No end to city soccer stadium’s flooding problem

PROFESSIONAL footballers back in town ahead of the imminent resumption of the Glad-Africa National First Division Championship, were met with a depressingly familiar situation at the uMhlathuze Stadium on Friday.

Following three days of incessant rain, the change rooms, passages and other areas were again flooded as water streamed down from the leaky concrete roof joints at the home of Richards Bay FC.

While inertia regarding the repair of the stadium can partly be attributed to the Covid-19 lockout, the bigger picture is one of broken promises over the past two years.

Assurances were given at mayoral level that those who had failed to ensure the necessary maintenance is done would be taken to task, but the shocking indoor state of the building remains a disgrace.

It also poses danger to lives as water seeps through broken and missing ceiling boards, running along electrical cables and filling light fittings - a situation that would render the building non-compliant in any regular municipal inspection.

A PSL delegation had previously demanded that the faults be rectified, failing which home games might have to be abandoned should pre-match conditions demand such extreme action.

The stadium was once the pride of the city when it was erected ahead of the 2010 World Cup, when Richards Bay was used as a training base for the Nigerian squad.

However, fast-tracking of the project, a combination of poor design and construction, wear and tear, and vandalism has made the amenity an embarrassment to the city.