Atherley: ‘Turn community centres over to the people’

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley wants Government to allow residents to control the sporting and recreational facilities it builds in their communities, he told Parliament on Tuesday.

And any new facilities should provide commercial opportunities for people, he suggested to the House.

Acknowledging he was unsure who is currently responsible for the upkeep of the facilities, Bishop Atherley said he believed they would be better taken care of and properly used if the communities are made fully responsible for them.

He made the comments during debate on a resolution to acquire land in Workmans, St George for recreational purposes.

The Opposition Leader said: “I know that there was a declared policy long ago that recreational facilities especially at the community level would be managed by persons resident in the community. I do not know that that policy having been declared is being pursued.

“If it is, it certainly would be interesting to be brought up to date with what is happening as to how pavilions and sporting facilities are managed. Are we doing it centrally still from the National Sports Council or some other Government entity or are we doing it centrally from the Ministry of Sports?

“I think it is very worthwhile that we go in the direction that we employ, and when I say employ I use it in the broad sense and not necessarily talking about any monetary remuneration, but certainly that we utilize employed community persons to help to manage and run these facilities.

“I think that if we go in that direction we are talking about perhaps better and easier access to use and proper use of the facilities, a lot less downtime and it gives a sense of empowerment to people at the level of the community.

“So I’m just wondering where we are with that, if it is a policy that has been abandoned or if it is still on the cards.”

Opportunities for commerce should also be incorporated into any new facilities, Bishop Atherley suggested.

He said: “If you build a sports pavilion at Workmans or Haynesville or at Waterford, it is a place where a lot of activity is going to be centred hopefully and I believe it establishes clearly an opportunity for some level of commerce, especially by those who live in the community.

“You can’t just go and drop a pavilion, a sports club, a resource centre and not see the opportunity to provide for commercial activity, especially in these days when Government is talking about having a spirit of business, the decriminalization of vending, there is tremendous opportunity attached to the potential around these sporting facilities.” (RB)