The non-profit organisation that received a R15.9m grant to build a multipurpose sports facility in Limpopo in honour of the late middle-distance runner Mbulaheni Mulaudzi says it would need R70m more to complete the project, which has collapsed into a grazing area for goats. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is probing how the Mavu Sports Development NPO received the money from the National Lotteries Council (NLC) in 2018 through the proactive-based funding method without being subjected to a 12-month cooling-off clause. During the cooling-off period, a beneficiary who received funding is barred from applying the following year.
However, Mavu was allowed to apply twice, receiving R4.7m in 2016 and R7m in 2017 for unrelated projects before it scored the R15.9m payout for Mulaudzi’s sports facility in 2018. It was meant to be completed in six months. SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the investigation into the grant was 80% complete.
The facility in Muduluni village in Makhado has remained incomplete since 2021. Its rundown state has angered Mulaudzi’s family, which wants its name to be disassociated from the project. Work at the site began with the construction of a multipurpose court, a soccer pitch and a 400m track in 2019 before it was abandoned after the funds allegedly ran out in 2021.
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Mavu is based in Johannesburg and has no known history in construction. Mavu spokesperson and former Safa president, Kirsten Nematandani, said the intention had been to build a legacy project for Mulaudzi — the Olympic silver medallist who died in a car crash in 2014. Nematandani said Mavu had initially applied for R42m, but the NLC only awarded it R15.9m.
“We had to continue with the construction of what could be done with the available budget, which has been spent accordingly,” he said. “This includes an environmental impact assessment, borehole testing and drilling, earthwork preparations, the installation of a 64,000 litre tank, one multipurpose court, the drainage system for a grass field and fencing.” Nematandani said a rough estimate to construct an accredited athletics track would be between R35m and R40m.
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