Story audio is generated using AI
Almost a year after mayor Babalwa Lobishe terminated the mandate of the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) to manage the city’s premier stadium, the municipality is now seeking to extend the entity’s role at the facility for at least another six months.
The mayor sent shockwaves through rugby circles in July when she cancelled the agency’s management mandate just days before the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium hosted the Test between the Springboks and Italy.
Her decision was later overturned in court, and the MBDA was given a further 90 days to continue running the facility.
However, since then, the agency has continued to run key aspects of the financial affairs of the stadium, though the overall strategic management of the facility is the responsibility of the city’s economic development, tourism and agriculture directorate.
A report on the proposed extension of the agency role was due to be tabled at a meeting of the economic development, tourism and agriculture committee on Tuesday.
However, the sitting was postponed.
According to the report, the stadium is one of the municipality’s flagship assets, operating as a multipurpose venue for major events including sports fixtures, concerts, exhibitions, business summits and seminars.
In December 2016, the council appointed the MBDA to operate the stadium for three years.
After the initial appointment expired, the council appointed the agency to continue performing the role on a month-to-month basis.
Then, in July 2022, the council renewed the appointment for one year.
When that expired, the MBDA was back to operating the facility on a month-to-month basis.
After the 90-day extension ordered by the court, a three-month interim agreement was signed.
The agency is now again operating on a month-to-month basis until the council approves the recommendations in the report.
The stadium precinct is viewed as a catalyst for broader urban and economic regeneration, according to the report.
The MBDA commissioned Urban-Econ Development Economists to conduct a pre-feasibility and business-planning study into six proposed developments in the precinct.
These include a floating jetty on North End Lake, a cruise vessel or barge experience, a Hero’s Walk featuring the statues of iconic figures, an Action Sports Complex or High-Performance Centre, an annual signature sporting event or festival, and a boutique hotel on the lake’s edge.
“With the conclusion of the mandate given to the MBDA to manage the stadium, the current transitional phase presents an opportunity to align the management of the stadium with the city’s strategic objectives, particularly in maximising its contribution to business events, tourism promotion and community development,” the report says.
“The department is responsible for attracting domestic and international investment, facilitating industrial expansion, strengthening partnerships with the private sector and driving job creation.
“The Nelson Mandela Bay Convention Bureau, housed within the department, further strengthens this mandate by positioning the city as a leading host for conferences, exhibitions and sporting events.
“Placing temporary oversight of the stadium with the department, and specifically the convention bureau, offers clear advantages.”
To stabilise stadium operations during the period of uncertainty, the municipality introduced interim measures in conjunction with the MBDA.
Under the interim service level agreement, the MBDA performs a defined paymaster role. This includes:
- Administering payroll for all stadium-related staff;
- Processing payments to service providers;
- Maintaining financial records and audit trails;
- Submitting monthly financial and operational reports; and
- Ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations.
In turn, the municipality:
- Retains strategic management and policy control over the stadium;
- Provides verified data relating to staff and service providers;
- Ensures timeous transfer of funds to the MBDA;
- Assumes accountability for the MBDA’s financial instructions.
“The way forward is premised on a phased, risk-managed transition model, ensuring that no function is transferred before the municipality is fully ready to assume responsibility,” the report says.
It requested that the committee note its contents and approve a six-month extension of the MBDA’s mandate, pending the council’s approval of a permanent management model for the stadium.
After the postponement, economic development, tourism and agriculture acting executive director Wandisile Makwabe said the interim agreement effectively positioned the MBDA as a paymaster, supporting a range of operational functions at the stadium.
“The report emphasises that the city will manage the stadium.
“There are roles and responsibilities.
“What it therefore meant was that we needed to establish a task team made up of MBDA, department management and other colleagues from other departments.
“At an operational level, I’m supposed to lead that,” Makwabe said.
“What it means is that on each decision taken at the stadium, I’m supposed to be part of that process.
“Whether it’s an event that is going to be hosted, whether we are bidding for that event, or doing proactive bidding.”
- Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald