JOHANNESBURG – In the Lesseyton village in Komani in the Eastern Cape, the Enoch Mgijima municipality built a shoddy ‘stadium’ for R15-million. In a location that needs a great deal of municipal support and lacks all necessary services. The Lesseyton Stadium was built opposite the community hall for R15-million.
The stadium has no electricity or running water, a rough turf, broken goalposts, and a half-completed affair that resembles nothing close to an athletics track.
Earlier this week, the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality unveiled a new multi-purpose sports stadium which cost taxpayers around R15 million. The unveiling of the stadium caused a huge uproar on social media.
The municipality took to social media to post pictures of the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the brand new Lesseyton Sports Field facility. However, this proved to be a mistake. Social media users immediately called into question the cost of the stadium.
Many have criticised the Eastern Cape government, questioning the amount spent on the project. Cooperative Governance MEC Xolile Nqatha has also expressed concern over the stadium, promising to look into the matter.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has slammed the R15 million Lessyton Sports Field built by the Enoch Mgijima Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The department raised concerns over the disproportion between the amount spent on constructing the sports facility and the stadium that was unveiled recently, saying there was no value for money.
The Hawks have confirmed that they’ve launched an investigation into the multi-million rand sports field near Komani in the Eastern Cape. The Hawks’ Nomathandazo Mbambo said that a formal complaint against the municipality was lodged with them on Thursday.
“The docket was handed over to the Hawks for investigation, this is after an R22 million tender was apparently awarded for building the stadium in 2018. There were complaints that came pouring in after the opening of the stadium.”