on the progress with preparations to host the 2010 Fifa World CupT
20 November 2007
The implementation of the projects to fulfil Government guarantees and
obligations towards hosting the 2010 Fifa World CupT is proceeding smoothly.
Over the last two weeks the Government 2010 Unit and members of the 2010
Technical Coordinating Committee embarked on an evaluation of progress made by
government departments and highlights of progress made and challenges ahead are
covered in this statement.
1. Infrastructure projects
A: stadia construction
As a flagship of the 2010 infrastructure programme, the stadia construction
and upgrading project is proceeding well. Progress of the five new stadia and
one major upgrade is as follows:
i) Soccer City - Construction programme proceeding well and expected to
finish ahead of the 30 October 2009 target.
ii) Moses Mabhida (Ethekwini) - Despite the temporary disruption by the
workers strike; this project scheduled to finish ahead of the 30 October 2009
target.
iii) Peter Mokaba (Polokwane) - Construction remains on schedule and should
also finish ahead of October 2009 target.
iv) Mbombela (Nelspruit) - Construction remains on schedule and should
finish by target date of 30 October 2009.
v) Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) - This project experienced early
challenges in terms of staying within targeted timelines but this has now been
addressed. Current construction programme will be complete by end of December
2008 in good time for the 2009 Confederation Cup.
vi) Green Point stadium (Cape Town) - This project experienced several
challenges from the beginning, many of which have been addressed. Current
programme should see stadium completed by December 2009.
All the four stadia undergoing minor upgrading viz. Ellis Park, Loftus, Free
State and Royal Bafokeng have appointed their contractors and should be
completed by December 2008. The contribution by the Royal Bafokeng
Administration to the tune of R140 million towards the completion of their
stadium is appreciated. This is a top up to the Government's allocation of R147
million.
Due to the faster face of construction an amount of R1.9 billion had to be
brought forward by parliament in October into the 2007/08 financial year
B. Transport
Transport
Department of transport is proceeding with the implementation of the Transport
Action Plan for 2010. Projects have been submitted and are being funded under
the Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems grant. Among the categories of
projects being funded are:
* public infrastructure (road, rail and non-motorised transport).
* inter-modal facilities
* High Occupancy Vehicles
* Bus Rapid Transit systems
* intelligent transport systems
* public transport networks systems
* airport city links
* stadia precincts improvements
* public transport vehicles
* inner city distribution systems
Ethekwini
* Warwick junction upgrade - the project is on tender
* Reunion station upgrade- implementation starts in 2008
* the inner-city distribution - the project is on tender
* M4 Public transport lane - it is a detailed design stage and will go on
tender in January 2008.
City of Johannesburg
* Inner-city distribution system - it consists of the loop around the City of
Johannesburg. The tender process was completed in September 2007 and
construction will finish in December 2008
* Nasrec Public Transport Improvements - the first portion is a 4.7 km road
which links Nasrec and the central business district (CBD) is under
construction. The remainder of the project will be completed in 2008
* Ellis Park Public Transport improvement consists of three projects which are
Bertrams, Joe Slovo and Seratoga bridge. Joe Slovo bridge will be completed by
December 2007.
Similar transport infrastructure projects are being implemented in the other
host cities such as:
* Mbombela: The Mataffin Precincts a process to finalise a detailed design for
construction by 2008 and construction to commence mid 2008. There is also a
planned HOV lane on R40 with final designs planned to be completed before end
of 2007 with construction commencing immediately.
* Mangaung: The pedestrianisation of the Elizabeth Street is under
construction
* Tshwane: A detailed design of the Loftus Stadium Precincts has been completed
with construction scheduled to be completed soon.
* Rustenburg: There will be streets upgrade and other public transport
facilities.
* Polokwane: There are various road and public transport upgrades particularly
in the stadium precinct and the airport currently taking place
C. Information and communications technologies
The Department of Communication and the Local Organising Committee
(LOC)/Fifa have now agreed on the relevant projects for the implementation of
the telecommunication and broadcasting guarantees. Pending further particulars
on the satellite back up specifications budgets for these projects will be
finalised with National Treasury.
Telkom has already started upgrading its base networks as part of fulfilment
of the guarantees.
D. Electricity supply
Eskom has established a 2010 unit to attend to the needs of 2010 operations.
In its meetings with the 2010 Unit and Department of Minerals and Energy (DME)
they have guaranteed uninterrupted supply of electricity to the key Fifa World
Cup installations. National Treasury has made an allocation of R200 million to
DME for the purpose of securing generators which are required as primary source
of power during the Fifa World Cup matches. The DME is working with
municipalities to address the issue of upgrading their electricity distribution
networks.
2. Safety and security
The Security Master Plan has been completed and is being implemented.
Details of the plan will be presented to Fifa during 2008 and 2009 for the
Confederation and the World Cup respectively in line with the Organising
Association Agreement.
The more than 30 000 police officers who will be responsible for the
tournament are already being recruited and undergoing training. These officers
will be deployed at PSL matches during 2008 and 2009 to gain experience. Part
of the security plan is already in operation for the preliminary draw in Durban
this coming weekend. The South African Police Service (SAPS) have already made
orders for a number of equipments including specialised vehicles, cameras,
helicopters and other sophisticated equipment required for their operations
during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation is our
main organ of coordination in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
region. A committee has been set up to develop uniform standards for all
tournament operational activities.
The Civilian Intelligence Community has done a risk assessment of South
Africa in the run up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup .The finding is that
there is currently no threat of a severe nature in the short to medium term.
They will however continue to monitor the tournament.
3. Ports of entry
The Department of Home Affairs is beefing up its capacity at all land and
air ports of entry. Ports have been advertised in all provinces for this
purpose. They are looking at increasing their staff by 30% at all ports of
entry especially OR Tambo International. The Department is also improving its
IT system to deal with higher volumes of visitors. Strategies such as one-stop
border posts are being developed with neighbouring countries. A plan is already
being implemented in conjunction with Department of Foreign Affairs, Airport
Company of South Africa (ACSA), and SAPS to handle guests and VIPs for the
preliminary draw.
4. Economic legacy projects
The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) published a notice requesting
public comments on the proposed marks and logos. More than 40 submissions were
received from individuals, companies and organisations. The rollout of the 2010
business opportunities conferences to provinces will commence as soon as this
process has been finalised.
The national conference held in Ekurhuleni in June 2007 provided a glimpse
on some of the challenges the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) sector
might encounter in harnessing the 2010 business opportunities.
The dti has negotiated that 30% of the budget of the 2010 Organising
Committee is allocated to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and SMME businesses
in terms of the procurement process.
5. Social legacy projects
The arts and culture programme is planned to be inclusive and integrative of
the women, children, youth, people living with disabilities and those in rural
areas. It must also have a distinct African flavour and incorporate artists
from the different regions of Africa. The plan has the following five
pillars:
* visual arts which include film, video, craft art and art exhibitions
* performing arts such as music, dance, theatre, busking, dance ensembles which
must be part of the opening and closing ceremonies
* literary arts such as promotion of multilingualism, books and publishing and
poetry readings
* heritage resources such as museums and heritage sites
* promotion and legacy
Consultation is taking place with artists in the SADC region, African Union,
the African Diaspora and the rest of the entire arts and culture sector.
Community arts centres and museums of contemporary African arts are
identified as some of the legacy projects.
The estimated total budget towards arts and culture projects is at R150
million.
The volunteer programme has recruited more than 350 volunteers for the
preliminary draw. Work has commenced to develop training material. Host cities
are in involved to integrate the programme into their plans.
The Health Technical Task Team projects are underway with 15 Expert Work
Groups currently in place. The groups focus on various areas such as emergency
medical services, communicable diseases, environmental health, port health,
stadiums, provision of primary health care, establishment of command and
control points as well as ensuring that accurate information is communicated on
matters of health on 2010.
The funding of these services is through the equitable share. The
Departments of Health and Provincial and Local Government have designed the
necessary plans and are currently holding workshops with host cities for the
rollout.
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) has identified
specific functional areas to implement the 2010 priorities. These include
events and attractions, accommodation, skills and service levels, marketing and
tourism.
There are 55 000 rooms required for the event with 23 000 secured through
large hotel establishments and 2 300 with non-hotel establishments.
In order to address some of the accommodation shortfalls the DEAT implements
a Tourism 2010 Nation-Wide Grading Strategy. The strategy also responds to the
10 000 non-hotel rooms required for 2010.
A programme to address skills and service levels challenges is in place with
the following projects:
* Tourism Sector Skills Plan
* Tourism Human Resource Strategy
* Language training programme majoring in French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
and Chinese
* Ambassadors Strategy and plan aimed at recruiting volunteers to promote
tourism awareness and events support
Working relationships have also been established with MATCH to appoint
international and national tourism operators.
The DEAT has also put in place a Trans-frontier Conservation Area Strategy
to support broader objectives of hosting an African World Cup and leaving a
lasting legacy in the tourism sector. Countries which will directly benefit
from the programme are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, SA,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The overall greening plan is also in place to ensure integration of
environmental considerations into major 2010 programmes and events. The plan
will pay attention to carbon offsetting, development of sustainable transport
and mobility, waste management, energy efficiency, mater reuse and
efficiency.
6. Mass Mobilisation
Sport and Recreation South Africa has been allocated R17 million to drive
mass galvanise South Africans towards the tournament. Mass participation
projects include the setting up of supporters' and participants clubs across
the country.
Heart-to-Heart is a schools project designed to prepare learners to connect
with visiting country teams during the tournament.
As part of celebrating national and continental days of heritage, community
sports festivals will be held in all wards, districts and in provinces.
The programme also involves working with the 2010 Ambassadors such as Lucas
Radebe, Doctor Khumalo, Desree Ellis, Mark Fish and others.
The 2010 Government Unit also endorsed a youth development project, Youth
Development through Football, presented by a German youth development
organisation, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). The
project, launched in September 2007, uses the popularity of football to promote
youth development, especially girls and boys from disadvantaged communities, by
involving them in non-formal education and other support measures.
Mass mobilisation initiatives will be implemented through host cities,
non-host cities, provinces, sport federations, community based organisations,
business, Government Departments and state owned entities and embassies.
Communication
In terms of priorities, communication efforts seek to ensure that there is an
ongoing flow of information to the media on the state of readiness as part of
the Government Programme of Action.
A mass publication and radio programmes targeting the Second Economy
citizenry are some of the initiatives in place to communicate the 2010 Fifa
World CupT as an integral part of driving the national development
programme.
Challenges
The current review process has identified areas which require attention in
order to improve coordination and delivery of guarantees and obligations. These
include the following:
* The need for a clear definition of concrete legacy projects at all spheres
of our society.
* Monitoring systems must be in place to ensure that procurement processes
adhere to the national economic transformation agenda.
* The 2010 Fifa World Cup is a sport event and therefore there must be clear
identification of clear deliverables on sport development.
Proposals were identified to address some of the challenges and these
include:
* Setting up of intervention task teams to drive certain critical aspects of
the programme.
* Improving our regular reporting mechanisms in order to fast-track project
implementation.
* There must be additional deployment to address the shortage of critical and
scarce skills required for some of the projects e.g. ICT.
7. Conclusion
The 2010 Government World Cup Unit is convinced that the implementation of
all plans is still on target and within timelines. The success of some of the
critical projects such as a Safety Master Plan and stadia construction continue
to be tested through Fifa build-up activities such as the Preliminary Draw and
the Confederation Cup.
These matters will be further interrogated by the 2010 Government World Cup
Unit and recommendations processed through the Technical Co-ordinating
Committee and the Forum of Directors-General (FOSAD).
Enquiries:
Monde Mkalipi
Cell: 08257573976
Esther Mogotsi
Cell: 0728564288
Issued by: 2010 Government Fifa World CupT Unit
20 November 2007
