Stadium roof damaged by extreme weather conditions

Large sections of the roof of the Ekangala Stadium were severely damaged by extreme weather conditions and the strong wind in the eastern parts of Tshwane on Monday night.

Parts of Pretoria, including Mamelodi West, Silverton, East Lynne and Koedospoort are also without electricity since Monday night. The city asked residents to be careful and treat all electrical points as live at all times while technicians are still working to restore electricity.

Tshwane community and social development services MMC, Ntsiki Mokhotho, yesterday visited the stadium to assess the extent of the damage. Some sections of the roof that were blown off also damaged other parts of the stadium structure.

Mokhotho said initial evaluation indicated the dilapidated state of the stadium which required upgrading. He said the department enlisted the stadium into a portfolio for facilities that underwent professional conditional assessment by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, appointed in 2012, to develop a turn-around facilities’ maintenance strategic plan for 10 years.

Mokhotho said he will request that the department conducts a thorough assessment of the damage and the current state of the facility.