Latest news with #R216m
IOL News
20-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Struggling Welsh rugby must see the writing on the wall and look at successful Irish model
All the Welsh franchises, including the Scarlets, lost their URC games this past weekend. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix The rock bottom for Welsh rugby continues to plunge ever deeper as two of the Principality's four professional franchises, the Ospreys and Scarlets, refuse to sign an agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) regarding a way forward. The Wales national team is currently sitting on a shocking record of 16 consecutive defeats and one of the major solutions put on the table is to cut one of the four teams to make three stronger sides that will have greater depth. Understandably, nobody wants to be dissolved and the two west Wales clubs mentioned are taking legal advice. The other two Welsh United Rugby Championship teams are not an issue for the WRU — Cardiff went into liquidation earlier this year and have been adopted by the WRU, while the struggling Dragons, who finished last in the current URC, have put pen to paper. They don't really have another choice. But the Scarlets, who are through to the URC quarter-finals, and the Ospreys are going concerns and neither wants to run the risk of ceasing to exist. The four regions are currently operating under a Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) that runs out in 2027. It was due to be superseded by a new five-year deal that the Ospreys and Scarlets have not signed — the deadline was May 8. The four sides are expected to continue to exist in their current form until at least June 2027 when the old PRA runs out, but the future of the regions will be under scrutiny. Another burning issue for the Scarlets and Ospreys is how their funding will be affected because the WRU had to absorb £9m (about R216m) of Cardiff's debts when they went into administration in April. They are wondering why they should be made to feel the pinch because one of their rivals failed to run their business properly. It is a mess that grows more complicated by the day and Welsh rugby lovers are wondering how it came to this. During the 20th Century and the early part of this century, Wales were one of the best teams in the world. Between 1950 and 1980 they were overall the best team in Europe and continued the most players to the British and Irish Lions touring teams. The catch is that Wales were at their best in the amateur era. There was no money in the game and everybody competed on an equal footing. There was no such thing as buying and selling players, never mind paying them. As the professional era progressed (from 1996), Welsh rugby has slowly but surely weakened because it is a tiny country with minimal resources, and it seems like few wanted to see the writing on the wall. There are none so blind as those who don't want to see and brave steps were not taken. Outsiders are saying the obvious — there is only so much money in Wales and only so many players can be paid professionally. A great model that Wales should adopt is the Irish one. In the amateur era, over time Wales had a much better national team than Ireland but in the professional era, the tables have been drastically turned. Ireland has a strong governing body that centrally contracts the leading players and, unlike Wales, controls the provinces. It all runs sweetly. It is a model that the Welsh literally can't afford to ignore.
TimesLIVE
07-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
KZN transport MEC calls out contractors for delayed, abandoned road projects
KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Siboniso Duma has raised concern about the performance of contractors awarded tenders to build and rehabilitate roads in the province. Duma told a media briefing on Wednesday 30 contractors responsible for road projects have cost the department an estimated loss of R4.6bn due to their failure to meet deadlines. Two contractors have abandoned their projects entirely. Duma said a meeting was convened after a surge of complaints about poor execution of road projects. These complaints stemmed from stalled or incomplete projects which have left significant gaps in the province's roads infrastructure. 'We convened this briefing after an engagement with contractors awarded tenders to construct new roads and rehabilitate [existing] roads in the province. Duma took responsibility as a public representative, acknowledging the frustration of residents and stressing the department's commitment to accountability. 'A lot of blame, at times rightly so, has been placed at the feet of the department as the custodian of public transportation. However, the reality is we have contractors failing to honour their contracts and it is time we, as the department, name and shame them. 'From today [Wednesday] we will implement punitive measures to ensure we recover money from contractors who have abandoned road construction projects and those who fail to complete projects on time. 'We also note and understand that in recent years contractors were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as projects had to be halted to ensure the safety of workers. 'As we were recovering from the pandemic and as construction of our infrastructural projects resumed, the province experienced major floods in December 2021 and 2022, resulting in adjustments and reprioritisation.' Duma said despite these challenges the department has allocated R13bn to infrastructure development, with R9.2bn earmarked specifically for transport infrastructure. Of this, R3.8bn will go towards the construction of new projects while R4.3bn is set aside for roads maintenance. 'More than R102m will be spent on infrastructure planning and design with more than R927m being allocated to support programmes in transport infrastructure.' A significant portion of this budget will be used to tackle the potholes problem. The department has already procured 55 trucks dedicated to pothole patching and will acquire 25 more to reinforce efforts. The department has appointed more than 100 road workers and foremen. 'We allocated a budget of more than R216m towards pothole patching which needed heavy investment in maintenance and rehabilitation.' There are 39 construction projects and 44 rehabilitation or resealing projects under way. However, many of these have faced delays, particularly those managed by the 30 contractors who have failed to deliver. 'Projects managed by these contractors have stalled, with some having been abandoned. There are instances where projects, including site establishment, have not even started. To date, the cost of such delays is R4.6bn,' said Duma. 'We cannot afford to drop the ball due to contractors' failures. Our focus remains on accountability and efficiency, ensuring that KZN citizens see value for their money.'
