EDITOR – The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has described the announcement of Durban hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games as a day of mourning rather than a day of celebration.
President Jacob Zuma acknowledged that the South African economy was “sick” when he launched the first unit of Medupi power station in Limpopo. The president further advised businesses to “tighten their belts”. This statement is admittance from the president that our economy is under pressure. This is proof that our country’s economy is unstable and cannot afford to host an event of this magnitude. In an interview today on SABC’s Ukhozi FM midday programme, EThekwini Mayor, Cllr James Nxumalo admitted that there is no budget allocation as yet for these events. This proves that money intended for urgent service delivery will have to be re-allocated to finance the Commonwealth Games.
As a result of poor delivery of housing, failing water infrastructure, a backlog on the provision of electricity to poor communities and deteriorating road infrastructure, there has been an increase in service delivery protests, yet the ANC run municipality still sees it fit to invest in Games rather than service delivery.
The coastal city was the only bidder for the multi-sports event after the Canadian city of Edmonton withdrew from contention in February this year, citing the falling oil prices. The DA has been against hosting this event since the bid was announced simply because the city and the province cannot afford it. The South African economy is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. It is predicted that the economy growth for this year is forecast at only 2 percent.
It is estimated that the event will cost the country around 6.8 billion rand. In a city with so many unemployed citizens, many of them young people, that kind of money could have been put to better use. It could have been allocated to support small township entrepreneurs that will open opportunities for many people to get employment and build the economy of the country.
The truth is the country does not have a budget for this event. This means the money that was meant for service delivery will now have to be redirected into feeding this event. The DA feels that there are more urgent service delivery issues to deal with, rather than hosting an event that will only deliver short-term revenue and not long-term benefits or the provision of jobs to the poor.
Zwakele Mncwango
DA KZN caucus leader
