EPRU’s R20m bailout by municipality in the balance

Eastern Province Rugby Union’s R20-million cash bailout from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality hangs in the balance as mayor Athol Trollip yesterday urged the union to get its house in order first.

For now, the beleaguered union will only get R6-million as part of the city’s support package – money which was approved by the council in June when it passed the budget for the 2016-17 financial year.

A decision on whether or not to pay the remaining R14-million, which was not budgeted for by the city, will be made later.

The municipality previously announced that it would give the EPRU R20-million to ensure its team could compete in the Currie Cup Premier Division.

This was never approved by the council at the time.

At a council meeting yesterday, Trollip said: “I’ve had some feedback from the [acting] city manager [Johann Mettler] and I’ve had meetings with some of the stakeholders.