DURBAN – Financial constraints are being cited as the main reason by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, as he confirmed that Durban is on the brink of rescinding it status as host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
British cities of Liverpool and Birmingham have expressed their interest and eligibility to host in 2022, should Durban drop out. Durban was awarded the 2022 showpiece in September 2015, being the only candidate remaining, after Edmonton of Canada withdrew.
This has been an embarrassing U-turn for the SA government after assuring the Commonwealth Games Federation committee last year that they were fully committed to hosting the Games.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) asked South Africa to fulfill contractual responsibilities by the end of November 2016. The deadline passed and the requirements were not met.
The CGF is in the process of reviewing a subsequent submission by Durban, but it is clear that it will be unsatisfactory, due to absence of the necessary financial guarantees and contingency funds.
Mbalula said: "We gave it our best but we can't go beyond. If the country says we don't have this money, we can't host it. "I don't want to raise your expectations and say everything looks good, it doesn't because we don't agree on the fundamentals and that is the operational budget.”