Nigeria: Abuja Central Garden For N12 Billion Upgrade - The FCT Administration has said it will develop and upgrade the Abuja Central Park and Botanical Garden situated at the foot of the Aso Rock. [AA Construction]

By Nthambeleni Gabara

Mutale - An Eco-Tourism Park at the Tshikuyu Village in Limpopo will be completed in January 2010 just in time for the thousands of soccer fans who will descend on the country for the biggest soccer spectacle ever.

The R30 million project, which started in 2007, will play a vital role in providing accommodation to tourists who will be visiting the Kruger National Park during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and beyond.

The park will consist of modern and stylish chalets, an administration block, a conference hall, swimming pools, a restaurant, ladies bar and a curio shop.

Local Economic Development Manager at the district municipality, Mukundi Mushaphi said since the start of the project, several jobs were created for locals.

"The project has already created 93 temporary jobs in construction and it will further create 200 more jobs in the fields of security, cleaning, game ranging, maintenance and other services."

Herbivorous wild animals such as the kudus, impalas and zebras will be conserved at the park, except the big five.

Pretoria - Johannesburg is gearing for the major crowds expected at its nine public viewing sites for the FIFA Confederations Cup opener on Sunday.

The first match in the tournament will see Bafana Bafana and Iraq clashing at Coca Cola Park.

City Parks has partnered with Township TV to host nine public viewing sites in impoverished areas where all the Confederations Cup matches will be broadcast free to the public.

The nine sites will offer fans a fiesta with a party atmosphere promising to thrill fans watching the Festival of Champions.

With support from sponsors, MTN, the Township TV concept has evolved into MTN eKasi TV where nine of the City of Johannesburg's parks in townships offer the public a novel dimension to using public recreation space.

The nine public viewing sites of eKasi TV are: Diepsloot, Thokoza Park Soweto, Lenasia, Eldorado Park, Orange Farm, Ivory Park, Alexandra and Joubert Park.

City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley said they were satisfied the parks would be used safely and that litter, vandalism and vagrancy would be non-existent in these parks where a 24-hour security service is operating.

Zimbabwe: Stick to Town Planning Rules - Every city needs parks and recreational grounds, both large and small, and Harare is no exception. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Sanitizing Abuja Parks and Gardens - Some illegally-operated parks and gardens in Abuja were recently demolished by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). This followed several complaints received from residents who live around the neighborhood parks. [AA Urbanisation]