Govt misses Bingu Stadium outsourcing deadline

Government has missed the deadline to outsource the management of Bingu National Stadium  (BNS) to maximise the facility’s revenue generation potential.

According to director of sports in the Ministry of Labour, Youths, Sports and Manpower Development Jameson Ndalama, they had targeted to complete the process by December last year.

Government plans to find a firm to take over the operations of the 40 000-seater facility which has over 60 rooms that can be rented out for businesses.

Ndalama said they have been undertaking  some procedures to complete the privatisation.

“We have been seeking approval from  authorities like the Treasury and also seeking views on the privatisation modalities. Mind you, there are a number of institutions involved so the process, as we learned, is going to be a bit complicated,” he said.

But Ndalama said they still hold the view that the stadium can benefit the country better if it was privatised.

“The process is still ongoing and we believe that this dream will be realised,” he said.

BNS has been facing financial hardships which led its management to fail to pay water and electricity bills and was constantly disconnected.

The stadium’s spokesperson Ireen Mkoko said they have been making initiatives to ensure the facility makes money.

“We are not just sitting idle and waiting for the stadium to be privatised. We are trying to generate as much revenue as possible. Right now, we have rented out almost 25 rooms to business enterprises,” she said.