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Centenary Park: Will It Ever Be Revived Back To Its Glory?

BCC is struggling to get the Centenary Park back to its glory days, slowly becoming a home to criminal elements.


BY THABANI H. MOYO | @thabanih | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | NOV 15, 2021

The COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, hosted by the United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, took off on the 31st of October and ends today, Friday, 12 November 2021. This is an opportune time to think about how public places are important to each and every one of us. Climate change can be an abstract issue with complex units to relate to for most, in this instalment, Thabani H. Moyo speaks to the importance of the Centenary Park to the outlook of Bulawayo and Matebelelanders' like you and me.


BULAWAYO (The Citizen Bulletin) — When growing up in the 1980s, I had the opportunity to visit the Centenary Park, and I made part of the lot in a few moments when my father took me there. Sometimes my sister and her friends would take me there. Going to the park was a great experience, and I still have good memories. The lawn and trees at the park were green with life.  The other kids and I got a chance to ride the miniature train. I remember wonderful scenes of children running up and down the paths.

However, when one takes a walk around the park today, it is visible that the park is struggling to get back to its glory days. What one is encountered with are sore sights, especially the southern part of the park. The lawn is long gone, and what is left are roughly cut grafts of grass.  Here and there, only patches of struggling and the rarely watered lawn is noticeable. In some corners of the park, some bushes are now home to criminal elements.

It is now their hunting ground. Naughty teenagers who cannot control their feelings also use these bushes to hide their sausages. Traces of what used to be good landscaping, entertainment spaces, fountains and pools is what remains. Dilapidated buildings of what used to be shops for refreshments and broken benches tell stories of what used to be resting places. There is evidence that the site used to hold performances. Life used to be good by then. The mind-boggling question is, Do Bulawayo’s city fathers and mothers have a standing plan to revive the Centenary Park? There must be a department manned by people to ensure that everything in the park is in place and working.

Recreational parks provide access to recreational opportunities and contribute a lot towards human development and imparting skills. But currently, that is not the case with Bulawayo’s Centenary Park. Instead, it has become one of the most dangerous crime red zone within the city of Bulawayo. One wonders whether we don’t have a sense of aesthetic values as a people.

Broken benches in the park tell stories of what used to be resting places.


Our understanding of beauty as a city seems to have left us when it comes to recreational spaces. As of today, the Centenary Park doesn’t provide visual appeal to the residents of Bulawayo.

Urban recreational parks can benefit residents in many ways. Physical activity at the parks encourage active lifestyles and reduce or prevent many physical and mental health problems. City parks strengthen local economies and create job opportunities. Parks attract residents and businesses, increase revenue for cities, spur private investment, and increase job opportunities. Imagine business opportunities that Bulawayo has lost because of neglecting the park. A well maintained and marketed park can be the city’s goldmine.

City parks increase community engagement and reduce crime. Planning and programming that engages residents in designing their local parks foster a sense of community that reflects the community’s needs. Community involvement and greening of vacant urban land have decreased crime and generated additional support for nearby park projects. It fosters environmental tourism.


ALSO READ: Why Are Local Acts Not Touring Internationally Despite Their Good Works?


City parks are a tool for cities to achieve their equity goals. Vibrant parks and green spaces are at the centre of resilient and equitable cities, and increasingly, agencies and public officials are leveraging the many benefits of parks to meet their city-wide equity goals. Through community engagement and applying an equitable approach to park funding, park leaders, public, private, civic, and philanthropic partners should direct investments to communities in greatest need.

Does the park in its current state define the shape and the feel of the city? Can it act as a conscious tool for revitalisation for the City? Are properties located in Suburbs and close to the park enhanced in value with an eyesore next to them? Urban parks have always been an important setting for arts and cultural programs. Parks can host music events, dance, theatre and even the latest forms of digital art. The parting shot for the city leaders is that residents of Bulawayo need their recreational parks functioning to capacity.