Durban - eThekwini municipality would not be drawn on claims made by a Hammarsdale family that their son, Sibusiso Nene, devised the concept behind Moses Mabhida stadium.
City spokesman, Thulani Mbatha, said a statement would be released when all information had been gathered.
Sibusiso’s father, Sipho Nene, said they would not stop in their quest to have their dead son honoured .
“No one from the city has approached us but we are weighing our options on how we can take this further. I am doing this for my son. I can’t let people claim what doesn’t belong to them.
“Everyone in my community knows my son was talented. They can’t say my son was an amateur, he had even designed a car, it is in our yard. Everyone in the world knows Moses Mabhida (stadium). It’s time we got what belongs to my son. I will not give up. I am relieved Mlaba has spoken out, which means we have his support.”
Obed Mlaba, former eThekwini mayor who is the ambassador to London, told the Sunday Tribune that Sibusiso should be honoured for his contribution. “ wish councillors could find his family and do some kind of remembrance. It was his idea.”
But former city manager Michael Sutcliffe and Bheki Cele, who chaired the ANC-run eThekwini at the time, have rejected the Nene family claim.
In a statement, they said they had used local and international experts to assist in analysing and defining the specification for the stadium.
Sutcliffe said in a letter that while Mlaba had brought Sibusiso to an Executive Committee meeting to show his design, his concept had not been used.
Gerhard le Roux, the lead architect for Ibhola Lethu Consortium, the design company for the stadium, also denied Sibusiso’s involvement.
“This is the first time I have heard about this. I have never worked with him. The process followed by the city was public advertising for consortiums to design a stadium.
Five or six consortiums were shortlisted and given a brief document for the design. Once all designs had been submitted, they were evaluated by the city and the winner announced. This occurred in 2006 and before that, we had no interaction with the city on any concepts.”
Julie May-Ellingson, previously the head of the city’s strategic projects unit, which was responsible for the stadium, said: “ am not aware of anyone other than the professionals who were part of the Ibhola Lethu Consortium being involved in the conceptualisation and design of the Moses Mabhida Stadium.”
Sunday Tribune