adminBulawayo United Residents’ Association (Bura) expressed dismay at the state of the pitch at Barbourfields Stadium, an envy of many in the country in yesteryears, saying it was another clear example of dereliction of duty by council while the Bulawayo United Progressive
Residents’ Association also roundly condemned the local authority for failing to maintain the pitch which has become an eyesore.
BCC charges 20 percent of gross gate-takings or $2 000 for small teams for the use of Barbourfields Stadium or whichever is greater and on Sunday, 25 957 fans paid to watch the Battle of Zimbabwe Part One between Highlanders and Dynamos which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Highlanders grossed $104 445 from the match but the club netted less than half of the amount after service providers, including the city council, once again smiled all the way to the bank.
The council received $20 885.
Despite collecting sizeable amounts from Bosso’s games, Barbourfields Stadium’s pitch continues to be dry and patchy.
Winos Dube, Bura chairman, questioned where all the money was going. He challenged the city council to make sure the stadium is well maintained so that it retains its status of being the best in the country.
“As ratepayers and followers of football, we want to see our stadia in perfect condition because these teams pay a lot of money to council . . . these are the things that we are complaining about but if we do that we are misjudged as wearing political masks, which we are not,” said Dube.
The Bura chairman on Tuesday questioned the leadership credentials of most councillors in the city.
He said clubs and other stakeholders have previously approached the council with a view to having the 20 percent levy reduced but they were turned down, yet service provision continued to deteriorate.
BUPRA co-ordinator Rodrick Fayayo, also blasted the council for failure to fulfill its mandate to the residents.
“This is a clear indication of failure by council to prioritise issues, not only on stadia but on other community facilities like the City Hall.
“Where is the money contributed by teams going to? We are then forced to suspect that they are busy buying fuel everyday for their cars,” said Fayayo.
He said it boggled the mind that council was said to be in serious debts which it was failing to service and was not even paying its employees’ salaries on time, yet it continued to generate revenue, especially from Highlanders.
“The question therefore is, where is the money from Barbourfields Stadium going to? The council is simply prioritising administrative issues at the expense of service provision. Barbourfields Stadium is bringing in a lot of money but it is left to dilapidate like that,” said Fayayo.
He said there was a serious need for an all-stakeholders meeting to solve this issue because the council needed to account for all the money that it generates from stadia hire.
Contacted for comment, the city’s director of housing and community services, Isaiah Magagula, said the council was doing something about the maintenance of Barbourfields Stadium.
“We will soon be getting reclaimed water following the commissioning of the Thorngrove sewage treatment plant. I cannot however, give the exact date as that depends on our engineers,” said Magagula.
Asked why the council was not using the borehole that is at the stadium to water the turf, Magagula said the water levels there were very low and therefore not enough to water the facility.
The Barbourfields Stadium turf was extensively damaged when the council authorised a four-day MDC-T Congress in 2011.
Online Reporter