By Thembi Siaga/GroundUp

Seven years after construction started, the sports stadium at Waterval has still not been completed, though at least R28 million has been spent on the project. Residents are now fed up with the Makhado Municipality’s promises and excuses.

The Waterval Stadium is not far from Elim, in a densely populated area that includes Mpheni and Makhongele villages. In 2017, work began to transform the local soccer field at Waterval into a proper sports stadium that could host major tournaments. It was supposed to be an eight-month project.

But as the years went by, the completion of the stadium was postponed repeatedly. The municipality was also vague about how much money had been spent on Phases 1 and 2 of the project.

The project was funded through a Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), but the Makhado Municipality also allocated some of its own funds to the project. In the notes to the 2021/22 Annual Financial Statements, it is stated that R12.54 million had been spent on the project.

The tender for the third and final stage of the project amounted to R28.4 million, with an additional R2 million allocated later. The budget and other documentation do not state whether the R28.4 million was only for Phase 3 or whether it was the total project cost.

The construction work at the stadium lingered for several years, with regular stoppages and numerous excuses. Contractors blamed each other for not finishing certain work, and the municipality was also blamed for not paying contractors. A string of promises was made as to when the project would be completed.

In December 2022, Makhado Municipality’s spokesperson, Louis Bobodi, told Limpopo Mirror that the municipality was finalising a tender for a new contractor to complete the outstanding work. At the beginning of June this year, he said the project was now in its final phase and “the stadium will be completed at the end of June”.

But the stadium was not completed in June, and when the Limpopo Mirror visited the site on 22 August, there were no workers present—only security guards. The seats for the tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts were rusting and overgrown with bushes.

“We don’t have a proper field for sports activities, and we hope the municipality can prioritise our plea because we have been waiting for years for the stadium to be completed,” said resident Prince Mageza.

Clarence Majoko from Tsonga Chronicles, a local events company, told Limpopo Mirror that a new stadium could bring significant economic growth. “It would attract major events, which would also help with employment, especially for young people,” he said.

Limpopo Mirror started asking Bobodi questions about the stadium’s completion in early July. We reminded him again on 16 July, and on 12 August, we called and reminded him again. He asked us to send another inquiry, which we did. We followed up again on 21 August and 23 August, including questions about how much had been spent so far. On 26 August, he promised a response by the next day. However, when Limpopo Mirror called on 27 August, he said he still could not answer our questions.

Co-published with GroundUp