BCM’s ‘odd’ new funding committee

THE establishment of a new “special committee” for funding sports events has divided the Buffalo City Metro council since mayor Xola Pakati announced it last month.

Opposition parties argued that there was no need for the new committee as the metro already had a sponsorship committee in place. The new committee is to approve funding for sports events, but councillor Luke Quse of the ACDP said it was “very odd” that sports funding would now be done by a new committee “instead of just extending the scope of work of the sponsorship committee”.

DA councillor Terence Fritz said: “Our priority is service delivery and we should refrain from spending millions for sponsorship when we have potholes to fix.”

Last year BCM had sports and sponsorship under one committee. However, after a scandal where millions were donated to events that never took place, the council resolved to split the sports and sponsorship committees.

Mayoral spokesman Ayabulela Ngoqo said the sports committee was not a separate entity, but rather a sub-committee of the sponsorship committee as outlined in the municipal sponsorship policy.

The sub-committee is to be chaired by Xolani Witbooi and the sponsorship committee by Mawethu Marata.

In the report tabled before council last month Pakati said the sub-committee would deal with sport funding applications that could not be dealt with by the sponsorship committee.

He added that all applications must be directed to the city manager, who would discuss the pre-approved list with him before the pre-approved list of recipients of sports funding is submitted to the special committee for consideration.

Sport funding to the value of R100 000 can be approved by the city manager, between R100 000 and R400 000 by the sub-committee and applications in excess of R400 000 need approval from council, said Pakati.

Ngoqo said the new subcommittee members committed themselves to strengthening monitoring of projects, ensuring accountability, and adhereing to the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Ngoqo said a forensic investigation into how R17.3million was spent on sports events without council approval was still ongoing. —