Cabinet has warned of possible action against businesses unduly inflating their prices ahead of the 2010 World Cup, notes a report on the IoL site. Cabinet is concerned about the ’ill-advised move’ by some business establishments to increase their prices ahead of the 2010 World Cup in anticipation of making ’mega-profits’, said government spokesman Themba Maseko. Briefing the media following Cabinet’s regular meeting, he said these moves should be discouraged at all costs, as they had the potential to discourage many soccer fans from attending the tournament.
Co-founder and global co-chair of the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign, Queen Rania of Jordan welcomed the news that South Africa will host a global summit on education during the 2010 World Cup, notes a THISDAY report. ’I congratulate President Zuma and PM Gordon Brown on their vision and commitment to make global education the greatest goal of the 2010 World Cup. On behalf of the millions of children denied their right to an education, I hope that in the future, when we reflect on 2010 we can say with confidence that this was the year global leaders stood by their conscience and convictions and made Education for All a reality,’ she said.
Parliamentarians have signed a giant soccer ball with messages of hope for the 2010 World Cup. The Hyundai soccer ball arrived at the Parliament. Hyundai is FIFA’s official transport partner. National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu, Deputy Speaker Nomaindia Mfeketo, Secretary to Parliament Zingile Dingani, Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation Chairperson Butana Khompela, Members of the Committee and LOC as well as 2010 boss Danny Jordaan signed the ball.
’WC not just about making quick bucks’ 05/03/2010
Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin warned against excessive profiteering during the 2010 World Cup, saying it is not just about making ’quick bucks’. Replying in the National Assembly to a statement by the Inkatha Freedom Party on excessive airline prices during the 2010 World Cup, he said government took this challenge seriously. ’What we are told, for the moment, by the airlines, is that there will be seasonal adjustments. This will obviously be a peak period for them, and they do not envisage going beyond seasonal adjustments,’ he said.
President Jacob Zuma has dispelled misconceptions about South Africa not being in a position to host a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup and assured Britons that South Africa has stringent safety and security measures in place for the tournament.
Zuma’s assertion came a day after FIFA brushed aside lingering doubts about South Africa’s readiness for the World Cup as FIFA president Sepp Blatter insisted the nation was ready. Zuma, who is on a state visit to the UK, announced that part of the plan involves the deployment of 41, 000 police officers during the football spectacle.
WC will educate the youth Motlanthe 02/03/2010
The 2010 World Cup’s legacy for South Africa is the education of youth through football, said Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. ’(FIFA president) Sepp Blatter put his head on the block by putting his confidence in SA,’ Motlanthe told a gala dinner in Durban to celebrate 100 days before the start of the soccer tournament. According to a report on the News24 site, he commended the work done by world soccer body FIFA, construction workers, engineers and sport administrators to prepare for the tournament, which starts on June 11.
Opportunity to ’bury’ African pessimism 02/03/2010
Hosting the 2010 World Cup will be an opportunity to ’bury’ African pessimism, according to a South African minister. ’This is the first time FIFA has hosted this soccer spectacle on the African continent. It gives us an opportunity to bury African pessimism,’ said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa’s international relations minister.
Zuma to address 2010 issues in the UK 01/03/2010
South African President Jacob Zuma will use a state visit to the UK to allay concern over calls to nationalize the country’s mines and revive flagging ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup - including an attempt to score a penalty at Wembley Stadium. Zuma, 12 government ministers and more than 160 business leaders will visit London from March 3 to 5. Business Week reports that the president will travel in a carriage to meet Queen Elizabeth II and later go to Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has warned senior officials and politicians in the city and province to watch out for 2010 World Cup journalists trying to squeeze controversial statements out of them, notes a report onto IOL site. Commenting after a police briefing on 2010 World Cup security at the Premier’s Metro Co-ordinating Forum, Zille said it was important that safety and security measures worked well not only during the World Cup, but also before the event. ’There are a lot of journalists who want sensational stories in the run-up to the World Cup. Be very careful not to be caught off-guard with a sensational quote,’ she said.
Cabinet Ministers Nathi Mthethwa and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and soccer boss Leslie Sedibe have been appointed to the board of the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee. The Sowetan reports that this was announced by LOC chairman Irvin Khoza after a decision by the board to accept a recommendation to increase its composition from 25 to 29 members. Mthethwa is the minister of safety and security and Nkoana-Mashabane is minister of international relations and cooperation. Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele will also serve on the board.
South Africa was not preparing to just host a soccer festival ahead of the 2010 World Cup, it was building the country, President Jacob Zuma said. ’Our endeavours have put us and our abilities to the test and made us strive toward our goals with even more determination that ever before,’ Zuma told the Tourism, Sport and Mega Events summits in Johannesburg. ’Our vision, however, was to build more than stadia, roads and airports.’
President Jacob Zuma says South Africa’s public works programme will continue after the 2010 World Cup to try to build on infrastructure projects and boost employment. According to a report on the IoL, Zuma said the government had put aside more than R800 billion to invest in infrastructure after the tournament finished. ’We have put a lot of money so it will move from there forward, so there is no decline,’ Zuma said. South Africa has invested billions getting ready for the continent’s first World Cup, kicking off on June 11, but hopes to recoup that and more through investment and tourism in years to come.
New steering committee for WC festivals 23/02/2010
The Rwandan cabinet has named a steering committee that will ensure a successful exhibition of Rwandan culture during the 2010 World Cup in June. The New Times reports that the committee that is chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, also comprises of Ministers of Local Government, Commerce, Sports and culture and the Kigali City Mayor. According to Mayor Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, there will be an exhibition which will be preceded by festivals to be held in Kigali and later in the 2010 World Cup host cities of Durban and Tshwane.
Health Minister opens transfusion centre 22/02/2010
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi opens the country’s Transfusion Medicine Training Centre aimed at improving blood collection and storage. The Health Ministry said the collection as well as safe storage of blood formed an essential part of the nation’s healthcare services. ’This becomes even more important as the country gears itself for hosting the 2010 World Cup’, the Ministry said. The centre’s function, among others, will be to train medical technologists in the field of transfusion medicine for safe blood supply.
Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane has vowed that 2010 is the year of action for the province. ’It is the year for all of us to work together to speed up service delivery. Our people cannot wait any longer,’ she said in her state of the province address in Johannesburg. Mokonyane said education was the province’s top priority. The Times reports that she called on the people of Gauteng to work together with the government to ensure that 2010 World Cup visitors had a pleasant stay in the province.
President Jacob Zuma extended an olive branch to his longtime friend Irvin Khoza during his state of the nation address but since the revelations about Zuma’s latest baby surfaced, the Orlando Pirates boss has not been seen at his Diepkloof Extension, Soweto mansion. Weeks after the Sunday Times exposed the country’s most famous polygamist as having fathered a child out of wedlock with Khoza’s 39-year-old daughter Sonono, Zuma made special mention of his friend in the address during the opening of parliament. A solemn-faced Zuma said: ’We wish the LOC chairperson, Irvin Khoza, CEO Danny Jordaan and Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira all the best for the months ahead.’
Zuma calls on SA to host successful WC 12/02/2010
President Jacob Zuma called on South Africans to host a successful 2010 World Cup in honour of Mandela, as the country celebrated his 20th anniversary of freedom. ’President Mandela was central in assisting the country to win the rights to host this great event. We therefore have to make the 2010 World Cup a huge success in his honour,’ Zuma told the opening of parliament where Mandela was present.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked to oversee government’s preparation for the 2010 World Cup has confirmed that all plans for the spectacle are running smoothly. ’ The IMC is satisfied with the preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. All the bricks and motar are in now in place,’ said the chair of the IMC, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. He said the committee was satisfied with all the reports submitted to them. These included reports on the management and training of protocol officials who will be involved in the management of guests and Heads of States and Governments attending the tournament.
Attempts to change the name of Pretoria will result in ’mass protests’ during the 2010 World Cup, according to the Freedom Front Plus in a report on the Mail & Guardian site. The name change, from Pretoria to Tshwane was ’underhanded and politically naive’, said FF Plus leader Pieter Mulder. ’Does the ANC really think that it is possible to change the name of the capital city of SA on the sly, without vehement opposition,’ he asked. ’The result will be mass protests and court cases during the world soccer tournament and soccer games.’ ANC spokesperson Brian Sokutu criticised Mulder’s comments and threats of protests and legal cases. ’They are not just irresponsible, but inflammatory and unpatriotic.’
Zuma fathers baby with top 2010 official - 29/01/2010
President Jacob Zuma has fathered a child with the daughter of powerful soccer administrator and long-time friend, Irvin Khoza. Sonono Khoza, a 39-year-old divorcιe, was pregnant when her father, Orlando Pirates boss and chairman of the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee, was invited to share the stage with the newly elected president during a post-election bash at Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, in June last year. It is unclear whether Khoza as he is known, knew then who was the father of his unborn grandchild. The Sunday Times says Sonono gave birth to a girl on October 8 last year, barely three months before the country’s most famous polygamist tied the knot for the fifth time.
South African President Jacob Zuma and his government face a tough 2010, under pressure to improve the lives of millions of poor and convince the world that crime will not taint the FIFA World Cup, notes a report on the IoL site. Growing noise from the ruling ANC’s trade union and communist allies have raised investor concern over future economic policy as Africa’s biggest economy emerges from a recession which saw around a million jobs lost. South Africa will be the first African country to host the Soccer World Cup in just over 130 days’ time and the event could give a much-needed boost to the economy.
Zuma invites the world to experience Africa 27/01/2010
The 2010 World Cup is an opportunity for the world to see and experience Africa in a different way, President Jacob Zuma told delegates attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. ’It is an opportunity to tackle stereotypes and preconceptions about the continent, and explore new frontiers of interaction and cooperation. It is an important milestone in the regeneration of the continent,’ said Zuma. Zuma said the South African Government and its partners have been working hard to ensure that the event was a success.
President Jacob Zuma dismissed on Wednesday fears of any attack at the World Cup later this year, promising South Africa would host a safe competition which would leave a legacy of economic development. Gunmen attacked Togo’s soccer squad at the African Cup of Nations earlier this month, killing two members of the delegation and raising questions over security at the world’s biggest single-sport event in South Africa in June and July. But Zuma said it would be wrong to compare security in his country with Angola, which he said had "just emerged from war" and was four hours’ flight time from South Africa.
The ANC wants ETV to help police arrest the criminals who threatened to rob World Cup tourists during interviews broadcast by the station recently. According to a report on the IOL site, the ANC also called on ETV to do the ’honourable’ thing and withdraw its broadcast featuring the interviews with self-confessed criminals. ’These criminals are not only a threat to tourists, but to the dreams and desires of South Africa and Africa to host a successful soccer world cup,’ the ANC said. ETV onTuesday said that a man who killed himself in Soweto was an underworld connection who set up the interviews with the criminals that prompted police to subpoena the station.
African leaders address terror attack - 11/01/2010
The African heads of state who visited Angola to attend the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) viewed the terrorist attack on the Togolese team as an opportunistic attack, the presidency said. Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for President Jacob Zuma, who returned from a working visit to Angola on Monday afternoon, said Zuma had an opportunity to meet with other heads of state during the opening ceremony of the soccer tournament on Sunday.
’They were all feeling it was an opportunistic attack,’ said Magwenya.
He reiterated that Zuma felt that what happened in Angola had no bearing on South Africa’s preparedness to host a successful and safe Soccer World Cup.
Cosatu’s branch in the North West said it is holding talks with affiliates concerning provincial action during the 2010 World Cup. Members of the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu) have been on strike since December 4 last year because of a wage dispute with the management of Sun City. The trade union is attacking Sun International CEO David Coutts-Trotter because he went on holiday in December in the middle of the strike. Cosatu is now demanding a full inquiry into the roles of the North-West Gambling Board and the Tourism Board in Sun City and the game reserves.
There will be condoms aplenty during the FIFA soccer world cup, the health department said. ’We... do not anticipate any shortage in condom distribution during the 2010 FIFA world cup,’ spokeswoman Charity Bhengu said in a statement. In November the department distributed 63 million condoms.
’White South Africans would like to see the country’s hosting of the event fail,’ was the comment of Dr Essop Pahad, a member of the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee, in 2008. However, a study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) prove that this view is a misconception. ’White South Africans - like others - are engaged and care about the World Cup,’ the survey has revealed. Pahad’s comments provoked so much controversy that a group called the Afrikanerbond even went so far as to lodge a complaint of hate speech against the minister to the Human Rights Commission. By analysing attitudes to the World Cup over the last three years, Udesh Pillay, Ben Roberts and Orli Bass of the HSRC confronted what they called ’misconceptions’ about South Africans’ attitude to the World Cup.
President Jacob Zuma says 2010 is the year for South Africans to renew their commitment to national unity. ’Together we must make 2010 the year in which we renew our commitment to national unity and nation building,’ Zuma said on Thursday. January 1, 2010, he said would mark the beginning of the most important year in the country’s history since 1994, with the World Cup the impetus behind nation building and economic recovery. ’The year 2010 must be the year in which for the first time, we all communicate positive messages about our country to the world the successes and possibilities. We have to put the culture of negativity behind us.’
With the World Cup nearing, 2010 will be South Africa’s year. The self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation will receive a rainbow crowd of visitors, the largest and most diverse group of tourists in its history. The spotlight on the country’s progress since apartheid will be more intense than ever. The World Cup host, President Jacob Zuma, will bring Britain his message of success with a state visit in March. Eight months in office, he has surprised his critics. He is more accessible to ordinary South Africans than his aloof predecessor, Thabo Mbeki. He is more willing to listen to colleagues than Nelson Mandela who, according to former ministers, could be brutal in Cabinet, shutting speakers up by saying he had already taken his decision.
