Disagreement on venue costs Tutume dearly
Divisions within Tutume village have cost the community their first-ever mini-stadium after villagers failed to agree on a site for the arena.
In March 2019, government accredited P5 million into Tutume Sub District Council’s bank account for the construction of the Makwala Stadium.
Named after the Kalanga town’s favourite sporting son, 400m superstar Isaac Makwala, the venue was expected to bring much prestige and pride to Tutume.
However, the eagerly-anticipated project has now been consigned to the rubbish bin as an agreement on where to build the stadium was never reached.
According to a well-placed source armed with minutes from previous meetings, the Magapatona and Madikwe ward residents are to blame for the village’s loss.
“The stadium was supposed to have been built in Magapatona ward but due to its distance from utilities such as water and power, it was going to be expensive. Half of the amount was going to be spent connecting those two and thus it was decided that it be moved to the Agricultural Showground in Madikwe. The showground in Madikwe is now a white elephant and is never used but has all the utilities,” explained the source.
The source further claimed the Magapatona residents were deadest against the stadium being built in Madikwe and insisted the ward was the rightful venue.
“Their dispute meant everything stalled until the government finally lost patience and issued a statement instructing Tutume Sub Council to transfer the funds to Chobe District Council,” concluded the source.
Outlining the reasons for their decision in a savingram dated Monday 13 July, government explain, “The amount was part of P50, 000, 000 allocated for a total of 10 facilities to be constructed throughout the country. Your project has not commenced and this has affected the others as they have a shortage of funds and the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development is unable to secure additional funding as the project still has funds that have not been spent.”
