Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile is keeping his distance from the controversy over the proposed Green Point soccer stadium, his spokesperson Bongi Sishi said on Thursday.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Thursday afternoon between Cape Town mayor Helen Zille, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool, and the Fifa local organising committee, which hopes to allay Zille’s concerns over the project.
Stofile and the Department of Finance’s Deputy Minister Jabu Moleketi are also on the list of attendees.
However, Stofile would not be at the meeting, said Sishi.
”We’ve announced the stadiums: now the matter rests with the mayor and the province. Otherwise we end up entangled in tendering processes,” he said.
He also said there was no reason for concern over finances.
”The government has signed guarantees. There’s nobody that’s going to lose money.”
Moleketi’s office confirmed he would attend.
Zille said on Wednesday she looked forward to discussing the financial implications of the stadium — which is earmarked to host a 2010 Soccer World Cup semifinal — at the meeting.
”I have already stated that we cannot start signing contracts worth millions of rands until we have been given adequate information on how much the stadium will cost and how it will be paid for,” she said.
”Thus far we have not been presented with a proper financial model to work with, and it would be irresponsible to proceed without one.”
Earlier, she said it appeared the stadium was going to cost Cape Town R1-billion — equivalent to an entire year’s capital budget for the city. ‒ Sapa