The good, the bad and the very very ugly

If you wondering, yes this is a part of Mitchells Plain

Coming from Athlone on Vanguard Drive a sign welcomes you to Mitchells Plain and for a wee moment you see some beautiful natural creations and oh yes lovely homes but almost hidden are scenes of abject poverty.

Wedding picture taken in the Westridge Gardens

 Mitchells Plain has numerous facilities, both private and public. However at the current moment public services like the Mitchells Plain Day Hospital does not adequately care for the needs of Mitchells Plain residents. A new hospital opened recently but it still has not alleviated the problems faced at the Mitchells Plain Day Hospital. At this stage I don't want to elaborate but just mention the issues with the City of Cape Town municipality's service delivery.

There are a number of good schools in the Plain that has consistently produced good results since its founding. Then you have the exceptional schools that despite its past gangster infection, has rehabilitated and has blossomed to become leading schools in the Western Cape. Mondale and Spine Road High Schools are such examples with the latter even hosting a FET college, namely False Bay College.

Spine Road High going places

A great number of professionals comes from Mitchells Plain among others, doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, nursing sisters and the list goes on. Of course we can't leave out our celebrity politicians after-all the current mayor of the City of Cape Town, Her Duchessness Patricia De Lille lived in the Plain for a while.

The Plain also boasts 3 big malls and a number of smaller ones together with an industrial hive provides a significant amount of jobs for the area.

An entrance to the Town Centre Mall

Mitchells Plain has always been a gold mine for bigger corporations which has a tendency to monopolise instead of working with Plainsman (Mitchells Plain residents) through home industries, hawkers and other smaller players to increase employment opportunities.

Westgate Mall

Prevailing unemployment is a major contributing factor to gangsterism, drugs and other criminal vices which have become quite common in Mitchells Plain. Recently certain sectors have been held at ransom while police declared it no go areas, leaving innocent civilians at their own peril. That says mountains about our police services.

The people of Mitchells Plain are so busy looking after the needs of their families that they don't even notice how their city is being managed. Perhaps............