South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Gideon Sam says the multi-coded body wants official confirmation that Durban may lose the rights to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Sam was reacting to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula's comments yesterday that there was "possibility that the SA government will not host the games".

That is, if both parties fail to find common ground on cost-cutting measures, Mbalula said.

But Sam told Sowetan yesterday: "The CGF [Commonwealth Games Federation] president [Louise Martin] will make the announcement. The minister talks about 'may' [but] at Sascoc we want it official."

Addressing a media briefing in parliament in Cape Town yesterday, Mbalula said "we can't find each other on the final figures".

This was in reference to operational costs that are likely to spiral beyond the initial budget. Sascoc reportedly spent nearly R120-million on its bid and the total costs are an estimated R8.2-billion, with a projected GDP benefit of about R11-billion.

Durban was awarded the Games in September 2015, but SA missed key deadlines, including the formation of a local organising committee or pay a R24-million hosting fee.

SA met the extended November 30 deadline to submit outstanding bid documents but nothing was made public if the hosting fee was paid or not.

The CGF told Sowetan last week that Durban 2022 was still under review and "will not be completed before the end of February".

"A review team appointed by the CGF is in the final stages of evaluating the submissions received from South Africa to determine whether Durban's proposals for hosting the Games are consistent with their original bid commitments," CGF spokesman Martin Reynolds told Sowetan last week.

The CGF is due to meet in the UK next weekend, where a final decision will be made.