Muni, minister renege on promise to honour Lim’s sporting legends
The funds set aside to build a stadium and sports centre have been redistributed
LIMPOPO – The Capricorn District Municipality (CDM) recently reneged on its promise to build a stadium in honour of middle distance runner and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya, following the gold medal she won in the 2009 World Championships in the 800m.
The R10 million, approved for the building of the stadium, has since been rechanneled into other service delivery projects.
The pronouncement to build the stadium was made by the CDM in 2009 after Semenya won a gold medal in the 800 m event at the 2009 World Championships.
“If I want to build it, I can do that myself to promote good health in the dusty community of Masehlong in Molotjie,” she said. “Once I finish with my studies, I will plough-back into my province and South Africa as a whole,” said Semenya.
• In another case, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula promised to build a sports centre in Makhado in honour of the 800m world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who died in a car accident in Mpumalanga two years ago.
Mbalula made this commitment during a memorial service for Mulaudzi, that was held in Midoroni village near Louis Trichardt.
Addressing mourners in 2014, Mbalula said he regretted he had not honoured Mulaudzi during his lifetime and his department would honour the athlete with the Steve Tshwete Lifetime Award.
Department of Sport and Recreation Spokesperson, Esethu Hasane said the programme for building sporting facilities is underway and more new centres were opened countrywide including in Limpopo.
Hasane did not respond on the minister’s promise for a sports centre in honour of Mulaudzi.
Spokesperson for the CDM, Moffat Senyatsi, confirmed the reprioritisation of the R10 million meant for the building of the Caster Semenya Stadium.
“Those projects include water services, sanitation, disaster management, an environmental management project and other capital projects. The reason for reprioritisation was that water service delivery and disaster management was the municipality’s primary mandate,” he said.
