Pitch a field of bad dreams
Iwatched the entertaining match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Chippa United on my sports channel at home. Indeed it was thrilling to view, but something haunted me – the condition of the playing field.
I personally saw some dark patches on the field which I thought were probably the wrong visuals being shown by the television station. However, I was totally shocked when I read in the newspapers that coach Pitso Mosimane was also totally dismayed by the quality of the pitch. It showed that what I saw was a true reflection of the pitch.
Well, I may partially agree with our mayor that it was wrong for the coach to call our stadium “a grazing land”. On the other hand, it is a lesson to our politicians and administrators assigned responsibility in the council that they should take matters of oversight over public infrastructure seriously.
What coach Pitso has said was an eye opener, as we all know that during the 2010 World Cup preparations, a certain amount was put aside to prepare stadiums like the Bhisho stadium, Sisa Dukashe and others around East London as well as the Mthatha Independence stadium as training grounds for teams from around the world who were to play at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.
The question will always arise, what was done with that money and where did it go?
Nobody knows. This is the kind of attitude that always seems to trip this province up.
Another vital point is, whenever a question arises about the stadiums, the focus always seems to be on East London, whereas if any assessments were done in places like Bhisho for example, that stadium would have qualified 100%. High-profile matches were once held in there. I remember watching Kaizer Chiefs in the late 80’s in a match hosted at Bhisho stadium.
We also know that incidents averse to the revolutionary struggle occurred in that stadium, but that cannot deter us from making proper use of our public facilities.
As I write the grass is green there and it always is. It just needs proper caretaking.
Buffalo City has beautiful landscape too. Let us be proud of it and not make ourselves skunks compared to other metros and provinces. — Xola Mkuyana, Bhisho That means we need to fix our education system.
We need to create a climate in this province that attracts investment. Only the private sector can create jobs. We need a province of entrepreneurs. The government must do its bit by eradicating corruption, fixing the infrastructure, improving safety, delivering services and governing well.
We all deserve a province that works, where opportunity is rising and hope for the future is created. — Bobby Stevenson, MPL, DA shadow MEC for finance, Bhisho