THE troubled eMfuleni Local Municipality is under fire once again – this time for allegedly spending nearly R24.2 million on a multi-purpose centre that does not exist nearly seven years after its scheduled completion date.

The site that was meant for the multi-purpose centre in Palm Springs in the Vaal is still bare despite the multi-million spend on the project, according to Kingsol Chabalala, the DA in Gauteng's shadow minister for Sports, Arts, Culture, and Recreation.
The project was budgeted to cost just over R44.1 million, according to information from the Gauteng provincial government.

As a result, the DA in the province has launched a petition urging the Gauteng provincial government to shed light on the whereabouts of the R24.2 million allocated for the building of the multi-purpose centre.
Chabalala said residents have been eagerly awaiting this much-needed centre to nurture local talent in different sporting codes and through sport build positive role models who will contribute positively to society.

"As it stands, this centre may never arrive," he said.

Chabalala said he made the discovery during a recent oversight inspection to the area designated for the multipurpose centre.

"During my visit to the site, I made a concerning discovery: not a single brick has been laid despite millions having been spent on this project," he explained.

Chabalala wants Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Jacob Mamabolo to provide clarity on the matter in the provincial legislature including where the money has gone, as it has not been used for the construction of the multi-purpose centre and reveal the current cost accumulated by the delays in this project.

In addition, he wants the provincial Cogta department to also state why it has not intervened to persuade eMfuleni to use the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) for this project.
The municipality recently returned R640 million in MIG funds to the National Treasury.

The project was originally scheduled for completion on June 15, 2018 but there is currently no timeline for when construction will begin or when it will be finished, according to Chabalala.
He said eMfuleni is experiencing a significant funding shortfall and the project will be financed through the MIG, but only after approval from Cogta has been obtained.

In October last year, the municipality indicated that phase one of the project began in July 2017 and the completion date was June 2018 while there was no start and end date for the second phase.
When asked when the project will be completed, the municipality said it did not have a set date for the completion of the second phase due to the funding shortfall.
Two service providers which were appointed for the project have each been paid just over R10.9 million and nearly R13.3 million, according to the municipality.

Chabalala said Mamabolo’s predecessor as Cogta MEC, Lebogang Maile, had revealed in 2019 that phase one of the multi-purpose centre was completed. The municipality’s spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni did not respond to questions on Wednesday.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za