R28m loss report still confidential

A REPORT detailing a R28 million loss the City incurred on the Cape Town Cup more than three years ago will, for now, not be open to public scrutiny while official deliberations happen behind closed doors next month.

The council will at its last meeting for 2018 on December 13 discuss the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) report on the tournament.

MPAC chairperson Yagyah Adams said the report was still a confidential document, without saying why. However, he said he would ask speaker Dirk Smit at the council meeting next month to move the report, to allow it to be discussed in the open.

In 2016, a report for the 2015 Cape Town Cup confirmed that the City of Cape Town lost R28m in direct revenue. The Cape Argus reported at the time that only 22 000 tickets were sold for the tournament weekend, resulting in a huge financial loss and prompting the council’s executive director of tourism, events and marketing, Anton Groenewald, to resign.

“The matter has now been dealt with and we have reported it to council. It is still a confidential matter, so we cannot divulge information on it,” Adams said.

When pressed, Adams said recommendations could not be shared because he did not have the minutes and the documents were not printed.

“We sit with 12 reports, so how do you expect me to remember all those things?” he said.

The Cape Argus understands that the committee recommended that no single person be held accountable for the losses because several officials were involved.

At the 2015 tournament, the City had spent more than R30m to organise the event and received just over R2m in direct revenue.

ACDP councillor Grant Haskin said whenever there was a matter that reflected badly on the DA-run council, it was discussed behind closed doors.

“It is all very public, and the fact that public funds were wasted should be more than enough reason that it be discussed. We see this happen every single time. When we had the Bowmans report it was discussed behind closed doors. At Scopa in Parliament and the legislatures we see that these meetings are open to the public, and media and ministers face tough questions. Those matters are also discussed in public sittings, but in the City it appears not to be happening,” he said.