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There are so many projects we have inherited and I’m a successor in law of the previous premier. We’re therefore going to pay special attention to these projects, because the aim is that when you start a project and spend a cent, you must complete it. Otherwise, you would have wasted public money. – Mpumalanga premier, Mandla Ndlovu.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu has promised to see through stagnant but cash-guzzling projects and the biggest lawsuit against the state he has inherited.

The provincial government has been losing money every financial year  because of unfinished mega-projects that include the  R5.2 billion High Altitude Centre that would be built in Belfast and the R3.8 billion Cultural and Creatives Industry Hub in White River.

Both projects were conceptualised 12 years ago, but no construction work has begun.  

Another financial liability Ndlovu has inherited is the R1-billion damages claim against former Mpumalanga premier and former deputy president, David Mabuza, and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and other government entities.

Conservationist Fred Daniel instituted a civil claim against the Mpumalanga government in 2011 following physical threats, damages on his game reserve in Badplaas and victimisation by government officials.

Daniel’s dream of establishing a thriving conservation project failed and he had to buckle under pressure and leave the province. The civil claim is still before the North Gauteng High Court.

Ndlovu said that he would like to engage Daniel and find a way out of the litigation.

“South Africa is a constitutional country where if an individual is aggrieved he can go to court. But,  it will be in the best interest of us to have a dialogue. We can call this aggrieved individual to engage,” Ndlovu said.

“Maybe if we engage, he will understand that we don’t have the billions he is claiming. If there will be a rule in his favour, we will have to stop providing services to our people and focus on paying him,” he added.

Ndlovu said that his government would try to finish the High Altitude Centre and the Cultural Hub.

“There are so many projects we have inherited and I’m a successor in law of the previous premier. We’re therefore going to pay special attention to these projects, because the aim is that when you start a project and spend a cent, you must complete it. Otherwise, you would have wasted public money,” he said.

Ndlovu said that he thought Mpumalanga was the worst as far as incomplete projects were concerned, but a report in the National Council of Provinces indicated that some provinces had many such projects that Mpumalanga.

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“We are inviting the private sector to come and assist us, because these projects are worth billions that we don’t have,” he said.

The High-Altitude Centre would cater for soccer, swimming, rugby, running, boxing, wrestling, basketball, and cricket. It would also cater for less popular sports such as judo, karate, kayaking, cycling and gymnastics.

The Cultural Hub aimed to offer studios to groom and record musicians, develop filmmakers, actors and other artists.

By 2020, the provincial government had spent  R112.3 million to purchase land for the High-Altitude Centre and to conduct an environmental impact assessment, and for designing the buildings, drawing up a master plan and drafting a bankable feasibility study.

In 2021, R86.9 million was allocated for the construction of a 7 million-litre reservoir in as well as a bulk water supply pipeline construction for the centre.

For the 20.9 hectares of land to build the Cultural Hub about R143.8 million was spent. According to the 2023/2024 3rd Quarter Report of the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, another R 1.6 million has been paid recently to a transactional advisor to do and submit a third version of the revised bankable feasibility study.

Conservatively, R344 million of taxpayers’ funds have been spent on the two white elephants. However, these costs do not present the whole picture and they are definitely more.

Mpumalanga Culture, Sport and Recreation spokesperson, Sibongile Nkosi, has indicated that in the 2024/25 financial year, another R67 million has been budgeted for the High Altitude Centre and R10 million for the Cultural Hub.

Nkosi said that the breakdown of R159.6 million expenditure of the Cultural and Creatives Hub was as follows: Land (R12.9 million); architectural designs and project management (R68.3 million); civil works and engineering services (R16.5 million); professional fees for electrical and mechanical engineering work (R2.3 million); Ppofessional fees for bill of quantities (R15 million) and transactional advisory services (R44.6 million).