The 2010 FIFA World Cup Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, held its last meeting for the year this morning at the Union Buildings, Pretoria.
The meeting evaluated immediate priorities like:
* security arrangements
* protocol services
* the 2010 Legacy Programme
* overview of the opening and closing ceremonies
* national disaster management
* preparations for the draw on 4 December in Cape Town
* protocol for Public Viewing Areas
The Inter-Ministerial Committee IMC's overall impression about the state of readiness for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup is that commitment levels are high and many of the guarantees are being delivered on time.
In particular, the report on security arrangements indicated that plans are being operationalise in all provinces and host cities. These include training of officers responsible for command and control centres, general policing, crowd control and specialised units responsible for airspace control, organised crime, counter-terrorism and human trafficking. Vetting of service providers and the training of private security officers employed by the Local Organising Committee is also underway.
On Shared Protocol Services, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation was encouraged to fast-track the training of all Local Organising Committee and government personnel who will provide protocol support during the tournament.
A number of Legacy Programmes are already being rolled out and these include the participation of schools, communities and the galvanising of the masses. An estimated 11 000 youths have participated in 136 five-aside tournaments. Artificial turfs for five-aside games are being built throughout the country. Also, about 450 soccer clubs have been established in South Africa as part of the legacy programmes.
A report on the state of readiness of National Disaster Management for the 2010 World Cup was presented. A national guidelines document has been developed and distributed to all relevant stakeholders. The National Disaster Management Centre has developed a national plan and is working on possible risks that emerged from the Confederations Cup. Significantly, a nerve centre (Operations Room) connecting to all the nine host cities is being set up and will monitor and report all incidents during the FIFA World Cup.
There were deliberations about Public Viewing Areas (PVAs) for fans that will not be able to attend the games. Guidelines for setting up PVAs have been developed and these will be distributed in due course. The IMC encouraged the Department of Arts and Culture to work closely with the Local Organising Committee and the host city of Johannesburg to organise the opening and closing ceremonies in a manner that will truly reflect commitment to an African World Cup by ensuring that the warmth and spirit of Africa is reflected.
The meeting noted the Deputy President's recent visit to Mbombela, Mpumalanga which helped to unlock bottlenecks, especially with regards to the building of the two schools in the Matsafeni community which were had to make way for the Mbombela stadium.
The IMC mandated the national Department of Public Works to assist the Mpumalanga Provincial Government to tightly manage the building programme so that the construction of both schools begins in December as planned and finalised before kick-off in June 2010. The building of quality schools in Matsafeni is closely linked to other township establishment processes all of which add to a package of the 2010 Dividend for the Matsafeni Community and the people of Mbombela in general.
Finally, preparations for the FIFA draw on December 4 in Cape Town are progressing well. The South African Government looks forward to receiving the FIFA family, as represented by all 32 nations that have qualified for the 2010 World Cup, to what promises to be an exciting draw.
Enquiries:
Vusi Mona
Cell: 082 047 2260
Issued by: The Presidency
20 November 2009
