Latest news with #R5-million
Daily Maverick
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Safa drops the ball again as Banyana Banyana squad downs tools over unpaid dues
Defending African champions Banyana Banyana went on a brief strike after a couple of days after touching down in Morocco over unpaid match fees. The South African Football Association says the matter has been resolved and the players are back in training. It is unfortunate yet unsurprising that Banyana Banyana have once again butted heads with the South African Football Association (Safa) ahead of participation in a major tournament. On Saturday, 28 June, SABC Sport reported that the Banyana Banyana players had downed tools in Morocco, over a financial stand-off with Safa. The disagreement stems from unpaid match fees by Safa after the team played preparation friendlies ahead of their Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title defence in the continental competition, which kicks off on 5 July. South Africa's senior women's soccer side faced Malawi in a double-header back in April. More recently, the team tussled against Botswana and Zambia as part of fine-tuning their performances for a challenging defence of the Wafcon title they won in 2022. Sit-in protest Displeased with how they have been treated by Safa in the build-up to the tournament, the players (who arrived in Morocco on Wednesday) resorted to staging a sit-in. They boycotted training with the hopes of capturing the attention of the Safa hierarchy. The extreme action has worked. Speaking to journalists following the conclusion of Safa's ordinary congress in Sandton on Saturday, the federation's vice-president, Linda Zwane, labelled the incident a 'minor issue' and said it has been resolved. 'It's a minor issue. It's an issue of the payments of the previous games they played, particularly the Malawi games. The association then undertook to address that particular matter and there's agreement that has been reached with the team, through their captain,' Zwane stated. 'As far as we're concerned that particular matter is now buried and the association has made a commitment towards [paying the players], making sure that players continue with their preparations. We want them to perform very well in the tournament and the reports we are getting is that the team is back in training,' the vice-president said. Failing finances Of course, Safa's current financial woes are well documented, having shot to the centre of the public eye in December 2024 when the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture gave the South African soccer governing body an advance of R5-million. This was from the annual government grant the association receives. This advance has not helped Safa much though, as reports of delayed salary payments at their Nasrec headquarters have been a regular feature in the news. At the beginning of June, Safa appeared before the parliamentary oversight committee for sport, arts and culture. During this appearance the federation painted a grim picture of its finances, with Safa's chief financial officer, Gronie Hluyo, telling the committee members that the association's current liabilities exceed its assets by R141-million. Hluyo said the reasons for this deficit included the adoption of gender parity policies for the senior teams, Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana. He said that despite this commitment from Safa, the limited sponsors approaching them were primarily interested in backing the men's team. Hluyo stands accused of fraud within Safa, alongside the federation's president, Danny Jordaan, and public relations company boss Trevor Neethling. The chief of finance told Parliament that Safa's cash flow struggles were also due to the organisation battling to attract sponsors owing to regular negative publicity surrounding it. Also addressing the media after the conclusion of the Safa congress, CEO Lydia Monyepao alluded to Safa's dire finances being the reason for the outstanding payments to players. 'The disagreement arose in terms of the payment dates with regards to the bonuses. We have since addressed that matter; we know that we have a commitment to the players in terms of after a friendly match, we give [them their money after] 30 days. But us as a federation, where we are right now in terms of financial performance, was covered extensively in the congress,' Monyepao said. History repeats itself This is the second successive major tournament where the Banyana Banyana players have been forced to confront Safa for not valuing them enough. Ahead of their historic run to the 2023 World Cup's round of 16, the team clashed with the federation over a number of issues. Those included the poor-quality stadium at which the African champions were expected to play. The players raised their concerns about this and the high risk of injury posed by playing at Tsakane Stadium – particularly before the World Cup. There was also a financial factor in that pre-World Cup stand-off. It took the Motsepe Foundation's intervention and the organisation's financial gift of about R6-million to Safa to ease the tensions. At the time, the Safa hierarchy said it had learnt its lesson about sorting out such issues timeously and said a similar stand-off would not occur in the future. Yet here we are. It's unnecessary chaos at a time when the team's focus should be on polishing tactics and strengthening team chemistry. Banyana Banyana's Wafcon group features some competitive sides – Ghana, Mali and Tanzania. Their full focus and energy are required for this quest. DM
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Race horse owner Sid Moodley aiming for a July win
When Durban businessman Sid Moodley bought his first horse three years ago his dream was to win races, and this year he is hoping his dream would come true with his first Durban July runner in Madison Valley. Madison Valley is among the 18 horses in the main field event in the R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July that will take place on Saturday July 5 at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse. Moodley, from Umhlanga, said he knew Madison Valley was a quality horse who had the potential to be in the Durban July. "It is not easy to get a horse to run in the main race of the prestigious Durban July. This is a victory alone. Winning this race would be a dream come true. The trainer Frank Robinson and I are confident of Madison Valley's potential. We are focused on winning," said Moodley.
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Cape Town set to pass budget, while civic bodies consider legal challenge
A special council meeting will be held in Cape Town on Thursday, June 26 to discuss and adopt the city's revised 2025/2026 budget, after a process which saw the city making adjustments to it after complaints over tariff increases and other issues. Tariff increases, rebates for pensioners and unaffordable rates — these are some of the key issues that will take centre stage on Thursday morning in Cape Town when the city's budget is due to be adopted. There have been indications that opposition parties will not vote in favour of the budget, and ratepayers' organisations have questioned rates and tariff increases. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads When the city tabled the draft 2025/2026 budget on 27 March, it came under fire for raising tariffs and including a new citywide cleaning fee. Ratepayers and civic organisations said they would object to the new budget. Just one day before public comment closed in May, the city announced expanded measures for relief, particularly for families in lower-value homes, as well as softening tariffs for the middle class, according to a media release by the City of Cape Town (CoCT). Read more: Petitions, statements and condemnation: Cape Town's draft budget controversy explained Some of the additional expanded measures announced by the city include extending the 'first R450,000 rates-free' benefit to all homes up to a R7-million property valuation (up from R5-million). Another measure includes more pensioners qualifying for this benefit by raising the qualifying threshold to a R27,000 monthly income per household (up from R22,000), regardless of property value. Public comment on the new adjustments closed on 13 June. However, there are still some concerns from political parties and ratepayers' associations. Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, 25 June, the ANC caucus leader in the council, Ndithini Tyhido, said his party would not support 'a budget that fails the people of Cape Town'. The ANC is the biggest opposition party in the council. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'While the DA-led administration attempts to portray this adjustment as a response to the public input, the reality is that the revised budget remains fundamentally anti-poor, anti-development and deeply exclusionary,' he said. The party, he claimed, had made it clear that the original draft budget 'failed to address the structural inequalities in our communities'. Ratepayers' association considering options The Cape Town Collective Ratepayers' Association (CTCRA) said it still had concerns about the new adjustments, including that 'total municipal rates bill increases are many multiples of the inflation rate, especially for property owners with values [of] R5-million and more, who face double-digit increases'. The association comprises 57 ratepayers' associations and civic organisations from across the city. The CTCRA said 'alternative additional revenue sources have not been included'. Another concern was that 'commercial properties are exempted from the introduction of the citywide cleaning charge. This is not fair to residential property owners who do not have this exemption.' In response to Daily Maverick's questions, Bas Zuidberg, interim chair of the CTCRA, said, 'Given that it is probable that CoCT will approve this budget, we will be looking into the merits of a legal challenge to the principle of calculating fixed charges based on the property valuation. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'We believe, as do many others, that this a breach of the Municipal Systems Act and sets a dangerous trend for Cape Town as well as a dangerous precedent for the country as a whole.' advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Some of the priorities in the city's budget include 500 new metro police officers spread across wards and more than 200 new officers to protect service delivery teams from criminals. Other projects include a R4.5-billion allocation for the new MyCiTi route linking Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and other communities to Wynberg/Claremont. The city has a budget of R2-billion for a project that will reduce sewage spills and water bursts by replacing 100km of sewer and 50km of water pipes per year; R3.5-billion will go towards road upgrades, repairs and congestion relief. According to a report by the city on the public comment process, 1,147 individual submissions were submitted, with a 'significant portion of the feedback focused on the proposed increases in property rates and tariffs, with concerns raised by individual residents, ratepayers' associations, and community organisations'. DM
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Eight On Eighteen in the final 18: Field and draws for Durban July unveiled
There are no major surprises in the final field for the R5-million Grade 1 epic on 5 July. The lure of the Hollywoodbets Durban July proved too much to resist. Connections of Eight On Eighteen – ante-post favourite for South Africa's biggest horse race – succumbed to the promise of a special place in racing's history books and opted to run the wonder colt at Greyville in two weeks' time. Eight On Eighteen will carry the three-year-old maximum of 57kg, will be ridden by champion jockey Richard Fourie and has drawn starting gate No 11 – which many consider to be close to ideal for the 2200m showpiece (and was the draw of last year's winner Oriental Charm). For months, trainer Justin Snaith and owners Nick Jonsson and Johan Rupert remained non-committal about the horse's participation in the 129th renewal of the July. Right up until Eight On Eighteen's name was announced in the final field of 18 runners on Tuesday morning, conflicting rumours buzzed about. Word was that the three-year-old star had already cemented an elevated place in the stud book with three Grade 1 victories, including in the Cape Town Met, and there were fears that the rough-and-tumble of a July could only diminish that – both physically and reputationally. In the end, the old July magic worked. There are no major surprises in the final field for the R5-million Grade 1 epic on 5 July. An inclusion that might spark some debate is Rainbow Lorikeet, the sole filly in the line-up. Candice Bass-Robinson's four-year-old had not made it into any of the July logs of 'probables', but scratchings from among remaining entries in recent days afforded the selection panel the chance to provide a smidgeon of gender interest – not to mention the colour of the filly's Yuppie Syndicate ownership. On the fringes as reserves are Sean Tarry's Litigation and Tony Peter's Son Of Raj. Only four other remaining entries were eliminated: The Equator, Holding Thumbs, Beating Wings and Thunee Playa. Former champion Tarry might well be a notable absentee from the July saddling ring. Joburg's perennial top trainer unsurprisingly scratched his SA Derby winner Legend Of Arthur from the big race after two shockingly bad prep runs. The traditional July public gallops will be held at Greyville early on Thursday morning (26 June). FIELD FOR THE 2025 HOLLYWOODBETS DURBAN JULY [number & draw, name, weight, (jockey), trainer] 1 Oriental Charm 60kg (JP van der Merwe) James Crawford 2 Madison Valley 54kg (Gavin Lerena) Frank Robinson 3 On My Honour 53kg (S'manga Khumalo) Glen Kotzen 4 Atticus Finch 57kg (Calvin Habib) Alec Laird 5 The Real Prince 56.5kg (Craig Zackey) Dean Kannemeyer 6 Selukwe 54kg (Serino Moodley) Andre Nel 7 Rainbow Lorikeet 53kg (Diego de Gouveia) Candice Bass-Robinson 8 Pomodoro's Jet 55.5kg (Ant Mgudlwa) James Crawford 9 My Best Shot 53kg (Chase Maujean) Alan Greeff 10 Immediate Edge (Callan Murray) Mike & Mathew de Kock 11 Eight On Eighteen (Richard Fourie) Justin Snaith 12 Purple Pitcher 57.5kg (Kabelo Matsunyane) Robyn Klaasen 13 Okavango 54.5kg (Andrew Fortune) Justin Snaith 14 Confederate 53.5kg (Warren Kennedy) Fabian Habib 15 See It Again 60kg (Raymond Danielson) Michael Roberts 16 Gladatorian 60kg (Stuart Ferrie) Sean Veale 17 Royal Victory 59kg (Muzi Yeni) Nathan Kotzen 18 Native Ruler (Timothy Godden) Justin Snaith RESERVES: 19 Litigation 54kg Sean Tarry 20 Son Of Raj 56kg Tony Peter (In the event of a scratching, the reserve runner replacement will inherit the draw of the withdrawn horse)
Daily Maverick
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Latest visit to Parliament paints grim picture of the finances of Danny Jordaan's Safa
There were two key takeaways from the South African Football Association's appearance before Parliament: its dire financial situation and its president, Danny Jordaan, hinting that he will run for a fourth term in 2026. The South African Football Association (Safa) is in financial trouble. That was one of the key takeaways from the federation's appearance before Parliament's sport, arts and culture oversight committee. During the routine visit to Parliament on Tuesday, 3 June Safa spoke about the financial struggles it is facing. The association's chief financial officer, Gronie Hluyo, said it is in debt, with its current liabilities exceeding its assets by R141-million. Over the past few months in particular Safa has battled to pay employees and service providers on time. Even senior national team players have sometimes had to wait it out for their match fees. In December 2024, the Department of Sport bailed out Safa from a financial quagmire by approving a R5-million advance from the association's annual government grant. However, in the long-term Safa still finds itself in a precarious financial position. Cashflow quagmire Hluyo said the reasons for this deficit included the adoption of gender parity policies for the senior teams, Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana. He said that despite this commitment from Safa, the limited sponsors approaching them were primarily interested in backing the men's team. The financial officer, who stands accused of fraud within Safa – alongside the federation's president Danny Jordaan and public relations company boss Trevor Neethling – told Parliament that Safa's cashflow struggles were primarily due to the organisation battling to attract sponsors. The latter situation, he submitted, is a direct result of the constantly negative publicity Safa receives in the media. According to Hluyo, one of the most important components in Safa balancing its books is the federation finishing the renovation of the Fun Valley Resort, which it bought in 2015. The vision was to transform the site into Safa's official national technical centre, thereby reducing costs significantly. 'We bought a place called Fun Valley, which we are developing into a national technical centre. We are in the process of constructing that national technical centre. Once that is complete it will result in a lot of cost saving for Safa, because our teams will be staying at the national technical centre and training there,' Hluyo said. 'Currently our biggest costs are flights, accommodation and player remuneration. So, if we can reduce the accommodation costs, that will help quite a lot. However, we need funders in order to complete the construction of the technical centre.' Safa paid R65-million for Fun Valley, which is in Johannesburg South. However, the purchase has been marred by controversy because of discrepancies in property valuations. It has always been said that Safa paid much more than what the property was worth. In 2023, Hluyo told the media that the association needed about R600-million to complete all the construction. But with its dire financial situation, as well as corporate companies shunning Safa due to the constant negative publicity, it's unclear where the money will come from. Negative publicity Hluyo also said Safa is also on the market for a public relations company to spruce up its image, owing to what Jordaan labelled a 'campaign' to derail the association, by both external and internal people. 'The campaign is intended to drive away the sponsors… It only happens to football. It won't happen to rugby and cricket. This is a political campaign and vicious campaign, but we will stand our ground. We will deliver the football that people want in this country. We are not afraid, we've seen worse,' Jordaan said. Indeed, Safa regularly pumps out statements disputing one thing or another – from allegations that Jordaan is running the association like a cartel, to him ousting all those who challenge his authority. It's a long list. Jordaan's former vice-president, Ria Ledwaba, once said of the Safa boss: 'As soon as you do not agree with the president, you are enemy number one.' Jordaan has consistently denied the allegations against him. Vehemently. The 73-year-old former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor has also argued that if he was as despicable as he is always portrayed in the public domain, then members of the association would not continuously entrust him to lead it. Another term? Jordaan is currently serving a third term as Safa boss. He was first elected in 2013 and his current four-year term began in 2022. Asked in Parliament whether he would ever consider voluntarily stepping down from his position, especially in light of the negative publicity in Safa which can be directly linked to him, Jordaan said no. 'In any position, in a democracy, you cannot give yourself a position. You cannot decide when you stay and when you go. That is the responsibility of our 52 regions, they will take that decision. It's not for me to say I want to be a president [or not]. I never said that to them. So, they will decide what they want to do,' Jordaan said. This is in stark contrast to what he said after his re-election in a landslide victory three years ago, when he implied that he had not wanted to run for president again and had only done so to groom a successor after Safa members had implored him to do so. 'That's one of the reasons why [some of the] members said 'you can't just drop the ball and go, you must have a succession plan'. I heard them and we agreed. It is not as if I woke up one morning and said I want a third term. That is far from the truth. I had accepted that I'd made my contribution,' Jordaan said in 2022. Asked about those remarks in Parliament on Tuesday, Jordaan appeared perplexed. He said: 'When did I say this?… Members must nominate. We have to wait and see. I don't know whether they'll nominate me or not.' With a large number of Safa's national executive committee members said to be personally benefiting, one way or the other, from Jordaan's extended stay at the association, he is likely to be nominated again – even though his presence is clearly a setback, in a number of ways, for the association. DM
