The DA in Ekurhuleni is concerned that the mayor is not paying enough attention to nurturing and growing the culture of sports in the metro.
“For example, wheelchair tennis is an event that comes to Ekurhuleni once a year and the metro is one of the headline sponsors, yet the mayor gave no mention of this in his recent State of the City address,” said Clr Mary Goby, of the DA.
“Furthermore, although the metro is one of the sponsors, there were no officials from sports, recreation, arts and culture (SHRAC) who attended the event, let alone the MMC of that department, to eagerly cheer on the players and recognise their hard work in reaching this level.
“Interestingly, this year we had 50 South African players and 50 international players.
“Lucas Sithole, number one in South Africa and fourth in the world, played against the world’s number one seed, David Wagner.
“While our own homegrown, Ekurhuleni player, Bongani Dlamini, who is the number two seed in South Africa and 14th in the world, did us proud when representing us.”
As an avid supporter, Goby is concerned that if more of these high standard tournaments and training sessions are sought after within the metro, due to the close proximity of the airport, facilities need to be maintained and presentable to all involved.
“Gauteng East Tennis Association supports the Benoni venue, due to the fact that it is next to a hotel with easy accessibility and right on the N12 highway,” she said.
“However, we have been let down by the contractor who worked there.”
She alleged that the contractor used inferior products on the courts, which means that after one match a leaf blower is needed to blow off all the loose gravel.
“The ablutions are in a sorry state; the contractors were still busy fixing up the toilets at the beginning of the tournament,” Goby said.
She added that the toilets for the disabled have a number of faults.
“The toilet paper holder is nearly a metre from the toilet itself and the shower design is also flawed,” she said.
“The fact that people are required to use these facilities in this condition is ghastly and they should be fixed with urgency.
“The DA would also like to see the metro sponsoring some of our players who are chosen for overseas tournaments, and supplying them with decent wheelchairs that are theirs and not on loan to them while playing.”
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