Latest news with #R69m
The Citizen
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Polokwane Softball Stadium gets R184m boost after years of delays
Polokwane Softball Stadium gets R184m boost after years of delays Quick read Polokwane's long-delayed international softball stadium project is back on track after receiving R184 million in new funding. The funding comes from the Polokwane Municipality and national Department of Sport, boosting the budget after years of stagnation. Since 2019/20, only R69m had been spent, with construction delayed by Covid-19 and the termination of the original contractor in 2022. Rising material costs led to the dismissal of the first contractor; Brunel Engineering was appointed late in 2023. A new completion date of March 2025 has been set, pushed back from the initially promised February 2024. The original budget for the project was R51m in 2020 but has since escalated significantly. Full story below Full story POLOKWANE – After years of delays and cost escalations, the long-awaited international softball stadium is finally back on track, thanks to an additional R184m allocation from both the Polokwane Municipality and the national Department of Sport. The extra funding comes after the initial budget fell short, with only R69m spent on the project since its inception in the 2019/20 financial year. You might also want to read: Future of Polokwane's R90m softball stadium remains a mystery Construction has been plagued by setbacks, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the termination of the original contractor in 2022 due to rising material costs – a move Mayor John Mpe said was necessary to curb excessive expenditure. Brunel Engineering, the new contractor appointed late last year, has since taken over the site and repaired parts of the structure damaged during the extended halt in progress. Sport and recreation manager Mantlako Sebaka confirmed this week that while work on the external areas and practice fields is ongoing, the revised estimated completion date has now been set for March 2025, a year later than initially promised. You might also want to read: Millions more to salvage softball stadium This marks a shift from Sebaka's previous projection of February 2024. The project has come a long way from its original R51m budget when the first contractor was appointed in 2020. The DA had previously supported the call for more funding after only 43% of the work was completed despite 84% of the second-phase budget being depleted. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Funding crisis stalls UN probe into possible war crimes in DRC
A UN-mandated commission investigating suspected human rights violations and war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) cannot proceed due to a funding crisis in the UN human rights office (OHCHR), according to a letter seen by Reuters. The OHCHR is facing a major cash crunch caused by some countries failing to fully pay their contributions, compounded by major cuts in foreign aid by the US under President Donald Trump. In February, a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva agreed to set up a fact-finding mission and a formal commission of inquiry to investigate rights violations, including massacres and sexual violence in North and South Kivu in the east of the DRC, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu after they were seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Rwanda has denied supporting the M23. Less than six months later, the commission of inquiry cannot deliver results 'until and unless funding is made available', according to the appendix of the letter sent by the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk. He warned financial and staffing constraints are 'critically impeding' investigative work and voiced alarm at the impact of budget cuts on measures to protect human rights. Voluntary contributions to Turk's office are down by $60m (R1bn) this year, OHCHR told Reuters. Alex El Jundi, head of the investigations support unit at OHCHR, told an informal meeting with council members on Monday the situation was regrettable given preliminary findings of summary executions and 'horrific sexual violence' and other violations. Many of the abuses could constitute war crimes, he said. Commissions of inquiry can yield evidence that can be used in pretrial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. El Jundi said the office's reserves are exhausted after it exceptionally allocated $1.1m (R17.7m) of regular funding to launch the fact-finding mission, leaving no resources to start the COI's work. It is budgeted at about $3.9m (R69m). South Africa's envoy at the meeting described the delay as a 'grave mistake' and the DRC's representative said it risked creating the impression the investigation was not important to the OHCHR. The OHCHR told Reuters it would do 'everything possible' to secure regular budget funds as early as 2026 to launch the commission of inquiry.
