tennis facility stands forlorn; covered in wild growth.
Commenting on some of some likely repercussions that would ensue with the Centre’s closure, Mr. Moses Dube, Ward 9 CAT Chairman said; “Closure of Inyathi Youth Centre, would effectively place its many students and several workers on the streets. This institution was built to offer opportunities for youngsters starting out in life. Deprived of these things, those who benefited now face the probability of turning to criminal activities.” Speaking from the local Councillor’s office, situated within the Centre’s premises, Mr. Dube added; “An injection of assistance in cash or kind will save youths in surrounding areas from migrating to the diaspora where conditions are often harsh. At the same time it offers a new start to youngsters who would otherwise look to crime for relief.”
Councillor for Ward 9, Mpopoma Township, Elmon Mpofu, has shown deep concern about the situation prevailing at Inyathi Youth Centre. He has consistently made several representations on the institution’s behalf, to the City Council as well as at various donor and investment meetings held in the city and elsewhere.
Bearing in mind the plight of Inyathi Youth Centre, would you, as an individual, organisation or business concern, be prepared to make a difference for disadvantaged young people by saving this worthy cause from imminent collapse? If you are, please utilise the following contact details:
Mr. Moses Dube: Telephone: Landline (office hours only): +263 09 402909
Mobile: +263 0774011635
Alternatively you may email: