Sol workers attend municipal games to ‘refresh themselves’

SOL PLAATJE municipal employees were granted special leave to attend the 2025 Southern Africa Inter-Municipal Sports Association (SAIMSA) Games, held this week in Maseru, Lesotho, from September 21–26, despite cost-containment measures and no budget allocation for the trip.

At the time of their departure, it was unclear whether any subsistence and travel allowances had been paid.

At the games, municipal employees compete in various sporting codes against teams from participating countries, including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

During a recent council meeting, GOOD Party councillor Santa Johnson argued that the municipal games promoted the fitness and well-being of workers and contributed to happiness and improved productivity.

“Councillors and workers need to enjoy their work environment and it will show the caring attitude of the municipality if they are allowed to attend. This, in turn, will improve service delivery,” she said.

Johnson recommended that funds be raised to cover transport, subsistence and accommodation costs.

Speaker Dipuo Peters encouraged councillors to contribute towards workers’ expenses, saying they “worked very hard”.

ANC councillor Kagisho Sonyoni said the funds for the trip should rather be redirected towards improving service delivery. 

ANC chief whip Martin White noted that a moratorium prohibited municipalities from funding sporting activities due to fiscal constraints.

“For more than three years we have had to fund-raise for the trip, due to austerity measures. We need to apply our minds, as even if accommodation and transport are paid, workers will not have money to buy food,” he said.

DA councillor Elize Niemann pointed out that acting personnel would need to step in for absent employees, which could negatively affect service delivery.

Sol Plaatje Service Delivery Forum councillor Dennis Pienaar said workers were entitled to a subsistence and travel allowance of R2,604.

EFF councillor Kenneth Kock argued that there would be no issue if employees were to participate in rugby.

“Workers should not have to apply for leave to attend the games because it is part of work,” he said.

ANC councillor Nomizizi Shwababa added that participants were also expected to pay a R6,000 participation fee.

“If they attend, they will come back refreshed. We should look at the financial implications going forward,” she said.

The executive director for corporate services at the municipality, René Godsson, said the municipal games formed part of a provincial and national competition where employees qualified for special leave under the municipality’s wellness policy. However, she confirmed that there was no budget allocation for the sporting codes.

It was also indicated that Sol Plaatje Municipality will host more than 20 municipalities when the SAIMSA Games are staged in Kimberley next year, which is expected to benefit the city.

DA councillor Willie Erasmus pointed out that special leave was only granted if employees represented the country in Olympic sports.

In 2022 an estimated R1.5 million was spent sending 160 Sol Plaatje municipal officials to the municipal games in Mbombela. 

At the time, accommodation alone was estimated at between R550,000 and R770,000 depending on room sharing, while transport was quoted as costing about R200,000 to R300,000. 

The SA Municipal Sports and Recreation Association (Samsra) affiliation fee was R6,000, and subsistence allowances were estimated at R336,000 for six days.