eThekwini Municipality - Commonwealth Games to cost City and Provincial Government R1.1bn2015-05-27 EThekwini Municipality’s Executive Committee (EXCO) has approved a budget proposal of R1,086 billion to host the Commonwealth Games, which will be shared equally with the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
It is expected that the total contribution by the City will be R543 million. This figure is a small portion of the R3, 4 billion proposed operating and capital cost of the event which will be carried by all stakeholders involved with the Games. The funds will contribute towards the upgrade, maintenance and equipping of sports venues in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. City Manager, Sibusiso Sithole said the funds will contribute towards the overlay costs and equipment in sports venues in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. “A technical subcommittee will prepare a detailed multi-year budget leading up to 2022 with clear milestones and financial requirements for each financial year. The financial responsibilities will be clearly defined within this processâ€, he added. Costs will be budgeted over several financial years leading up to the Games in 2022. Members of the Executive Committee were discussing the report a month after the Commonwealth Games Federation’s Evaluation Commission’s formal visit Durban. The host City for the Games is expected to be announced on 2 September 2015. The total cost of the bidding process is estimated at R98m, of which R35m will be shared between the City and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government for costs associated with preparing the Bid Document, which will include the plans for all the stadiums to be used. Each party will contribute R17.5m. Durban has the infrastructure required to host the Games. The dominant funding investments required in terms of infrastructure will be for the rehabilitation and upgrades of existing facilities. It was recommend that a task team be formed to engage with National Government on the development of Cornubia as an Athletes village, the funding for which would be sought from National Government. The Moses Mabhida sports precinct houses many of the required facilities within a walking distance including the Moses Mabhida Stadium, People’s Park, Kings Park Swimming Pool, GrowthPoint (Kings Park) Rugby Stadium, the beachfront promenade, Umngeni River and the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium. The sporting codes proposed for the 2022 Games are netball, table tennis, shooting, cycling, badminton, judo, weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, lawn bowls, swimming, rugby 7s, athletics, hockey, beach volleyball and triathlon. Cornubia has been identified for the Commonwealth Games Village with Kingsmead Cricket Oval used as a Media Broadcasting Centre and SABC Land/Kingsmead Office Park will be used as an International Broadcasting Centre. Mayor to attend Financial Times International Finance Corporation Transformational Business Conference EThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo will represent the City at the prestigious Financial Times International Finance Corporation Transformational Business Conference which takes place on 11 June 2015 in London. The Conference will bring together thought leaders and decision makers form the private and public sectors to discuss integrated policies and most effective solutions to address key social and environmental challenges facing rapidly growing urban areas in developing economies. The Municipality has also been shortlisted to receive an award at the conference for the work that the Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE) is doing to encourage transformation of local government. The United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) organisation had recommended to conference organisers, that Nxumalo make an input on transformation in local government at a special international Mayoral Roundtable discussion. City Manager, Sibusiso Sithole, said the Municipality has been playing an active role in the UCLG over the past seven years. “The Mayor is currently the Chair of the Urban Strategic Planning Committee of the UCLG and is held in high esteem internationally and is looked up to for guidance and leadership. By attending this event, eThekwini’s position will be further consolidated as a leading city in urban transformation and a city that is serious about learning as well as sharing good practice,†said Sithole. MILE leads the learning agenda in Africa on behalf of UCLG, and offers capacity building, knowledge sharing and technical support programmes to strengthen local government and improve service delivery. Many cities on the continent have been exposed to the transformation journey of the Municipality through MILE’s programmes in countries like Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. DSW invited to co-lead C40 Sustainable Solid Waste Systems Network EXCO has approved the recommendation for the Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit to co-lead the C40 Sustainable Solid Waste Systems Network. This is one of the largest C40 networks with about 15 cities from Latin America, Africa, South East-West Asia, and Europe participating actively to reduce the impact that generations of solid waste has had on the environment and on climate change. The Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit has been commended for their progressive attitude and ground breaking work that has been achieved. The Mariannhill Landfill site has been recognised as one of only two known landfill conservancies in the world and that the municipality implemented the first landfill gas to electricity project is Africa. C40 officials believe that eThekwini Municipality can make a significant contribution to the SSWS and this can be achieved in a leadership role. From this position, the City will be able to better assist other cities in Africa with Solid Waste Management challenges and guide policies across the continent. The City will also benefit by having direct contact with organisations with vast experience in solid waste management and access to technical expertise from other global organisations. World Aids Conference Durban will be hosting the World Aids conference in 2016, which is the largest conference of its kind to address HIV/AIDS issues. More than 20 000 delegates are expected to descend on Durban over the six day period during which the eyes of the world will be focussed on our City. The conference is expected to discuss the latest responses, innovations, treatments and social issues related to the disease. It is seen as an opportunity to showcase how Africa, as the continent most affected by the virus, has progressed in addressing the HIV/AIDS virus, what issues remain, and discuss new research opportunities and treatments. Business Licence tariff increase EXCO has approved a 5.5 percent increase in business licencing tariffs to be effective from 1 July 2015. The tariff increase is in accordance with the Section 24 (2)(C)(ii) of the Municipal Finance Management Act which requires the municipality to review and set tariffs for the upcoming financial year. This process is done in conjunction with the preparation and approval of the Annual Budget. This means that food outlets will pay R430 for a licence, entertainment facilities will pay R2178 and accommodation establishments are expected to pay R439 for their licences. ENDS Issued by the Head of Communications, Tozi Mthethwa. For more information contact Gugu Mbonambi on 031 311 4855 or email:gugu.mbonambi@durban.gov.za |
eThekwini Municipality - Commonwealth Games to cost City and Provincial Government R1.1bn
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