DURBAN - The Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics is opposing the city’s proposed R9 million sponsorship deal with Maritzburg United Football Club.
The group has threatened legal action against the embattled Msunduzi Municipality should the executive and council go ahead and approve the three-year-long annual funding.
Furthermore, the association has also written to the municipal manager, Madoda Khathide, KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka, and National Treasury’s Jan Hattingh to express their disapproval of the proposal.
The group’s chairperson, Anthony Waldhausen, said that they understood that the matter was going to be discussed at today’s council meeting.
Waldhausen said that they had previously written to the Mayor, Mzimkhulu Thebolla, in January this year after they received reports that the municipality was considering sponsoring the club.
“We received a letter from the mayor where he stated that there was no council resolution to fund the soccer club. What has changed in the interim? We are concerned that again this issue is up for discussion at the council meeting,” said Waldhausen in the letter.
In the latter, Waldhausen argued that if the decision to fund the club goes ahead, that would be cited as irregular expenditure.
He said they understood that many municipal challenges which impede service delivery were due to a lack of financial and other resources.
This had led to the municipality being placed under administration, he said.
Therefore, Waldhausen said they find it disingenuous for the city to even table this matter as an agenda item for discussion in this context.
He said they were totally opposed to such a proposal and called on the council to revoke such a decision and not to support the funding of the club.
“Under the current dire financial situation prevailing in the municipality, a decision to fund the club and spend R9 million that could be put to good use in repairing the multitude of water leaks, electrical substations, potholes, upgrading infrastructure, fixing the SAP system and providing relief to families hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown, is considered extremely irresponsible,” he said, adding that the delivery of basic services was the core mandate of the municipality and such issues should be handled as extremely urgent and given priority.
The group requested the budgetary source for the proposed funding of the cut, copies of minutes or reports which inform the funding decision, full details of the justification for the proposal to fund Maritzburg United Football Club.
It also requested the full details of the club’s profits and dividends paid to its shareholders and directors for these periods.
Waldhausen made an appeal to the council and Thebolla that they prioritise more urgent expenditure items to ensure service delivery to residents of Msunduzi who pay for such services.
Maritzburg United Football Club Chairperson Farook Kadodia said it would be premature for the club to comment on the matter as yet.
THE MERCURY