World Cup
12 June 2006
Mpumalanga Premier Thabang Makwetla, accompanied by MEC for Economic
Development and Planning, Mr William Lubisi and MEC for Culture, Sport and
Recreation, Ms Nomsa Mtsweni will lead a provincial government delegation to
visit the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Federal State of Germany from 16 June
2006 to 20 June 2006.
Mpumalanga and the NRW have a twinning agreement that was signed in 1995.
During his visits in March 2005, Premier Makwetla reviewed the bilateral
agreement and a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was subsequently
agreed upon. The partnership between the federal German State, North Rhine
Westphalia (NRW) and Mpumalanga is based on mutual benefit and knowledge
exchange.
As a result, Minister President of NRW, Dr Ruettgers, invited Premier
Makwetla and the Mpumalanga government to look into possible opportunities and
synergies deriving from the FIFA 2006 World Cup currently hosted by Germany.
Mbombela Municipality, the Mpumalanga Provincial Capital, was recently
confirmed by the South African Football Association (SAFA) as one of the host
cities for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
As a result, Mpumalanga Province identified six possible areas for further
discussions, synergy and co-operation with NRW. These include:
* infrastructure development
* cultural promotion
* sport empowerment
* tourism development
* marketing
* project management.
NRW with three FIFA venues for the 2006 Soccer Bonanza, i.e. Dortmund,
Cologne and Gelsenkirchen offered to share its experiences and knowledge gained
with its partner province Mpumalanga. This visit should also give the
Mpumalanga delegates practical exposure to the mammoth task of planning and
carrying out a sport event of this calibre through first hand experience.
The West German Football and Athletic Association (WFLV) has always shown
interest in supporting the partnership between North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and
Mpumalanga. Further discussions about the involvement of WFLV in possible
projects to assist Mpumalanga for the 2010 soccer scene will be explored.
Enquiries:
Ntime Skhosana
Tel: (013) 766 2055
Cell: 084 673 0415
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
12 June 2006
