WC will make SA safer in the long term - 06/03/2010
South Africa would reap long-term benefits from the security measures being introduced for the 2010 World Cup, police and tournament organisers said.
Interpol said it was sending its largest-ever team to the tournament to help with security, one of the main concerns in a country notorious for its high crime rate where around 50 people are murdered daily. According to a report on the IOL site, police also said they had learnt lessons from January’s attack on the Togo team in Angola.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed his total confidence in security measures for the 2010 World Cup, notes a Mail & Guardian Online report. Blatter spoke after a two-day workshop that included with 2010 World Cup organising chief Danny Jordaan, team security and police representatives from 29 of the 32 nations playing in the tournament. ’Obviously we’re confident, otherwise we wouldn’t have taken the decision to allow South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup,’ said Blatter.
Fancourt, Pezula and the Country Club in George will be no-go zones for fans during the 2010 World Cup, police have warned. The Cape Argus reports that director Robbie Roberts, of the province’s 2010 safety task team, said strict security measures would be in place outside the three team hotels, and that access to the training facilities and the Pezula Resort would be controlled. No fans would be allowed near the training venues. In addition, 24-hour police command centres would be established in George and Knysna to protect the teams.
The South African National Defence Force needs to enhance and maintain its defence capabilities, chief of the South African navy Vice-Admiral Johannes Mudimu said. The navy needed to continuously test and sharpen its skills to achieve this, he said. According to a report on the News24 site, the German navy is in South Africa to take part in exercise Good Hope IV and to share its experience of hosting the 2010 World Cup.
Police chiefs of the 32 nations participating in the upcoming 2010 World Cup will gather in Zurich next month, to exchange security information ahead of the month-long tourney. An Individual.com report notes that the teams’ security officers will also attend a two-day meeting on 4 March at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich.
When the new King Shaka International Airport opens its doors on May 1, it will have state-of-the-art security equipment capable of detecting everything from drugs to bombs. This emerged during an inspection of security measures at the new airport in La Mercy, outside Durban, by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa. According to a report on the News24 site, KwaZulu-Natal will use the existing Durban International Airport and the new international airport at La Mercy during the World Cup in June.
The South African army is ready to deal with any threat to the security and sovereignty of the country during the 2010 World Cup, the chief of the army has said. ’We have prepared ourselves for any eventuality’, chief of the army Lieutenant General Solly Shoke said. The Sowetan reports that Shoke was speaking at an open day staged by the army’s airborne forces at the Bloemspruit air force base in the Free State. He was confident of the skills and agility demonstrated by the army’s airborne forces during Exercise Young Eagle.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for transport, community safety and liaison Willies Mchunu has called on police to stop praying when criminals draw guns. Mchunu’s call came amid preparations for the launch of an offensive campaign called ’Operation Hlasela’, loosely translated: declare open war against criminals, in a bid to clean up the city ahead of the 2010 World Cup. The Sowetan reports that Mchunu said the campaign would assist police in dealing with criminals who have turned the province into a crime nests.
South Africa’s top cop said on Monday that 2010 World Cup fans will be safe and the country will be safer because of the work his force has done to prepare for the tournament. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, National Commissioner Bheki Cele said the 2010 World Cup’s legacy for police has meant new equipment for his force and training for his officers with experts from Britain, France, Germany, the United States and elsewhere.
The question is, `Will people be safe in South Africa?’, Cele said Monday.
’Starting on the 11th of June, people will be safe in South Africa.’
Cele said nothing he can say will be as persuasive as what World Cup fans will experience. He is determined that they go home telling a South African success story. South Africa’s crime rate, among the highest in the world, has been a concern since it won the bid to become the first African host of the 2010 World Cup.
The skies west of Bloemfontein were a hive of military activity recently when the South African army’s airborne and air-assault forces demonstrated their combat readiness at the Bloemspruit Air Force Base, notes a Mail & Guardian report. The annual ’Young Eagle Open Day’ exercise consisted of briefings, static displays and exhibitions, a pathfinder infiltration, and an airborne and air-assault demonstration. Chief of the South African army Lieutenant General Solly Shoke said the exercise was held annually to build the airborne forces of South Africa. He said this year’s exercise was in relation to the 2010 World Cup.
Zimbabwe arrests reporter on WC assignment - 17/02/2010
Zimbabwe’s security agencies are thwarting attempts to boost tourism to the cash-strapped country during the 2010 World Cup in neighbouring South Africa, a government minister complained. The Times reports that Zimbabwe’s Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi told journalists he was ’extremely concerned’ after a Mexican journalist, who had been specially accredited by authorities to make a documentary on tourist sites in southern Zimbabwe, was wrongfully arrested. Mexico is one of the 32 teams participating in the tournament.
Zimbabwe arrests reporter on WC assignment - 17/02/2010
Zimbabwe’s security agencies are thwarting attempts to boost tourism to the cash-strapped country during the 2010 World Cup in neighbouring South Africa, a government minister complained. The Times reports that Zimbabwe’s Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi told journalists he was ’extremely concerned’ after a Mexican journalist, who had been specially accredited by authorities to make a documentary on tourist sites in southern Zimbabwe, was wrongfully arrested. Mexico is one of the 32 teams participating in the tournament.
Aviation authorities will have their last shot in April at testing their ability to manage South Africa’s air security and flying restrictions during the 2010 World Cup. The Cape Times reports that top priorities include preventing terrorist attacks and protecting FIFA from brands trying to advertise without the football association’s blessing. FIFA and South African authorities are strictly protecting the association from ’ambush marketers’ - brands trying to piggyback on the World Cup without officially sponsoring FIFA. The exercise is to take place between April 23 and 26. Scheduled flights are exempt from flight restrictions during the exercise and the World Cup.
Symantec has rolled out a security initiative to educate online users around cyber crime threats exploiting the 2010 World Cup, which is just four months away. ITWeb reports that Grant Brown, Symantec security specialist, says the Symantec 2010 NetThreat Website is a proactive measure to build an information platform for online community members to interact with one another, as well as with security experts.
Police Commissioner Isaac Magagula recently attended an extraordinary one-day meeting for the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Orgainsation SARPCCO, in Durban, where among the agenda was security provisions for the upcoming 2010 World Cup spectacular to be held in June. The Swazi Observer reports that the purpose of the meeting was to address urgent security issues with the aim of tightening the systems and plans in readiness of the upcoming 2010 World Cup and generally, deal with the scourge of transnational and cross border crime within the region.
People who threaten to disrupt the much awaited 2010 World Cup in June will face the full might of the law, said Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa. ’Any criminal or would-be-criminal who threatens the safety of the World Cup will meet the full might of the force.’ He said a number of groups and protesters had used the tournament to bargain for their demands. Mthethwa said a group of reservists who marched in Port Elizabeth last week had threatened to make the make the 2010 World Cup ungovernable if their demands were not met.
With just 125 days left to the 2010 World Cup, security fears have been raised around an apparent severe shortage of vehicles and sniffer dogs in the SAPS dog unit. The Herald reports that Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa spoke out recently against any link between the attack on the Tongolese team in Angola and the upcoming World Cup tournament in South Africa, saying ’South Africa’s security is 100% ready for the World Cup’. Police management contacted recently about the dog unit fears, echoed the minister. But sources close to the unit said the situation was desperate with the commander having been booked off for stress and insufficient manpower and even less equipment and vehicles for members to fulfil their functions.
Nelson Mandela Bay safety and security portfolio councillor Bicks Ndoni has dismissed concerns about the safety of visitors travelling to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup as ’opportunistic. The Herald reports that Ndoni said it had been suggested initially that South Africa would not be able to complete the stadiums on time, then that it would not have sufficient accommodation. ’We addressed that and it is now crime.’ He called it ’opportunistic’ to suggest that there were ’gangs roaming the streets’ and that people needed to wear protective clothing.
Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says the defence force is ready to protect the country should any situation threatening the 2010 World Cup arise. Sisulu says the SA National Defence Force will ensure that the country hosts a successful and safe tournament. She was speaking at the SA Air Force’s 90th anniversary at Swartkop Airfield in Pretoria last week. The Sowetan reports that the defence force worked with the police to show how they would defuse the situation should it happen during the World Cup.
A senior police officer has warned that it is likely to be ’open season’ for criminals during the 2010 World Cup because so many police officers will be working away from their precincts, notes a Cape Argus report. He also criticised the plan to summon thousands of police officers to a National Police Day in Bloemfontein last week, saying the millions of rands it cost could have been better spent on items for under-resourced stations. The senior commander said that ahead of the festive season he had orders to draw up a safety plan but had had to abort most of the scheduled operations as people were deployed by province to various hotspot areas. He said it would be the same situation during the World Cup period.
Concerns over safety at the 2010 World Cup have been over-played, according to former world number one golfer Ernie Els. The New York Times reports that several media reports have slammed the host country’s high levels of crime but Els, one of South Africa’s best-known sporting figures, felt security had improved considerably in the last decade. ’There are always safety concerns in any country but I don’t believe it’s to the point where it was (in South Africa) 10 years ago,’ said Els. ’Ten years ago I would have been a little bit worried but I believe South Africans are standing together now and I think it’s going to be one of the best ever (soccer World Cups).’
Elements in Germany, Britain, France and The Netherlands are seeking to take the 2010 World Cup from South Africa, said National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele.
’There is trouble brewing... There is a belief that 2010 must be taken away from South Africa,’ he said. Evidence of this was people in Germany saying World Cup visitors should wear bullet-proof vests. According to a report on the Iol site, he said there were people who told FIFA their countries were ready to host the tournament if South Africa failed. It was ironic that security concerns were not raised when European fans and cricket teams travelled to the country for the England and South Africa tour.
New Zealand has hired a private security firm to guard its players during the 2010 World Cup. New Zealand Football CE Michael Glading said his organisation had engaged a South African contractor whose firm had provided security in South Africa for the All Blacks and the Wellington Hurricanes rugby teams. The Sowetan reports that World Cup organisers have spent an estimated R1,6bn on security around the tournament and have assured competing teams that every step will be taken to ensure their safety at the tournament. Glading said New Zealand would be among a number of countries that had put additional arrangements in place.
After successfully hosting 147 global events without major security concerns, the more than 500 000 tourists coming to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup will have a great time. The Sowetan reports that this according to ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, who assured people around the world that they will be safe in South Africa. ’South Africa is a safe country. Naturally we have challenges like any other country, be it on continents like Europe or the United States. We live in South Africa every day and are surviving,’ said Malema. ’Security will be tight during the World Cup. The law-enforcement agencies will be deployed in all the nine host cities.’
Jordaan promises a ’safe and secure’ WC 27/01/2010
The government is hiring an additional 55 000 police officers, boosting the force by 15% to meet any security threat to the 2010 World Cup. Helicopters, water cannons, and 100 patrol vehicles will also be used to beef up security, according to Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the organising committee. ITWeb reports that he is on record as saying that fans can expect a ’safe and secure’ World Cup tournament. While there is no reason to doubt his words, or that the government has done its best to counter any possible physical threat from hooligans flinging beer bottles at the players to riots in the streets and even nuclear terrorism there is one area that seems to have escaped close attention: IT security.
OR Tambo ready to welcome 2010 visitors 27/01/2010
The OR Tambo International Airport stands ready to receive international tourists during the 2010 World Cup, says Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa. ’We are satisfied with the progress made at the airport and I am confident that the world cup will be safe. Our law enforcement agencies are ready for the 2010 World Cup,’ he said. Mthethwa was visiting the country’s largest port of entry as part of his ongoing campaign to check the state of readiness of all ports of entry, including airports and borders before the mega tournament.
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.
Stab-proof vests selling like hotcakes 26/01/2010
The much-talked-about stab-proof vests are selling like hotcakes among foreign and South African soccer fans, claims Protektorvest, the London-based company marketing the protective gear to spectators for the 2010 World Cup. But the company has refused to reveal the exact number of vests sold to date. The Cape Argus reports that Protektorvest said it had received thousands of requests for orders. Requests had come from across the world, including South Africa. Last week tourism authorities condemned Protektorvest, accusing the company of Afro-pessimism. Calvyn Gilfellan, CE of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, said it was ’unfortunate’ that the British company felt the need to sell stab-proof vests specifically for the World Cup.
More than 3 000 football hooligans will be banned from travelling to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, the UK government have confirmed. Measures to stop troublemakers who are currently barred from watching matches from going to the tournament this summer will be passed in the Commons in the coming weeks, according to the Home Office. Sports24 reports that the step will allow Home Secretary Alan Johnson to impose a ’control period’ on approximately 3 200 hooligans who are currently subject to banning orders. Banning orders prevent hooligans from attending football matches in England and mean they have to surrender their passports to police before international football matches.
The government has assured more than 500 000 tourists who will visit South Africa during the 2010 World Cup not to waste their time worrying about their safety, notes a report in The Sowetan. Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula said security would be tighter than ever at all the World Cup venues and South Africa in general. ’We want to assure everybody who will be coming to South Africa that their safety is our first priority. South Africa is not a war zone,’ said Mbalula. ’We are not Afghanistan or Baghdad, South Africa is a peaceful country and people coming here for the Cup will enjoy themselves.’ FIFA, led by president Sepp Blatter and secretary-general Jerome Valcke, have also commended South Africa on the World Cup security plan.
