The eagerly anticipated SALGA Games are poised to kick off on Friday, 8 December 2023, in Richards Bay. However, a cloud of uncertainty looms over the participation of the Amajuba District’s athletes, raising questions about the Newcastle Municipality potentially forfeiting R287,000 allocated for accommodation.
In a Newcastle Municipal Council Meeting on Tuesday, 5 December 2023, Municipal Manager Zamani Mcineka disclosed that the Amajuba District Municipal Manager had decided not to send participating athletes to the sporting event.
“The District Municipality made the decision on Thursday (30 November 2023) and notified me yesterday (Monday, 4 December 2023),” said Mcineka.
Despite already paying R287,000 for councillor accommodation, Mcineka acknowledged the possibility of forfeiting the funds if councillors did not attend. However, he assured that efforts would be made to explore solutions and ensure the Amajuba Squad’s participation, emphasising their rigorous training. “They have trained hard, and we will look at how we can rescue the situation,” stated Mcineka.
During the council, this announcement stirred dissatisfaction among attending councillors. Samukelisiwe Yende of the African National Congress (ANC) remarked, “This unfortunately shows that no proper planning went into the matter. The SALGA Games were made for the youngsters, and while we acknowledge the District Municipality’s decision, if the councillors go and the youngsters don’t, what is the point?”
In addition to this, while upset that the athletes from the district could potentially lose an opportunity to compete at a level of epic proportions, Yende said the loss of the money would come at the cost of the taxpayers.
Expressing disappointment, Newcastle Municipality’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Musa Thwala, urged a reevaluation to prevent local athletes from losing a life-changing opportunity. He highlighted the municipality’s previous hosting of the SALGA Games and expressed concern about withdrawing.
Supporting the councillors’ concerns, Mcineka proposed exploring sponsorships for the local team but emphasised the event’s focus on participants, not councillors.
Furthermore, Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Cllr Bebsie Cronje added that she fully agreed that the SALGA Games offered young athletes an opportunity of a lifetime. But, she further noted that the Amajuba District’s decision stems from it not being able to afford to send the athletes to Richards Bay and it wanting to avoid being placed under administration.
With this in mind, she noted that more emphasis should be directed to the municipality’s mandate to the community.
“The priority of the Amajuba District Municipality and Newcastle Municipality is service delivery, and there is no service delivery in Newcastle at the moment,” she stressed, pointing out the state of Newcastle’s roads and the ageing infrastructure which led to regular water and sewage leaks.
Due to this, she said the DA was not in favour of the local councillors attending the event. “The SALGA Games are about the athletes and not councillors going to watch sports.”
As the significant sum remains uncertain, ActionSA’s Faizel Cassim deemed it a potentially fruitless and wasteful expenditure. “We will caucus and make a final decision and see what can be done,” said Cassim.
With a final resolution pending, be sure to share your thoughts on this in the comment section below.
Comments 1
Give the accomodation to the athletes, that show support, since it will not be refunded and the counselors can stay home instead of costing the municipality more with reimbursement claims