The Democratic Alliance (DA) asserted on Tuesday that it has succeeded in pressuring the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development to reduce the budget for the demolition of the HM Pitjie Stadium in Tshwane from R84-million to R19-million.

DA Shadow Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC and Gauteng MPL Kingsol Chabalala noted that suspicion was raised when the R84-million budget was announced during a presentation by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation in June 2021. 

The DA says it questioned the necessity of spending a large sum of money on a derelict stadium and called for a review of the budget as the party deemed it too vast a sum and a “waste of taxpayers’ money”.

The amount was eventually reduced and the DA believes this is a result of its interventions.

The DA says it will continue to monitor the progress of the demolition to ensure that the money is used for the intended purpose.

Chabalala said the R65-million saved could be used to build 13 state-of-the-art combi courts for R5-million each.

Gauteng Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development MEC Lebogang Maile has rejected the contention made by the DA that R84-million would have been wasted on the demolition of the stadium.

“MEC Maile will not silence us, we will continue to expose wasteful expenditure and ensure that the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation repriortises its budget to ensure that the money is allocated to render services for the benefit of our residents,” Chabalala said.