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Turf war over Sam Nujoma Stadium
BÜHRMANN and Partners Consulting Engineers are threatening to sue Greenfields Sport Turf Systems after the latter claimed that the Sam Nujoma Stadium had serious structural problems.
The engineers were responsible for the construction of the multimillion-dollar complex which Greenfields now claims is falling apart.
Greenfields addressed a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of the Windhoek City Council, Niilo Taapopi, which states that structural problems have led to the movement of the sub-base, “which affects the playability of the synthetic turf system”.
“We have therefore decided, in consultation with FIFA, to remove the artificial turf system. We shall use the same material, which is in impeccable condition, for the football pitch at the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Training Centre,” read the letter written by Sophocles Sophocleous, chief executive officer of Greenfields.
The Namibian carried a story on the claims made by Greenfields on January 26.
This week, Bührmann and Partners decided to sue Greenfields, slamming the Greenfields allegations as unsubstantiated and constituting a defamatory attack on the professional integrity of the engineers involved.
“We reserve our rights to hold you liable for substantive damages suffered as a result of your entirely baseless and wrongful statements.
“We can assure you that we will not permit this matter to go unchallenged and that we will take whatever action, including resorting to legal proceedings if that is necessary, to protect our good name and professional reputation,” stated Peter Roland, a partner at the firm, in a letter to Greenfields dated January 27.
DENIALS
On January 29, Sophocleous replied via e-mail that he has never claimed to be an authority on the subject, nor has he communicated with the newspaper, but purely communicated to the City of Windhoek what the line of action should be after having inspected the stadium.
“It was never our intention to cast doubt on your professional competence and quality of your work,” Sophocleous states in his e-mail, adding that the leak of his communication with the City Council to the newspaper was not his responsibility.
Sophocleous says the claims he made were just an internal communication between his company and the City Council.
“We are ready to visit Windhoek as early as next week (this week) in order to discuss the issue and present our views,” he said.
But, in a reply dated February 1, Roland angrily reacted: “In the circumstances unless you immediately and unequivocally retract your statements and procure such correction and an appropriate apology to be communicated to not only the WCC, but also published in The Namibian, we will regrettably have no choice but to pursue the legal route in order to secure whatever relief we are entitled to.”
Roland yesterday said that he had not received a response from Sophocleous yet.
Meanwhile, City Council spokesperson Liz Sibindi maintains that in the City’s opinion there are no structural weaknesses which impact the playability of the field.
“It is worth mentioning that before the artificial turf was installed, FIFA’s agent inspected the SNS and found the facility to be suitable for the artificial turf,” she said.
However, Sibindi added that the City Council didn’t get an answer after requesting Greenfields to provide it with the inspection report.
The Sam Nujoma Stadium cost about N$64 million and was completed in 2005. It can seat 10 300 people.
corry@namibian.com.na
