Durban – Msunduzi municipality senior councillors are up in arms over suggestions that the municipality should pay almost three times the amount paid by other municipalities to host the South African Local Government Association (Salga) games to be held next month.
The games often see the province’s municipalities compete against each other in a number of sporting codes including soccer, netball and athletics, and are often hosted by district and not local municipalities.
A report presented before the executive committee (Exco) last week indicated that the municipality was expected to provide R1.7 million for hosting the games, while some municipalities were paying R50 000, something which did not sit well with the senior councillors.
Exco members have now instructed city manager Lulamile Mapholoba to meet with his counterparts from other municipalities within uMgungundlovu to see how the costs for the games may be evenly split.
Msunduzi mayor Mzi Thebolla said they supported the games because they encouraged involvement in sporting activities, which was also good for social cohesion.
He however pointed out that such support meant that the municipality had to be treated fairly like others in the district.
“There must be some sense of fairness, it cannot be that Msunduzi pays far more than other municipalities,” said the mayor.
The sentiment was echoed by DA Exco member Ross Strachan, who questioned the method used in determining how much each of the municipalities contributed to the games.
“Let us all be treated fairly within the family of municipalities,” said Strachan, also pointing to other pressing needs for the municipality.
This week the city manager is expected to meet with city managers from other municipalities to determine the way forward.
UMgungundlovu district is made up of seven municipalities, with Msunduzi, uMgeni and Richmond forming part of it, but Msunduzi which is the seat of provincial government, Pietermaritzburg is regarded as ranking higher than others in the district.