The Eastern Cape government has hosted a two day summit from 25 to 27 February 2010 at the Premier Hotel and Convention Centre in East London. The purpose of the summit was to report on the state of readiness of the province towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Different work streams which are led by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) reported on the progress of their respective responsibilities as part of preparations for the event. Amongst others were health and emergency services, safety, security and protocol, local government and host city.
The provincial leadership generally expressed satisfaction on the progress to date especially on host city. A significant amount of progress was highlighted on various areas of development which amongst others include infrastructure and engineering, transport, tourism and provincial safety and security.
Eastern Cape Premier, Noxolo Kiviet said: “We are here to reflect on the various tasks and responsibilities that we committed on as government. The key thing is to report on progress, check all the areas needing attention and as well as re-commit ourselves to deliver a spectacular 2010.”
Also present at the summit was the national Minister of Sports and Recreation, Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile. Giving the national perspective on the state of readiness the Minister said:
“We must tone down the fear that some people have regarding certain aspects of the world cup particularly on ticket sales as it has been widely reported that sales are not going well.”
The minister went on to say, “we have managed to sell over a million tickets from January to February, therefore come 11 June there will be no more tickets to sell.”
Further emphasis was made on the potential positive impact that the tournament is likely to bring. The summit indeed showed that the province has gone a long way in realising the goal of hosting a spectacular African world cup.
Enquiries:
Zamikhaya Nkonzo
Tel: 040 609 6042
Fax: 086 523 7068
E-mail: zamikhaya.nkonzo@otp.ecprov.gov.za
Issued by: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
1 March 2010
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za/)
