The new contractor appointed to maintain and manage the Papwa Sewgolum Golf Course in Reservoir Hills has unpacked the vision and plans for the popular golf course.
Elliot Nkosi, director of Leitch Landscapes, spoke to The Mercury at the golf course on Thursday.
The municipality said that Leitch Landscapes assumed responsibility for the site from September 16 and have been tasked with undertaking maintenance and management of the site.
This comes after the Durban High Court ruled in favour of the City last month to evict DGC Golf Development, which had been running the course on a month-to-month basis after their contract ended in January 2022.
Nkosi called for support from members of the community and those who have been playing golf at the course for years.
He stressed that Leitch Landscapes had experience in the field.
“We were appointed on merit. “We know what we are doing. We’ve maintained a number of golf courses, including five-star golf courses, and we still maintain other golf courses as well. Our CV speaks for itself.
“It’s important for me to share that with people who would otherwise assume that we were not the most deserving. We are not going to disappoint anybody both in terms of maintaining the golf course and managing the facilities here.”
Nkosi, who also runs the other municipal-owned golf course, Windsor Park Golf Course, said they had a clear vision for the Papwa Sewgolum Golf Course.
“I won’t take anything away from the previous contractor. They’ve done a very good job, but I can assure you that we will do an even a better job.
Our vision is to maintain the golf course to the highest of standards, and then work with all the stakeholders that have been involved here in terms of hosting their golf days, charity golf days and the rest of it.”
He said they had already started having meetings.
“They want to have a meeting with me because they are concerned about the golf days, which they’ve hosted here for years.”
He noted that while conducting site inspections of the course on Monday and Tuesday, he had discovered that there was a community building informal homes against the boundary of the course.
Nkosi said he had also seen boys loitering on the course, who moments later disappeared into the bushes.
“We are quite experienced in terms of dealing with communities,” he said.
“Our experience tells us that the right thing and the first thing to do is to engage with those communities.
I will be personally engaging with those communities. We will definitely work with them to find a win-win solution.”
He said they are currently looking into the best form of security for the golf course while engaging the community as part of Leitch Landscapes’ social responsibility.
“Security has to be visible and one of the things that I've envisioned as part of efficient security is buying quad bikes for patrolling purposes.”
The Mercury