Over R324 million of taxpayers’ money has already been spent since 2012 by the ANC-led Mpumalanga Government on a delayed High Altitude Training Centre (HATC) which seems to be going nowhere according to Bosman Grobler: MPL – DA Mpumalanga: Spokesperson on Culture, Sport and Recreation.

Construction of this project in Belfast, Emakhazeni Local Municipality, was supposed to start in the 2012/2013 financial year, but it didn’t.

So far, over R324 million has been spent on the project including purchasing land, feasibility study, environmental impact assessment, designs, and construction of Phase 1 and 2, which is not yet complete.

“There is little to show on site today, but the money is gone just like that,” Grobler  says in a press release.

These are not the only sports facilities in the province that are a scandalous image of a failed state. The Middelburg Observer reported last year about the multi-million rand  sports complex that was offered to the Mpumalanga government and is now overgrown and left to decay about 15km out on the Duvha Road.

There is a 500m cement cycling track, soccer field, pavilions, kitchen, gym without equipment, and housing that is dilapidated and disused.

Mpumalanga Sport has undertaken to investigate, but almost a year later, there is still no feedback.

It appears that no one wants Naledi, where the sports facilities are, and Lesedi, further down the Van Dyksdrift road, not Seriti Mining Group, and not the Middelburg Town Council or the Government.

According to Grobler  a recent report from the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport & Recreation (DCSR) reveals that they need R5.2 billion for construction of the HATC. This is far above the initial R3.8 billion needed when the project was conceptualized by former Premier, David Mabuza, in 2011.

According to the DCSR report, Treasury took back the budget for the project in 2019. The report does specify why the budget was taken back, but the DA believes it has everything to do with project delays, failure to find a private investor, and uncertainty.

Currently, the project has stalled because of a subcontractor who allegedly supplied inferior concrete for the construction of a reservoir at the HATC, in the process, R70 million of taxpayer’s money literally went down the drain.

“On paper, the Mpumalanga HATC project looks great with the aim of providing excellent infrastructure that will offer international training, high performance training and rehabilitation, faculty of sports science, boarding school for talented young sports; but the DA believes this project will become a burden to taxpayers and another Cash Cow for ANC aligned Comrades; like the following projects in the province:

“The Mpumalanga Parliamentary Village

“The Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market

“The Mkhondo Boarding School

“The Mpumalanga Cultural Hub.”

After an oversight last year, the DA wrote to DCSR MEC, Leah Mabuza, asking her to consider pulling the plug on the HATC project as taxpayer’s money was wasted with no progress.

“We advised the MEC to consider pulling the plug on further development of the HATC. We even suggested to her that the 2-Phases that are currently under construction must be completed and donated to the Emakhazeni Local Municipality.

“At an estimated cost of R5,2 billion, this HATC project is not affordable, not feasible, and not sustainable. Trying to complete it will bankrupt not only the DCSR department, but also the Mpumalanga Government at large. The HATC will remain a dream while residence of the province will suffer under service delivery failures with the promise of a project that will come in the future.

“The DA will also write to the Premier, Mandla Ndlovu, to request answers on how they will afford this project and the feasibility.

“This project is not worth pursuing; instead, the government should focus on upgrading and maintaining the basic infrastructure of all municipalities in the province,” Grobler said.