The Arboretum is still not the safe tree park it is supposed to be.
Another incident of crime took place here this week when, in broad daylight, two young joggers were attacked by a man who also robbed them.
There have been far too many attacks such as this on visitors to the Arboretum.
And this despite the huge financial injection the municipality received from a German counterpart for use in the tree park.
The municipality did, among other measures, establish a unit that was supposed to patrol the Arboretum to ensure safety there and deal with unwanted characters. But seldom is any of this seen.
Such crimes must not be allowed to happen. Paarl is one of the very few towns in South Africa that has a spectacular river – the Berg – running through it, with a magnificent tree park on its embankment.
This park, which extends 2,8 km along the river, has been planted with indigenous trees from six continents. Altogether 4 500 trees, representing 750 species from across the world, are planted here.
The Paarl parkrun, which takes place in the Arboretum, has also become one of the most popular in the Western Cape, justly due to a beautiful setting that is intended to draw many visitors.
But if such attacks continue its reputation will most certainly crumble.
