Sources blame ‘big squeeze’ for games shake-up
Durban’s 2022 Commonwealth tourney in balance
COMMONWEALTH Games bosses want South Africa to fork out more than the R4-billion it has committed to — sparking a fight that could leave Durban stripped of the 2022 event.
This is according to sources close to the bid, speaking on condition of anonymity because a final decision on the hosting of the games is expected next weekend.
Senior officials of the Commonwealth Games Federation, including president Louise Martin, were in South Africa this week to try to hammer out a last-minute solution.
But the likelihood of a successful resolution appeared dashed when Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said this week that it “doesn’t look good” for South Africa’s status as host.
Finances and competing developmental needs were at the heart of the possibility that Durban would lose the 2022 multisports showpiece.
But now an insider at the Department of Sport and Recreation has claimed that the federation had burdened the country with additional demands, and that the government would not budge.
“They thought we will just accept anything,” the source said.
“The director-general [Alec Moemi] spoke of a R4-billion figure government was committing. We still are [committing that amount] but the CGF wants our government to build more and spend double, and that is the contention.”
The government, he said, “learnt lessons from the World Cup that we can’t repeat”.
Officially, the department was not willing to answer questions on the exact nature of the dispute, saying that it would only speak after the federation made its announcement following a two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday.
Recommendations on Durban’s status as host city will be presented at the meeting.
But a second insider close to the bid expressed similar sentiments to the department official.
“They’re just trying to squeeze South Africa more. They want government to guarantee more [than was originally agreed to].
“Government is right. We mustn’t go over what we can afford, otherwise we’ll end up like [Olympics host] Brazil and be left with facilities we don’t want and can’t afford,” he said.
One of the issues, the insider added, was that the federation wanted South Africa to host different sports codes than those originally agreed to.
Durban was awarded the right to host the 2022 games in September 2015, winning as the sole bidder after Edmonton, Canada, pulled out due to affordability concerns.
Almost immediately afterwards, South Africa missed key deadlines — including the establishment of a local organising committee and making a crucial multimillion-rand payment — leading to threats last year that it would be stripped of the event.
A deadline of November 30 was set to furnish the federation with all outstanding documents; MOVING THE GOALPOSTS: Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, built for the 2010 Soccer World Cup a deadline that was met with one day to spare.
Sports Department spokesman Esethu Hasane said it had presented its case to the federation.
“The South African government is ready to host the games and any chances of losing out will be determined by the CGF. Any commitments we make must be done considering our limited resources and government’s drive of fiscal consolidation. It is against this background that if the department and the CGF are unable to find common ground on cost-effective ways of hosting the games, we stand a chance of not hosting,” he said.
He was not willing to be drawn on who might be to blame, saying it was “premature since no decision has been made”. However, Hasane was emphatic when asked if the federation should be doing more to help developing countries.
“Without a doubt, yes,” he said.
A federation spokesman confirmed the talks this week, and said officials were still trying to find a solution.
“A review team appointed by the CGF is in the final stages of evaluating the submissions received from South Africa to determine whether Durban’s proposals for hosting the games are consistent with their original bid commitments. A recommendation will be referred to the CGF executive board on March 11 and 12 . . . We continue to make every effort to engage with the Durban 2022 delivery partners,” the spokesman said.
SA ‘learnt lessons from the World Cup we can’t repeat’ The games federation is just trying to squeeze South Africa more
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