Row over Cape Town soccer stadium escalates
The row over the building of a 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium in Green Point in Cape Town is escalating. Western Cape Sport MEC Whitey Jacobs has come out in support of mayor Helen Zille’s decision to halt progress on the proposed one-point-28-billion rands stadium pending a financial review. The Cape Argus quotes Jacobs as saying it is the right thing for the new city administration to do.But the ANC and the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation has expressed its concern about Zille’s stand. Committee chairperson Butana Khompela says all stakeholders should realise that the hosting of the 2010 World Cup is a matter of national and international importance and should not be used as a football to score cheap political points. Khompela says the assumptions in the mayoral committee’s statements are not only factually incorrect but also display a lack of understanding of the agreements reached between government and the 2010 Local Organising Committee. Earlier, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool reportedly called for a meeting between his cabinet and the mayoral committee. Reports say Rasool has already advised Zille that whatever her misgivings are, she cannot send a signal to the world that could be counter-productive to investment in the Western Cape.
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