Appetite wanes for Durban Commonwealth Games
The tourism sector is still keen, but the eThekwini municipality has reacted with a shrug to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula’s news that the games are in doubt
With Durban hosting of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in doubt, there is some disagreement over whether the city should push to keep the games or let them go. The eThekwini municipality itself says the fate of the city’s hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games is in the hands of Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula and the national government, and it will abide with whatever they decide. But with SA’s economy in the doldrums, the appetite to host the games in SA has faded in some quarters, and the city’s previous mayor, James Nxumalo, has been criticised for having "misplaced priorities" in pushing for the games to be held in the city in the first place. However, representatives of the hospitality sector are still keen on a Durban 2022 games, for the boost they would bring to tourism. The city was awarded the games in September 2015, in a decision that gave the games to Africa for the first time. But Mbalula said on Monday that the Durban games looked doubtful, as SA and the Common...
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