After the Auditor-General's media briefing on Wednesday, the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Human Settlements, Mxolisi Dukwana, told OFM News many projects were left incomplete. He said this has a direct impact on ordinary people. There have been rife allegations and speculations from residents across a few towns that millions of rands were siphoned off and looted from the building of stadiums and other projects which were never built.  

In May this year, MEC Dukwana revealed during the ANC’s Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) economic summit in Bloemfontein that a staggering R18 million was coughed up for a project that was set to build a stadium in Van Stadensrus, situated in the cash-strapped Mangaung Metro Municipality in the Free State. Dukwana said that the stadium – currently - is not even worth R10 000, with only two poles being erected.

ALSO READ: R18m used for non-operational Free State stadium

“There are some things we need to look at, as we engage in the discussions. We need to understand how do we create social value as we go out and implement some of these things. In Europe and in the USA there is so much talk about focusing not only on financial value development but also the social value in these services,” Dukwana added.

The multi-million white elephant taxi rank in Bloemfontein remains non-operational for more than a decade now, since its completion in 2011.

In 2019, the metro signed a 30-year lease agreement for the R400 million Bloemfontein taxi rank with the Greater Bloemfontein Taxi Association through its entity, the Free State Taxi Association. However, R50 million was needed to further construct the controversial taxi rank.

ALSO READ: Bloemfontein taxi rank remains white elephant

OFM News also reported that more than R500 million was spent within the last 10 years on building and upgrading stadiums in the Free State.

According to the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation spokesperson, Tankiso Zola, at the time he explained in a written response that the department was only responsible for the implementation of the four stadiums, namely the Dr Rantlai Petrus Molemela Stadium; the Fezile Dabi Stadium, the Sipho Mutsi Stadium, and the Charles Mopeli Stadium.

ALSO READ - #EXCLUSIVE: Over half a billion rand spent on four Free State stadiums – WRAP

OFM News