Limpopo stadium still unfinished after ten years

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28-08-2025
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Ground Up
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R30-million has already been spent

Ten years after the construction contract was signed, with over R30-million spent, a sports centre in Giyani in Limpopo is still incomplete. The grandstand is complete, and there is a fence and gates, but there are no changing rooms or toilets, and no football pitch. Windows have been broken and a stream of water runs through the unfinished tennis court.

Spokesperson for the Greater Giyani Municipality Steven Mavunda said funds to complete the stadium, in Giyani’s Section E, had been exhausted. The municipality had now budgeted further funds to revive the stalled project.

Botshabelo Consulting Engineers were contracted by the municipality in March 2015 to build the centre at an initial cost of R25.2-million. The contract included construction and development, with payments made against certified work. At least nine payment certificates were honoured. But in April 2019, Botshabelo issued a tenth interim certificate for R3.5-million and a final invoice for R2.9-million. The municipality refused to pay, triggering a legal battle.

In August 2023, the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane ordered the municipality to pay Botshabelo R6.5-million plus interest and costs.

A member of Botshabelo who did not want to be named said the R6.5-million had been paid, but there had been no further funds available to complete the work.

When GroundUp visited, the site was overgrown with bushes. Windows in the security guardrooms were broken and there were no guards on site.

Resident Nkateko Maluleke said the site was a crime hotspot. “ We hope the government will take action and complete the stadium.”

The municipality has now budgeted R8.7-million for the stadium in the 2025/6 financial year, which started in July. Mavunda said no contractor had been appointed yet. He said work would start with the football pitch so that at least it could be used.

He added that there was no need for security, as “nothing remains to be destroyed.”