'Renovation of sporting facilities will need a comprehensive investment and maintenance Plan' says Minister Hassan
June 15, 2022
A delegation headed by the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, Naadir Hassan, late last week, visited several sporting venues, to see firsthand the state of these facilities.
The aim, is to have a comprehensive investment and maintenance plan for the venues, which are in need of extensive renovations, after years of neglect.
Speaking to the media, Minister Hassan, explained the visit, allowed for him to see firsthand the state of these facilities, to which now his ministry will have a better understand of how best to finance the necessary renovations.
“Having seen, firsthand, the state of neglect of these venues, my ministry in its budget planning process, will see how best to support the Ministry of Sports, to renovate and maintain these facilities.”
Minister Hassan has acknowledged the huge task ahead to ensure these sporting venues are elevated to a suitable standard.
“It is a huge task, and we will have to finance the renovations in phases, depending on the availability of financial resources.”
Already, money has been budgeted in the 2022 Budget for the renovations of some of the facilities.
A total sum of R11 million has been allocated and the breakdown is as follows:
R2 million – renovation of ‘Stad Linite’
R2 million – renovation of ‘Palais des Sports’
R3.75 million – renovation of Anse Royale Sports Complex
R1.75 million – renovation La Digue Sports Complex and
R1.75 million – renovation of other sports facilities
Renovation work on Palais des Sport is already underway. The tennis courts at Roche Caiman have also been added to the list, and renovation work is expected to start soon.
“The Ministry, is working on how to get additional resources to fast-track the renovations. I must say, the renovations will not be something that can be undertaken in one go, because of the huge amount of work that is needed. What we can do is to have a yearly program to upgrade these sporting facilities, according to our budget planning, which is for three years. It is important that we work on the costing.”
Accompanying Minister Hassan on the visit were: Minister for Youth, Sports and Family, Marie Celine Zialor, Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports, Ralph Jean-Louis, and the CEO of the National Sports Council, Jean Larue.
Below is the link to the news item aired by SBC, following the visit.