MILES SAMPA’S HEROES SCANDAL NARRATIVE

Scoop morning reflections: August 22, 2024 

IN the past few days, we have been fed with utter nonsense on social media over the cost of refurbishing the Heroes Stadium, with others already calling it a scandal because the cost involved is allegedly astronomical.

They are alleging that the money involved is enough to build another stadium and are suspecting corruption and our attention was drawn to a post made by Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa. This is what he wrote:

“ZNBC news reports $1M (K26M) to be spent by Boma on refurbishing the grass playing field at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka. This amount can be used to build another Stadium in Mapatizya or Vubwi districts. Is this another Scandal after Scandal loading?”

When such information comes on social media and the people peddling it are toddlers who were still in their diapers by the dawn of 2000, we may understand because this is a generation that pays no attention to reading, let alone counter-checking information for facts.

For these, it is easy for them to mislead each other on social media and still go to bed feeling like they have made it in life. However, when such information is being peddled by people we at least hold in high esteem in society, then it worries us.

Building a stadium is not like running a chicken run in some slum in Matero. It is not child’s play and that is why to date, the highly publicised Mongu stadium which the Patriotic Front (PF) went to town bragging about, donkey years back, is a forgotten story despite making a frenzy of the ground-breaking ceremony.

In fact, then Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili said the construction of the same stadium would commence on Monday, April 29, 2013. He further revealed that by the first week of May, there was going to be another open bid for the construction of another stadium in Livingstone.

We all know that the Mongu stadium has remained on paper just like the proposed Livingstone Stadium has remained a lullaby to lure a baby to sleep and so, those who are shouting corruption or scandal should have explained to us how much was involved in the two undertakings which they successfully failed to bring to fruition.    

To the uninitiated, a modern stadium would cost way above US $100 million depending on the capacity and other structures that come with the facility. For example, the Grand Stade Hassan II de Casablanca in Morocco which is under construction will cost around US $520 million.

When the FBN stadium in South Africa was being expanded in 2009, it cost US$ 440 million. Levy Mwanawasa Stadium cost us over US$ 70 million to build. In 2014, construction works at Heroes stadium were completed to a tune of US$ 94 million.

When it comes to installation of a proper international standard turf on a football field, it costs anywhere between $550,000 to $1, 5 million depending on the quality and size. This is information which is readily available to anyone who cares to get the truth by making a reasonable comparison and not just yapping for the sake of numbers on social media or political mileage. 

So, which stadium will Miles Sampa build in Mapatizya or Vubwi at a cost equivalent to only laying the turf? Which company will he engage and use which material to come up with such a stadium? The problem we have in this country is that we love to politic even on serious national issues.

Miles should understand that today, we have CAF games involving football clubs from surrounding countries being played in Zambia because they do not have facilities that meet the standards in their countries. If building a stadium was as cheap and easy as Miles Sampa is trying to put it, would these countries fail to build these facilities and risk their clubs having to play games in Zambia?

As much as political players are at liberty to play their politics, we are of the view that issues that unites us like sports must remain unadulterated; free from political “mandamus” where all players come together to champion a just cause.

We are not forcing Miles Sampa not to oppose those he feels are not doing things property but in the process of doing so, it would be important to stick to facts.

The way Miles Sampa loves attention, if building a stadium was such an easy feat, he would have built the Matero stadium by now but because this is not child’s play, he cannot even afford to put a proper turf like the one earmarked for Heroes Stadium because it is expensive.

Otherwise, whoever thinks building a stadium is cheap and easy, let him lead the way by building one in Vubwi or Mapatizya and we pledge to cheer for him on.