THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) snubbed a request for free use of its sports and recreational facilities by university and college students during the Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Associates (CUCSA) games that ended in the city on Saturday.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
According to latest council minutes, the Zimbabwe Tertiary Institutions Sports Union (ZTISU) in a letter dated June 30, had requested a special waiver to use council facilities for the games.
ZTISU wanted free use of White City Stadium, White City netball grounds, Luveve Stadium, City Hall, Bulawayo Athletic Club and Khanyisile Sports Centre for the games that ran from August 1-6.
“ZTISU deliberately targeted the city of kings as the host city following the legacy of the African Union (AU) Region 5 games. This event has since been recognised by the government of Zimbabwe as a national event and support has been granted from several government departments to ensure the successful hosting of these games.
“It is our hope that city fathers will assist in making this edition the most successful ever in the history of CUCSA,” the letter read in part.
Council, however, turned down the request and instead offered a 25% discount for use of the facilities.
“In the past council had granted free use of its facilities only in respect of national events (e.g. Independence and Heroes Day Celebrations). However, deserving applicants had been granted discounts for use of facilities — 25%, 50% or 75% — depending on the nature of the event,” the council resolution read.
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Bulawayo became the second city to host the games after Harare in 1991. The 10 countries in Cucsa Region Five are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
