R8.5-million for Masilonyana stadium, only for it to be carried away brick by brick

Not only has the Masilonyana local municipality in the Free State allowed the buildings of the Winburg sports complex to be stripped and looted by vandals, but they have also apparently spent R8, 5-million on construction of another unused stadium nearby, and want more money to complete it.

Construction of the second stadium started in January 2013 but came to a halt when it was discovered that the contractor was doing shoddy work. This led to the contract being terminated and the project’s consultant took over the work in a sub-contract.

Their contract, however, was also terminated, as they had also failed to deliver and it is not clear how much was paid for the jobs.

Funds have since run out and the municipality has applied to the Department of Sports for more money to complete the stadium, which has already been stripped of its fittings.

“Due to these re-constructions that occurred there was eventually insufficient funds on the project to appoint another contractor to complete the works,” director of infrastructure Lungile Mukoteli revealed.

She said the plan was to complete the stadium by August 2017 but, due to lack of security from 2016, the place has been a vandal’s paradise.

Funds dried up

Mukoteli said subsequently there were continuous acts of vandalism, resulting in constant re-construction of the vandalised components, which she said had financial implications.

By June 2017, a total of R8 523 971, 95, including payments made to the suppliers, had been spent on the stadium.

Mukoteli would not comment on a claim by the DA of tender corruption in the project, but said the matter will be handed over to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (Mpac) for investigation and recommendations.

Vandals have also ravaged the nearby sports complex, carrying away the buildings and pavilion brick by brick.

According to Mukoteli, security was placed at the sports complex but these were working under the Department of Public Work’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) grant.

“…their contracts ended and due to financial constraints [the] municipality was not able to keep them,” she added.

Vandals’ paradise

Brunhilde Rossouw, a DA councillor in Masilonyana, said it was unthinkable that the municipality and the police have done little to prevent further decay at either facility.

She said sport facilities were vital in small communities, as local sports clubs, schools, and civil society depended on them for recreational purposes.

Rossouw said they have submitted a petition to the municipality about concerns over the decaying of the facilities that were once the pride of the community.

“The buildings and pavilions have been dismantled and the building material looted over an extensive period of time…the petition seeks an immediate intervention and for the facilities to be rehabilitated as well as sufficient security to be put in place,” she said.

Rossouw said the DA has also submitted written questions in terms of rule 38 of the Municipal Standing Rules and Orders, to establish why the municipality has failed to appoint security when it became aware of the decay.

She said they also wanted to know how much the damage will cost to repair and whether the municipality reported the malicious damage to property and theft to the police.

“The DA will also approach the Office of the Public Protector [Busisiwe Mkhwebane] with a request to investigate the allegations of the irregular tender regarding the new stadium,” Rossouw charged.

She added that in a community where the municipality was already under financial pressure, the municipality should look after the scarce social resources entrusted to it by the community.

–siphom@citizen.co.za