2016-03-14Staff Report 2 Windhoek Once the pride of the town, the Oscar Norich Stadium in Tsumeb has become a serious eyesore for the town’s residents, with a section of the stadium’s open pavilion blown off from its concrete foundations. The stadium, with an estimated capacity of 1 500, was named after former Chief Santos legend Oscar Norich-Tjahuha, one of the country’s most prolific footballers, who died in 2014. In a letter sent to New Era Sport over the weekend, a group of residents from the copper town penned all their frustrations regarding the municipality’s alleged inappropriate attitude of turning a blind eye on pertinent issues affecting the residents. Among the issues raised, the group expressed concern over the sad state in which the Oscar Norich Stadium is currently, with the stadium’s steel-constructed pavilions lying around loosely on the ground for several months now. “The section of the pavilions was blown away by a heavy storm some months ago and the municipality is taking forever to repair the pavilions, despite spectators using the area during football matches. It’s very dangerous, because some parents also come with their children. They must either repair the damage as soon as possible, or stop all sporting activities from taking place at the stadium,” reads part of the letter. “Another problem that we also have is the fact that the company that was given the tender to erect the steel-made pavilions, when they were moved from the eastern side of the stadium to the western side, was solely handpicked and we were informed that the company belonged to one of the executive members’ friends. “That’s why things are falling apart. It’s because the work done was shoddy and the people were inexperienced”, continues the letter. “The worry is that the work was done with approval of the municipal engineer. Yes, we understand that it was blown away by the wind, but why were the old pavilions not blown away, since they are next to each other? Luckily there were no games at the stadium that day.” Approached for comment, Tsumeb Municipality CEO Archie Benjamin confirmed that a section of the stadium’s pavilion is in a dilapidated state, but rubbished accusations that the municipality is sitting idly and doing nothing about the situation. “We’ve taken note of the situation at the stadium and work has already begun at the site, so I don’t know what they mean when they say nothing is being done. As for the company that did the job, I cannot comment on that because I was not in office when the work was done. I can however confirm that everything is under control,” Benjamin said. 2016-03-14Staff Report 2
