KAROO NEWS - The dilapidated state of the Collie Koeberg Sport Stadium, despite R19 261 555 already invested in its upgrade, remains a thorn in all sporting codes' sides.

This follows a three-year contract awarded to a Gqeberha-based company, Rudcor Engineering, for renovations at the stadium in 2021. 

The company received two payments under this contract during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years.

Rudcor Engineering’s Fanie du Toit acknowledged that the work at the stadium was far from finished, but claimed that the company’s deliverables significantly exceeded their contractual obligations.

Roland Ludick, the regional chairperson of the Patriotic Alliance, disagree with this statement and demanded a detailed report on the expenditure and progress.

Officials intimidated

At the recent council meeting, Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality Mayor Willem Safers, highlighted the need for the municipality’s Executive Committee (ExCo) to address the state of the stadium.

Safers said the stadium has become a burning issue on social media and made mention of officials being intimidated by frustrated community members. He said this was fuelled by certain political parties using anything at their disposal to influence the 2026 local government elections - a clear dig at the PA and the DA .

He also noted the seriousness of the situation, particularly as community members were now entering municipal offices and demanding to speak to officials without appointments.

Safers stressed that he would not tolerate the intimidation of officials. He said should this situation persist, he would have no option but to report the matter to the police. He told the ExCo that he intended to meet the station commander to address the ongoing intimidation of officials. In response to this, Councillor Eldrige Ruiters suggested that any municipal official facing intimidation, should file a case against the perpetrator.

Stadium inaccessible

Councillor Ewald Loock said the inaccessibility of the stadium and lack of communication are the most pressing concerns. He urged the municipality to communicate with the public as this could have prevented the anger surrounding the stadium.

Councillor Eunice Kekana said the Sports Council should receive stadium updates. She called on Speaker Cheslin Felix, to emphasise the importance of meetings where municipal issues are addressed and communicated. Mayor Safers appealed to the Speaker to invite the community to these meetings to address the issue.

Progress report

Moreover, he urged that the Sports Council be invited to the next council meeting to receive a progress report and Municipal Manager Dr Edward Rankwana undertook to ensure improved communication.

Irrespective of these undertakings, Chairperson of the Dr. Beyers Naudè Sports Council, Robert Hector, says they still haven’t received any written invitation from the municipality regarding a meeting. According to Hector, the last communication was when representatives from sports clubs using the stadium facilities were invited to a municipal briefing with the contractor. This briefing was scheduled to take place on 14 August 2024, but was postponed the day before until further notice. “As a role player in sport and an end-user of Collie Koeberg, I am as much in the dark about the stadium as anyone else, despite the municipality’s promise to conduct monthly site visits with sports clubs,” says Hector.

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