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LOC, Zille to resolve impasse on venue

BID FOR CONSENSUS: Helen Zille. Pic: Pic. Araminta De Clermont. 19/01/2006. © Sunday Times. Zille has welcomed the decision by the provincial government not to palce the city under administration.
BID FOR CONSENSUS: Helen Zille. Pic: Pic. Araminta De Clermont. 19/01/2006. © Sunday Times. Zille has welcomed the decision by the provincial government not to palce the city under administration.

Ramatsiyi Moholoa

Ramatsiyi Moholoa

Cape Town mayor Helen Zille and the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee meet tomorrow to try to resolve the funding impasse affecting the building of Green Point Stadium.

"We think they will reach an amicable solution on the matter, from the information I have received," said Danny Jordaan, LOC chief executive.

"How they spend the money is their business."

Jordaan said they will be represented by the technical committee at the meeting.

Tomorrow's meeting is a follow-up indaba to the one held last Wednesday where Zille said the municipality would not spend an extra cent on the building of the stadium.

"There is a funding gap with the stadium, we haven't received all the money," said Peter Cronje, the municipality's communications manager. "In terms of the law, we can't award a contract to the preferred bidder for the project until we have all the money in the bank.

"There is a funding gap of of an extra R180 million required."

It was announced last year that the building of the state-of-the-art stadium to meet Fifa requirements will cost R2,7 billion.

Speaking on SABC radio after last week's meeting, Zille said she would rather use the money to build houses and other needs for the community. This did not go down well with the listeners, who felt that the municipality would have paid all the money if it were a cricket or rugby tournament.

Cape Town has been in the news since the LOC announced that it would be one of the 2010 World Cup host cities.

Earlier this year, LOC chairman Irvin Khoza gave the municipality a deadline to sort out their problems or lose out on hosting the tournament.

At that stage a residents' committee was threating to go to court to block the laying of foundations for the stadium.

Representatives of the residents argued that the new stadium was going to wipe out an existing golf course.

At a South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee meeting last weekend, Khoza said the problems in Cape Town needed urgent intervention.

Cape Town, which unsuccessfully bid to host the 2004 Olympics, has also been selected as one of the venues to host the semifinals.

Regarding the latest developments on the building of the Peter Mokaba Sport Complex in Polokwane, Jordaan said the municipality promised to get back to them on Friday.

This was after a meeting where Jordaan, Khoza and Safa president Molefi Oliphant met Limpopo premier Sello Moloto, Polokwane mayor Thabo Makunyane and other provincial leaders on Monday.

Sowetan has learnt that the problem in Polokwane also had to do with funding, with the preferred bidder asked to reduce the amount of money requested.

Makunyane is on record saying the municipality will meet all the details pertaining to the stadium.

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