R22-Million Limpopo Sports Complex Stands Unused

The R22-million Makhuvha Sports Complex, opened for the public in December 2012 to host Premier Soccer League games, is today just a shadow of itself.

Located 15km outside Thohoyandou in Vhembe District, Limpopo, it has soccer grounds, a stadium and two swimming pools. But Thulamela Local Municipality has let the facility to go to ruin. The pitch is overgrown, the pools, which never operated, still have no water. The grounds have become an illegal dumping site..

“We were sold a dream when the facility was built years back, but now it is not benefiting us in any way,” saysNtsieni Sirwali, of Rotangana Foundation, an organisation involved in youth sports and education.

“It is so sad to see … Everything in Makhuvha is a mess and no one is prepared to take any responsibility and our kids are suffering.”

He said the local youth were supposed to take swimming lessons and play soccer, but the facility is in too poor a condition. Today the pools were a breeding ground for mosquitoes and bacteria.

Councillor Thelma Marole (DA) said the party had written letters of complaint to Thulamela Municipality about the state of the Makhuvha Sports Complex but never received a response.

He said it was a waste of limited municipal resources. He questioned whether the project had not been simply created to benefit certain companies at the time.

Thulamela Local Municipality spokesperson Nndwamato Tshiila acknowledged that “complaints had been received” and admitted that the Makhuvha Sport Complex “has unfortunately not been functioning properly”.

He said the electricity transformer at the stadium was stolen in 2023.

This meant the swimming pool pumps, the pitch irrigation and the two boreholes that supply the complex could not operate.

He said the municipality is in the process of restoring electricity, refurbishing the toilets, maintaining the swimming pools “and other necessary upgrades”.

“We are working diligently to restore the stadium to full operational condition for the benefit of the community,” said Tshiila.

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