A really challenging article here on Fin24 discussing how we are really doing towards getting our house in order for World Cup 2010.

Somehow, I can't help feeling that the call to action applies to other areas of South African life as well.

Some hack called Cedric Frolick, apparently the ANC whip on the Sports Committee which has been unforgivably dragging its feet on legislation required by Fifa regarding sponsorships, last week exposed our politicians' ignorance of the rules of the game.

Our parliamentary tardiness in meeting Fifa's requirements led to suggestions that unless we finally got off our backsides and passed the legislation we might, in fact, lose the tournament.

This was Frolick's fatuous remark: "They have promised this World Cup to Africa so where will they be able to go?" Get with the programme, Frolick. They can go wherever they bloody well like: Australia, already well equipped after its stunningly successful Olympics with ample, clean, safe public transport, state-of-the-art stadiums, low crime rate and excellent airports is only one example.

--and--

A recent Reuters report says: "Africa's richest country boasts good roads, fervent soccer fans, expansive scenery and the feel-good factor of a young democracy.

"But its cities are snarled with traffic, crime levels are among the world's worst and it's plagued by a deepening power crisis that has hit top tourist city Cape Town the hardest."

By contrast, Germany offers some of the world's finest public transport, always clean, always on time. How do we plan to move thousands of foreign spectators to stadiums safely and punctually?

It would be simply impossible for us to do that now what with the present resources of broken-down taxis, trains from which passengers are flung to their deaths, streets where muggings and hijackings - both often gratuitously fatal - are daily occurrences.
There's more, so click through and read the whole article.