High fees halt HobbiTech

The Rotary Club of Benoni Van Ryn has organised the annual event for the past 11 years, to raise funds for various charities.

Neil Murray, spokesperson for the club, said the event was held in the hall until 2013, at an admin fee of about R5 000, including a refundable deposit, but the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) has now raised the rent to R18 000, representing a 260 per cent increase.

“The rent for this year was set at R18 000, which the municipality reduced by about half, because the hobbies fair is for charity, but it’s still too much for this event to cover and have money left for charity,” said Murray.

In 2014, EMM wanted to charge R25 000 for the use of the hall over the weekend, but after negotiations and because it is a charity event, this was nullified; this year, however, the R9 000 price-tag is final.

EMM confirmed that the rent for the hall might reach R25 000 over a weekend, as the rent is calculated on an hourly basis from Friday to Sunday.

EMM said the rise in rent was market-related and in line with approved council tariffs policy.

All sports, recreation, arts and culture facilities within Ekurhuleni were affected by the rise in rates.

Murray told City Times the funds raised by the event varied from year to year.

One year HobbiTech raised in the region of R80 000, while there was a year when everything worked against the fair, resulting in the costs barely being covered.

With every year, the possibility exists that HobbiTech may not raise sufficient funds to cover ever increasing costs, and additional, unforeseen costs, like the rent of R9 000, are perhaps too much of a risk for the club and do not bode well for the charities supported by the entirely non-profit project.

The club supports various charities via its fund-raisers, including old age homes in both Benoni and Daveyton, the Benoni SPCA, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army and wheelchair recipients.

The event has always been held at the John Barrable Hall and there have never been any issues, until now.

The Rotary Club of Benoni Van Ryn organises three major fund-raisers each year, of which HobbiTech was the largest for a number of years.

The three events fund all the charitable projects managed by the club.

At HobbiTech, participants can showcase their personal hobbies or niche hobby clubs, in an attempt to attract more attention to the crafts.

Some of the usual participants in the fair are SA Blood Transfusion Services, Red Cross Society, Benoni Commando, Benoni Camera Club, the Philatelic Society, miniature railways, model aeroplanes and quilting.

Murray admitted that the event had been losing steam in the past few years, and he was not sure for how many more years it would have survived, but the recent developments have brought a close to HobbiTech and, with it, at least a few more years of fund-raising.

Murray said the club must now replace HobbiTech with another event, but fears that, whatever it is, it won’t be strong enough to match its predecessor.

“The event may be held from Monday to Thursday, to qualify for the cheaper tariffs category, subject to availability,” said Themba Gadebe, EMM spokesperson.

”The centre was built primarily for sport, and a number of sporting clubs and organisations use it on a permanent basis.

”There are, however, many other facilities and the organisation should enquire from the various booking offices to find out what is available to suit their requirements.”