South Africa’s Olympics committee said on Friday it was in the process of securing funds for the Commonwealth Games in Durban in 2022‚ following statements on Thursday by the KwaZulu-Natal finance MEC that the province has no money for the event. Delivering her provincial budget speech in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday‚ Belinda Scott said: “At this point I need to state that‚ at this present moment‚ this province is not in a position to fund the Commonwealth Games – which is a national event.”She added that the matter had been “escalated” to the national treasury for urgent attention.The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said it had begun discussions with all levels of government and was “confident that the necessary agreements will be met and all funding requirements will be secured”.Tubby Reddy‚ chief executive of Sascoc‚ said the organisation had secured many of the agreements with national government “and are working tirelessly to conclude outstanding matters‚ including the issue of funding”.Scott said on Thursday that every cent spent in KwaZulu-Natal must be used to service its communities during these tough economic times. “Government is here to serve the people.”Sascoc president Gideon Sam said: "We are aware of the current economic environment but we are confident that we will deliver on our obligations of hosting a world class event on the African continent.”The past four Commonwealth Games were profitable‚ Commonwealth Federation chief executive David Grevenberg‚ who headed up Glasgow 2014‚ told TMG Sport previously.This is good news for Durban - more than 70 nations are taking part in the event and about 200 000 people are expected to visit the city. He said it was estimated that the Glasgow Games brought in more than £700-million (R14-billion) worth of business to their economy. About 60% of contracts went to local businesses‚ community benefit clauses were written into procurement policy. An economic report has predicted the Games in Durban will cost about R6.5-billion‚ but will produce a total spend of R20-billion and the GDP will grow by R11-billion. But success in Durban – in terms of the economy and legacy - will be up to the organisers‚ Grevenberg noted. - TMG Digital..