Msimanga appeals for investors in Tshwane Open

.The city will once again be the official sponsor of the tournament which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and local Sunshine Tour. While the tournament has always had a long list of associate sponsors and suppliers, the Tshwane Open has struggled to attract a title sponsor since the City of Tshwane stepped in a number of years ago.

But City of Tshwane Executive Mayor Solly Msimanga used the launch in Centurion to rally potential new sponsors and investors in the event, making it very clear that his Metro Council can no longer 'prioritise' this tournament going forward.

 "It is important for us to heed the gravity of the realities that are before the capital. At the apex of these realities is the paramount need to provide the services that our people so desperately need that were neglected by the previous administration," said Msimanga.

 "That, ladies and gentlemen, is the apex function of government. My job is to ensure that the capital's limited resources must be and should be directed to providing the basic services to our people and to cultivate a resilient city that works for all the residents."

 "I cannot in good conscience spend millions of public funds on this event when we our city is in need of total rehabilitation to make it great again," added the Mayor.

 Msimanga used his podium opportunity to highlight the fact that the city currently faces a R2 billion deficit, crumbling infrastructure and corruption that extends to many of the government's holdings.

 "To this end, it is my intention to invest in this golf tournament in the spirit of private-public partnership and alleviate the pressure on the city and invest in this the Tshwane Open which will assist the city free-up the much needed resources for us to provide services to our people."

 He underlined the economic and tourism opportunities to be generated by investing in the tournament .

 "Once they (visitors) are here it is up to us - all of us; residents, businesses, entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors - to encourage them to spend more time in our city."

 We want our guests to see our different attractions, eat at our restaurants, stay in our accommodation, visit our townships, and get to know our people. We want them to leave wanting more.

That is why there are so many elements to our Tshwane Open event."

 "As such we humbly encourage and invite you to invest in this tournament and in so doing give effect to our collective responsibility to develop our city."

 The Tshwane Open forms part of the 2017 Sunshine Tour and is co-sanctioned by the European Tour. It is one of the tournaments that gives players the chance to gain Sunshine Tour Order of Merit points,

 European Race to Dubai points and sought-after world ranking points are also up for grabs.