Millions for a half-built sports ground

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23-11-2023
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R News
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Residents of Engcobo in the Eastern Cape have been waiting for more than seven years for a fancy sports ground that had to be built at a cost of R13.7 million and is still half finished.

Work on this Engcobo sports ground began in September 2015 and by September last year only about 60% of the overall construction work had been completed.

According to a report from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture which was submitted to Parliament, there were errors in the design and construction of the main pavilion and changing rooms and as a result the project came to a standstill.

On a recent visit there was little to be seen of the millions of rands that had already been spent. All GroundUp could find were four mancolic metal pavilions, a guard house and athletics track. The fence has been ransacked and in places the grass is sky high.

The basketball courts and bathrooms were unfinished.

A security guard is on duty during the day, but looters still come and go as they please.

“Sometimes I see a group of young boys coming out of the woods. They take what they like and then disappear again. I am also in danger,” said the guard. Out of fear, she sometimes locks herself in the guard house.

According to Sivuyile Myeko, spokesperson for the Dr. AB Xuma Municipality, the Engcobo sports field project has been suspended due to the investigation being carried out into its substandard work and poor administration.

Myeko dodged questions about how much of the more than R13 million has been spent on the construction work to date. He indicated that an internal investigation must be completed before he can answer any further questions about it.

“No one knows how long the investigation will last, which means that residents will not be able to use the sports field soon,” said Nkosinathi Cetman, EFF council member.

According to him, there was a council meeting in 2017 regarding the contractor’s request for an additional R3 million.

According to him, the contractor packed his things during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“If you look at what has already been done, it is much less than the amount spent on that project,” says Cetman.

He asked that construction be resumed – even if the investigation is still ongoing – so that residents can at least use it.

“In earlier years we protested and brought the town to a standstill, but nothing has changed yet,” said Mkhululu Qongqo, a resident of Engcobo. “We still see unfinished projects. The sports field is not the only project that is not yet finished after millions of rands have been spent on it.”

Especially the young people yearn for a new sports field, says Qongqo.

“If you could see the field that some young people in the informal settlements have to use, you would cry. Some play on gravel, others in the mountains where there are stones and rocks. All the sports fields are in a bad condition.”

The projects are simply a money box for those who are politically connected, he believes.

“They milk all the money and when they’re done, they drop the project and simply start another one.”