Ekurhuleni government blamed for Highlands' departure from Tembisa

Ekurhuleni fans will say goodbye to Premier Soccer League football in the region -after Tembisa-based Highlands Park confirmed on Friday they will move out of their home ground of Makhulong Stadium, citing lack of support from the municipality.

Highlands put the blame for their pending relocation at the door of the municipality, saying their repeated requests over the past five years to have the stadium upgraded have been rebuffed.

The club went as far as to accuse mayor Mzwandile Masina and officials in the municipality of unwillingness to support the team, but the City of Ekurhuleni denied the accusations.

The municipality said the support it provides to the club is in "monetary value as well as in kind".

"Through the City's grant-in-aid funding, Highlands Park Football Club was allocated in two successive years a total of R2.2m with R700,000 allocated in the 2015/16 financial year and R1.5m allocated in 2016/17.

"Noting that the club played 15 home games, this equates to the monetary value of R225,000 as it costs R15,000 to book our stadium per game," said the municipality in a statement on Friday.

But Highlands Park director and shareholder Sinky Mnisi rubbished the municipality's claims of support as "nonsense".

"They are talking rubbish, you can quote me on that," fumed Mnisi, adding that the club received grant-in-aid for two years (2015/16 and 2016/17) only. He said the club stopped receiving the grant without any explanation from the municipality.

The City of Ekurhuleni merely replaced these worn out tables and replaced them with new ones and claimed it as part of its upgrades done at Makhulong Stadium. This is what journalists have to deal with at the stadium. (Thapelo Morebudi)

"They talk about the monetary value (R225,000) of hosting 15 home games. what is that compared to the advertising space we give to them? In the just concluded season we provided three advertising boards to the City. That is an equivalent of R150,000 per match. You can do the maths."

Highlands this week issued an ultimatum to the Ekurhuleni Municipality to provide financial support to the club or face the possibility of the Premier Division side moving out of the East Rand township.

It appears the club will carry out their threats to relocate.

In a statement on Friday, the municipality could only commit to fixing the pitch in time for the start of next season in August but were non-committal on other requests from the club. "We can confirm that the pitch will be ready by August 02," read the statement from the mayor's office.

Pressed to commit on other requests such as the installation of lifts, backup generators, media and VIP area refurbishments and the extension of the perimeter walls, City spokesperson Themba Gadebe said: "The City remains committed to an open dialogue with the club to have frank discussions on matters raised."

It is the community of Tembisa and the Ekurhuleni region as a whole that will lose if Highlands Park relocates because of the economic spin-offs that come with us playing in the Premier Division
— Highlands Park director and shareholder Sinky Mnisi

Mnisi hit back and said: "If fixing the pitch is the only thing that the City is committing to before the start of the new season, then without a doubt Highlands Park will move out of Tembisa and potentially out of the Ekurhuleni area.

"It is the community of Tembisa and the Ekurhuleni region as a whole that will lose if Highlands Park relocates because of the economic spin-offs that come with us playing in the Premier Division."

The City, however, said it is concerned about the possibility of Highlands moving out of Ekurhuleni.

Mnisi accused the director of sports in the City, Atwell Sijadu, of deliberately turning a blind eye to their request for upgrades. Mnisi said Sijadu is biased as he owns a team in the ABC Motsepe League Gauteng, which plays at Tsakane Stadium.

"It is sad today that you have got Tsakane Stadium that has got the best facilities. Tsakane Stadium, although it does not qualify for PSL action, is by far ahead of Makhulong purely because the director of sports and recreation in the City of Ekurhuleni comes from the Tsakane area."

In response to Sijadu's alleged conflict of interest, the City said: "No council official can unilaterally decide on matters relating to capex such as the construction or upgrades of the sporting facilities.

"Therefore, the accusation that the director of sport has bias in favour of Tsakane stadium over Makhulong is unfounded."

The Sunday Times can confirm after a tour of the stadium this week that there are no backup generators, no lifts to assist disabled officials and VIP guest, and the media centre and VIP area need a complete overhaul.