hosted by A1 Grand Prix Durban, Sun Coast Casino
26 January 2006
His worship, the Mayor of eThekweni, Councillor Obed Mlaba
Members of the Provincial Cabinet present
Mr Tokyo Sexwale, A1 Grand Prix Chairperson, South Africa
Sheikh Maktoum-Hasha-Maktoum Al-Maktoum, founder, president, and chairman of A1
Grand Prix
Tony Texira and Brian Mennel, Directors of A1
Seat holders from 25 countries
Drivers and their technical teams
Honoured guests;
Ladies and gentlemen
We wish to extend to you a warm South African welcome to the city of Durban
in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. Welcome to a province of diversity, a
province rearing to go and most importantly, a province that prides itself as
the Home of Sport.
Grand province â Grand Prix
Our province is indeed humbled by the honour bestowed upon it to host the
African leg of this prestigious race, the A1 Grand Prix. Just as the drivers
and their technical teams are tuning their cars to notch top speeds, so our
hands as the people of this province are on the steering wheel towards the
realisation of a world characterised by prosperity, development and justice.
The signposts that guide us are development, delivery and determination.
We feel that hosting this spectacular event in a province previously known
for instability is an unequivocal sign by the world community that indeed our
province, in particular and our country in general is a bonafide member of the
global community. We no longer feel like a pariah province.
Sport has played and continues to play an important role in fostering
constructive interactions between nations and individuals. Pointedly, sport has
played a major role to breed reconciliation and unity in our country. Hosting
this event for us, therefore, is much more than just enjoying a fleeting
spectacle but a concrete step towards building lasting peace and unity among
the nations of the world. Hosting this event means that indeed the Province of
KwaZulu-Natal is the Home of Sport.
For the next two days, thousands will converge on our Province and billions
will be watching us on televisions around the world. The Grand Prix of Nations
creates an atmosphere of national unity and pride. The fact that we have
secured the race for six years creates a real opportunity for us to reap
concrete and sustainable benefits. This can translate these huge sporting
events into a vital part of creating jobs and confronting poverty.
As the provincial government we are committed to using sport as a leverage
to develop our province. We are, therefore, constantly developing
infrastructure to enable us to host world events. In similar vein the city of
Durban has powered ahead in making the city a global player.
These are indeed exciting times for the development of our continent. When
future generations recall how Africa picked herself up from the ruins of war,
strife and poverty, the hosting of this race by our province will be seen as of
the defining moments for Africaâs rebirth.
As a Province we are powering ahead building a winning and importantly a
caring nation.
Enjoy your stay in our province.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 January 2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kwazulunatal.gov.za)
