The residents in and around the village did not believe that the stadium in its current condition amounted to R45 million with some questioning where the money went. GLM spokesperson, Lovers Maenetja, said that the municipality took notice of the false claims that accuse the municipality of mismanagement of funds on the construction of the Thakgalane Sports Complex.

“Thakgalane Sports Complex was constructed using the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) as a multi-year project, which means that the complex was budgeted for in multiple years from 2018. “The complex, which cost R45 million over five years, was built and budgeted for each year up to the 2022/23 financial year,” she said. In the first year, 2018/19, an amount of R6.4 million was budgeted to kickstart the project.

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In 2019/20, an amount of R12.2 million was spent on the project; and in the third year, (2020/21) an amount of R10.5 million was used on the project. In 2021/22, an amount of almost R12 million was spent, and this year, the fifth year of the project, an amount of R3.5 million was spent to complete the project, Maenetja said. She said that the full amount totals R45 million. “This is by far one of the biggest projects in the municipality funded by MIG. “The municipality is very proud to have brought such a huge infrastructure to the community of Thakgalane and its surroundings.

It is worth noting that all projects the municipality embarks upon are on requests by the residents through the public consultations of the IDP and budget, including mayoral imbizos,” she said. She added that the municipality is governed by the Treasury and Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) when spending money entrusted to it to provide services to residents.

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“We dismiss all allegations made against the municipality that it spent money that it did not budget for on the construction of the complex. “Documents on the municipal website are readily available to assist residents in understanding the budgets, IDPs, and the processes of expenditure,” she concluded.