Residents of Glenmoore village in Peddie are in dispute with Ngqushwa municipality and the contractor responsible for a sports facility that has been closed for over a year after it was “renovated”.
In February 2016, a sum of R2.5-million was approved through the municipal infrastructure grant for construction and rehabilitation of the sports field in Glenmoore, according to a report by non-governmental organisation Afesis-Corplan, which has yet to be made public.
The previous sports field was known for its vibrant crowd atmosphere and tournaments that were hosted there.
Locals says things have not been the same since the alleged renovations took place.
“ used to come here and sponsor us. Villagers have been constantly enquiring about the availability of the stadium, but we don’t know what to tell them.
“This is because we didn’t know that by trying to fix it, we would actually be ruining it,” said a concerned resident, Lindelwa Tyatya.
The tender to rehabilitate the field was awarded in February 2016 to Mgunculu Trading, a company owned by ANC Amathole regional treasurer Onke Mgunculu.
A service level agreement revealed that the type of turf needed for a soccer and rugby field was kikuyu grass, at a cost of R89250.
Kikuyu is a sustainable grass used for most rugby fields and is known as the perfect playing turf.
However, the supply was nowhere near the sports facility, and some of the work is still incomplete. Meanwhile, the municipality has paid all that was due to the service provider.
Locals said grass had been taken from alongside a nearby dam and planted on the field, without any fertiliser for the soil.
The clay that came with the grass brought weeds that made it difficult to even see the field. The athletics track was covered with a soil-like substance, and the grandstand seats were balanced on bricks.
Ngqushwa municipality has taken action to solve the problems, and is now seeking more funds to fix the sports facility.
When a Dispatch team visited the facility last week, the netball court – which cost R117400 – was covered in soil because no landscaping had been done to stop soil from spreading on to the court.
Landscaping was part of the contract, with R5000 paid for trees to be planted, but there is not a single tree within the facility.
Broken windows are yet to be fixed, after an alleged dispute over security services.
Mgunculu is adamant that the service his company provided was of the standard required.
He sees no fault in the service he provided.
“Everything I did was according to the requirements. That is why I received a certificate of completion,” said Mgunculu.
He claims that 80% of the work had been done “with the assistance and presence” of the community.
“They said they had their own businesses and I employed sub-contractors from the area,” he said.
Ward councillor Mlungiseleli Luzipho criticised the community over the overseeing of the project.
“The community failed. The project steering committee had a task to look at the contractor’s development of the stadium, but instead they just fought among themselves,” said Luzipho.
He added that the municipality had already started to fix the stadium but he had no idea what budget was allocated for the rectification or when the facility would be opened.
“When everything is done we will call the residents and mayor Mnikelo Siwisa will have an official handover of the stadium,” said Luzipho.
Afesis-Corplan is planning to host an indaba and invite all the major roleplayers in the debacle.
“We have noticed that there has been a massive breakdown of the social fibre in that community. You can easily see that the community is badly affected by the closure of the stadium.
“This has caused divisions within the community,” said Afesis-Corplan programme officer Lindokuhle Vellem.
At a recent community meeting, locals said the municipality told them there were no funds for the grass required and they were looking for alternatives. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
Locals fume over ‘ruined’ sports field
In February 2016, a sum of R2.5-million was approved through the municipal infrastructure grant for construction and rehabilitation of the sports field in Glenmoore, according to a report by non-governmental organisation Afesis-Corplan, which has yet to be made public.
The previous sports field was known for its vibrant crowd atmosphere and tournaments that were hosted there.
Locals says things have not been the same since the alleged renovations took place.
“ used to come here and sponsor us. Villagers have been constantly enquiring about the availability of the stadium, but we don’t know what to tell them.
“This is because we didn’t know that by trying to fix it, we would actually be ruining it,” said a concerned resident, Lindelwa Tyatya.
The tender to rehabilitate the field was awarded in February 2016 to Mgunculu Trading, a company owned by ANC Amathole regional treasurer Onke Mgunculu.
A service level agreement revealed that the type of turf needed for a soccer and rugby field was kikuyu grass, at a cost of R89250.
Kikuyu is a sustainable grass used for most rugby fields and is known as the perfect playing turf.
However, the supply was nowhere near the sports facility, and some of the work is still incomplete. Meanwhile, the municipality has paid all that was due to the service provider.
Locals said grass had been taken from alongside a nearby dam and planted on the field, without any fertiliser for the soil.
The clay that came with the grass brought weeds that made it difficult to even see the field. The athletics track was covered with a soil-like substance, and the grandstand seats were balanced on bricks.
Ngqushwa municipality has taken action to solve the problems, and is now seeking more funds to fix the sports facility.
When a Dispatch team visited the facility last week, the netball court – which cost R117400 – was covered in soil because no landscaping had been done to stop soil from spreading on to the court.
Landscaping was part of the contract, with R5000 paid for trees to be planted, but there is not a single tree within the facility.
Broken windows are yet to be fixed, after an alleged dispute over security services.
Mgunculu is adamant that the service his company provided was of the standard required.
He sees no fault in the service he provided.
“Everything I did was according to the requirements. That is why I received a certificate of completion,” said Mgunculu.
He claims that 80% of the work had been done “with the assistance and presence” of the community.
“They said they had their own businesses and I employed sub-contractors from the area,” he said.
Ward councillor Mlungiseleli Luzipho criticised the community over the overseeing of the project.
“The community failed. The project steering committee had a task to look at the contractor’s development of the stadium, but instead they just fought among themselves,” said Luzipho.
He added that the municipality had already started to fix the stadium but he had no idea what budget was allocated for the rectification or when the facility would be opened.
“When everything is done we will call the residents and mayor Mnikelo Siwisa will have an official handover of the stadium,” said Luzipho.
Afesis-Corplan is planning to host an indaba and invite all the major roleplayers in the debacle.
“We have noticed that there has been a massive breakdown of the social fibre in that community. You can easily see that the community is badly affected by the closure of the stadium.
“This has caused divisions within the community,” said Afesis-Corplan programme officer Lindokuhle Vellem.
At a recent community meeting, locals said the municipality told them there were no funds for the grass required and they were looking for alternatives. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
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