Cape Town - Cosatu will be appealing to the public protector to look into the Cape Town Cup debacle, while its Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich has demanded the suspension of the mayor.
However, the city said it has nothing to hide, welcoming “an investigation from either office”.
The city’s mayoral member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development Garreth Bloor said that all political processes of council were duly followed.
Ehrenreich released a statement on Wednesday, calling for Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille to be suspended for her role in the failure of the Cup.
He claimed that he had “reliable information” that the mayor had insisted that the Cape Town Cup should proceed despite evidence that it could possibly be a disaster.
However, he did not provide the evidence, and further inquiries by the Cape Argus could not turn up any information to support his claims.
Ehrenreich also claimed that De Lille did not consult with local soccer organisations.
Bloor said it had been the administration’s responsibility to liaise with the relevant stakeholders.
“When this did not happen and issues were raised, the mayor and I stepped in and brought the SA Football Association on board.”
On Wednesday, the Cape Argus reported that a “concerned citizen” from Lansdowne had lodged a complaint with the Auditor-General asking it to investigate the financial decision-making surrounding the event, and to establish whether there was “fruitless and wasteful expenditure”.
In response, the Auditor-General’s office said: “The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) confirms that it received a complaint about the matter. The complaint will be considered in line with the AGSA’s standing procedures, and the complainant will receive feedback in due course.”
Responding to Cosatu’s call for the Public Protector to intervene, the mayor’s spokeswoman Pierrinne Leukes said: “We respect the right of Cosatu to refer this matter to the Public Protector. The City of Cape Town will give its full co-operation.”
The Cape Town Cup took place on July 24 and 26, and had been labelled “disastrous” by all those involved.
Cape Town side Ajax along with SuperSport United took on Portuguese visitors Sporting Lisbon and English Premiership side Crystal Palace.
The city had hoped to attract about 55 000 spectators, but only 22 000 tickets were sold. The cost of staging the exhibition matches at the Cape Town Stadium came to about R28 million.
In the aftermath of the competition, Anton Groenewald, executive director of Tourism, Events and Economic Development, resigned.
There have been accusations from the ANC and Cosatu that Groenewald took the fall for Bloor and the mayor. But according to the city, as the executive director, the decisions made by the directorate were the responsibility of its head.
The Public Protector’s office had not yet responded to the Cape Argus’s queries at the time of going to print. However, according to a source close to the office, an official complaint had not been lodged by Cosatu.
* In the article titled “AG to probe Cape Town Cup flop”, which appeared on page 1 of the Cape Argus’s AM Edition on Wednesday, the headline incorrectly stated that the Auditor-General would be probing the botched soccer tournament.
The AG’s office has confirmed it was looking into a complaint that was received on Wednesday.
The headline was not a true reflection of the comments made by the AG, who had confirmed it had received the complaint and would consider the complaint in line with its standing procedures. The Cape Argus regrets the error.
Cape Argus