Commonwealth Games crisis time

A DELEGATION from the Commonwealth Games Federation will be in South Africa this weekend for a line-in-thesand crisis meeting with local authorities that could decide whether the multi-sport event will be held in Durban in 2022.

This follows the warning by the organisation’s president, Louise Martin, at its general assembly in Edmonton earlier this month that if South Africa did not meet contractual deadlines by November 30, it would lose the right to host the games.

The organisation has grown increasingly anxious about South Africa’s commitment to the games after several deadlines for financial guarantees and organisational requirements were missed: deadlines to sign the host city contract, make payments, underwrite the event and set up an organising committee.

The organisation will meet Department of Sport and Recreation officials, including Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, and representatives of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc). It has been learnt that Sascoc was not originally invited to the meeting by the department, but was given a late invitation on Wednesday.

A source described relations between Sascoc and the department over the games as “distant”.

The department believed it was the custodian of the games and was “keeping Sascoc at arm’s length”, said the source, who believed the department was intent on taking control of the games.

It is understood the breakdown in relations between the two biggest sporting authorities in South Africa centres on a dispute over the budget for the 2022 games.

It was announced as R6.4billion last year, as presented in the official bid book to the Commonwealth Games Federation. Alec Moemi, director-general of the Department of Sport, apparently presented a budget of just R4.8 billion for the games to the Treasury.