Shoddy stadium losing events
THE poor condition of the Jan Smuts Stadium is a big concern among those involved in local sporting fraternities, especially Border Athletics in East London.
Recently, a Buffalo City schools athletics meeting took place at the stadium, where thousands of school pupils had to make use of the poorly- maintained facilities.
The GO! reported (“Concern of state of Jan Smuts” February 1) that Border Athletics had been writing to the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) for the past six years to inspect the facilities.
Chairman of track and field in border athletics, Dumisani Nokenke, said they wrote a letter informing BCM of what needed to be repaired at the stadium, as the municipality is responsible for the stadium.
“We have been writing letters to the municipality for the past six years, and still no response .
“And then last year, the water pipes stopped functioning, and the toilets also do not work.”
President of Border Athletics, Daan Louw, indicated that in 2014 they wrote a letter to Athletics South Africa about the state of the stadium, after which a delegation was sent to do an inspection of the facility.
“A full inspection report was compiled and forwarded to BCM for their attention and action; we have been in regular contact with BCM over the past four years. After I was attacked in our offices at the stadium in October 2017, the Border Athletics Executive Board relocated our offices for the safety of the staff and athletes,” Louw said.
Louw said each year there had been a number of big athletics championships that had to be cancelled and moved to other venues outside of BCM because of the condition of the facility.
These include the South African University Championships, and this year alone, they had lost both the Eastern Cape primary and high school championships.
“There is no other suitable stadium in this area that has a tartan track or conforms to the stadium standards required by Athletics South Africa to host championships.
“In fact, Athletics South Africa has removed the Jan Smuts Stadium from their list of approved stadiums,” he said.
BCM spokesman Bathandwa Diamond said they were in the process of appointing a Professional Service Provider (PSP) for all sports facilities, including the Jan Smuts Stadium. The scope of work would include the design, safety measures and upgrading of lights.