EDITORIAL: Donate Independence Stadium to MTC

The Independence Stadium renovation saga has come to a head. It was always just a matter of time before sparks flew and fingers wagged, especially in an election year where stakes are high.

Last year, the ministry of sport promised to announce a successful bidder to refurbish the stadium before April 2024. It’s now September and still no bidder has been announced.

While hosting a dinner for the Brave Warriors in July, Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced that the successful winner of the tender to renovate the stadium will be announced on 28 August. This, too, never came to pass. An irate Nandi-Ndaitwah on Friday said she relied on information relayed to her by sports ministry officials. Nandi-Ndaitwah was visibly upset by having been misled and made to essentially lie to the nation, a situation she cannot afford ahead of a crunch November election.

What is very disappointing is that even elementary things such as choosing a bidder for a government project can be this lethargic. Some sports ministry officials have accompanied the Brave Warriors to Johannesburg for the team’s ‘home matches’, raking in huge travel allowances for themselves. Is this the reason why they would rather delay the renovations so that their gravy train can continue unabated?

If government’s ineptitude in this saga continues, Cabinet must resolve to wrestle the stadium from the ministry and ‘donate’ it to an entity like MTC, which has shown zeal and appetite for sports in this country. MTC is an innovative and well-resourced state entity with a proven track record in this arena.