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Thread: 2010 World Cup

  1. #1
    Silver Member Graeme's Avatar
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    2010 World Cup

    The recent world cup in Germany was a great success, but then they are good at this sort of thing, and have built infrastructure and run even bigger events before.

    Here at the southern tip of Africa the skills and experience needed to pull off events like these are not here and work on major 2010 projects should have become visible by now. Speaking of where I live, knocking down an old but paid-for stadium is one thing, building the architect’s ego-trip replacement, at staggering cost, is another. And have the squabbles over the appointment of BEE contractors, and only after that the myriad BEE sub-contractors, been resolved with finality? Will the contractors and sub-contractors have sufficient time to draw up realistic and cost-efficient project schedules and timetables, not forgetting all the finishing work prior to commissioning, which can take ages? Will the skills and materials be available?

    And then it all has to be paid for. Have government, local authorities and the private sector straightened out who will be paying for what - finally and irrevocably? Have local ratepayers been given any say in the spending of billions of rands of their money? I think not, and be in no doubt, at local level the entities that will be bearing the cost are not the same as those which will be receiving the revenue.

    Politicians think only as far as the next election, and like actors, get their gratification from hearing hands slapping together. Unlike the TV industry and the hot dog vendors, it is the tax and local authority ratepayers who will be left to foot the bill. For decades. Ask the Greeks.

    And if any part of this huge endeavour starts running behind schedule, and it will, that work will have to be expedited, at immense and ruinous cost. Ask any Civil Engineer.

    So what are we to do? Well we could sit on the sidelines and carp, and then say I told you so; or we could do the little that we can to push for a happy outcome - which would be to keep prodding the authorities to get a move on, and maybe cut out some of the more extravagant features that they have in mind, remembering that this is a sports event, not a publicity stunt, whilst at the same time keeping a beady eye out for any sign of financial shenanigans that could shame the country afterwards. Any other ideas?

  2. #2
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Graeme View Post
    ....remembering that this is a sports event, not a publicity stunt...
    There's a difference?

  3. #3
    Silver Member Graeme's Avatar
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    World Cup

    In the 17-01-2007 issue of the Natal Mercury:

    “JOHANNESBURG: Tenders for all five new 2010 World Cup stadiums and for the upgrade of the FNB stadium have come back at least R2 billion over budget”

    Two thousand million rand over budget, and the longer this takes to resolve, the more it is going to cost. Days matter.

  4. #4
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I seem to recall that the cheapest tender on FNB stadium alone came in at more than double the estimate.

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    Personally I Believe this Fifa event will not help SMB but rather Corporate. The people hoping to gain from Fifa are for a rude awakening when they are gone..... here are quotes from guys on my forum about the issue.

    Im not certain if this one should be under politicts or sports Huh? Anyway here goes

    Personnally i dont think we are ready to host the world cup. I hear alot of promises, but cannot see any reall serious effort being made to make it happen. Maybe im being a bit too harsh on the organisers, but then again they arent exaclty inspiring my confidence in them. The problem is twofold:

    The team:

    We suck. Nuff said. I am not much of a soccer fan & apologise for that but i am a south african & i hate having any of our sports team lose agianst anyone (especially australia). The only hope that i have & this is a slim one, that in 2 years time a talent will be discovered somewhere in South Africa, a talent forged out of the need to have a good player for this world cup. I really hope we at least pass the opening match & with a world cup there cant really be an "easy, rigged" team for us to beat. Problem is there aint much team spirit with the team itself. Until they realise that this is the WORLD CUP, an event that will immortalise their careers forever in history, whether its a good one or a bad one is up to THEM!

    The infrastructure

    We have none. Ok ok that is abit harsh but in comparison to first world countries, well lets just say that alot of tourists are gonig to be in for an unpleasant surprise. The public transport, from the roads to the taxis to the trains, are just way below standard in comparison to first world trends. As you may or may not know we have a massive eletrical shortage. During apartheid there was a system in place that looked at our infrastructure vs the expected growth drain placed on it. The last time we had such a meeting was in 19-voetsek (soz cant remember the exact date my heavy current prac lecturer told me) Koeberg reached its recoomended output load in the year 2000. Thats why we are having power problems in the western cape. We have been building & bulding. but no provision has been put in palce to deal with the explosion of growth thoughout south africa As it stands we need 12 reactors @ Koeberg to adequtely supply power for 2011. Koeberg only has 2. What they are donig now is building 2 new coal power plants in Mpumalanga to power Capetown (apparently their is a massive coal reserve there)

    In short alot of stuff has to be done. Also this type of stuff takes YEARS to be ready, so we need to panic a bit now & start doing something about it.

    Yet i think South Africa can pull this off. IF WE ALLL PITCH IN THAT IS!!!! I know its very easy to be cynical about the whole affair but i want this to be an success, who doesnt?. What i do want to do is highlight some of the problems facing us & then act upon them. What would be nice if we have an elite public transport/civil engineer team imported from china/japan/ gemany that will in depth highlight some of the flaws in the transport system & offer consultation on how to remedy it. This wil create alot of jobs overhauling the transport system to handle the volume of a world event, but it will benefit all of us when its finished.

    I apologise for not having any cold hard facts on the matter but if you have any information i would really apreciate it
    Of which the reply was

    To which the original starter of topic contributed back

    O. M. G. Cry Embarrassed Lips Sealed

    That pretty sums it all up i guess... sigh i was afraid of something like this might happen. This is what i mean that i had little confidence in the actual proceedings/administration of the whole event. The fact that this happend on a world widel level is extreamely embarrasing to say the least & will be used as freeking noss for the whole " running on african time". The way i see it there are two possiblilities that fifa might take to this matter.

    Fifa would re-elect a new country for the 2010 (hhahahahah got the date right this time). The countries i have my money on is Germany (unlikely tho since they already hosted in 2004 , or is it 2006, cant remember) or Austrailia. The main difference in austrailia & south africa is that hey are a first world country. Their economy/infrastructure is alot more resilient/develpoed than ours. This allows them to handle such stresses as an Olympic games, a internaional Rugby World Cup, and if we dont pull our socks up, an Soccer world cup. Not only can they handle it, but their economy goes sky-high due to all the xtra income, and because of that they beef up their infrastructure even more, which makes them an extreamly attractive country to host world events. However the lot has been cast in our direction it would take alot & i mean alot for Fifa to deny us the world cup. Simply put alot of money has been set aside for us, South Africa to host the world cup. The ball is very much in our court, its still sittting in the air, all we have to do is smack it as hard as we can, & stop missing it altogether like we are doing at the moment.

    This leads me to Fifa second option & most likely one. They will continue to let us "host" the world cup, only they will make DAMN sure that we are on track. Lol,as im writing this im looking up to see what Fifias constitution is. Their authority as such is everythnig related to the beutiful game ( i think...), from drug control on the players, the refs & above all the venue, which at the moment is us, for now at least. This is pretty much set stone & as I said it will take alot for fifa to change us from not hosting it anymore. Also the embarrasment associated is literally immeasurable in denying us the world cup & also the whole world loves south africa as the shinning jewel of Democracy, victorious over eveil apartheid, where there are lions & animals walking right down the main road for all to see! Grin hehe There is also the economic boom involved with such an event & the world wants it to be in africa, the motherland (stuff russsia its too cold there). The question is can we do it. Yes we can, but we need giudance, we need someone with leadership & people skills, someone that the whole of our nation can unite behind.... the only man that i can think of that fits such a bill is Neslon Mandela, but he has done his job, made his mark in history, its time for some one else to take up batton & go foward. The problem is with all our current politicians is that they have their own agendas & interests at heart ( namely Tony Leon, Patricia de Lille & above all, Jacob Zuma). What we need is a seperate politically neutrall entity that can basically draw up a blue print that the above mentioned politicians have to aprrove ( they cant come up with one of their own no matter how hard they try). This will give all concerend the needed transparency that is lacking at the momnet. This would tell the builder" Right let build that staduim/road/railway " Unfortunately i am not a civil engineer, as this is exactly them person we need. A whole bloody team of civil engineeirs imported from China/Korea/Japan is what we really need ,all under the banner of the "Fifa Infrastructural Advisory Committee/Union" . They come here asses what we have, tell us what we need, & above all tell us how to do/get/build what we need.

    We have only 4 short years to make this happen. As i said the ball is firmly in our court, all we have to do is smack it into orbit.

    This is a quote from members of wellinformed.co.za
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  6. #6
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I think one of the problems is we tend to relate to European or North American standards. And yes, Australia goes a long way to meeting those standards and still giving an "Australian" experience on top of it all.

    But there are very popular tourist destinations around the world with way more infrastructure challenges than ours. Particularly if we talk transport issues which oddly enough to me seems the biggest challenge, mainly because the issues are pretty complex.

    Anyway, the tourists soak up the experience. Rio De Janeiro recently featured in a post here about it's violence. Is Rio a tourist destination of international repute? Absolutely.

    New York is crawling with tourists. Sure, crime is down now, but the rough and tumble days still saw tourists. And public transport is, well, stretched. On that note, same goes for London really.

    Singapore, organised chaos. Hong Kong.... Heck. Flying around North America in winter is an adventure full of ad hoc reschedules due to grounded flights etc.

    We'll have stadiums. We'll have accommodation. And one way or another the spectators will get to the venues. Whether some us will still have nails is up for debate. But whatever happens, it will be an African adventure.

  7. #7
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    Speaking of tourisim.

    Did you know the following:

    The locals have long known it, and now UK visitors agree: South Africa is the most beautiful country on earth. In the 2006 Reader's Travel Awards by UK magazine Condé Nast Traveller, South Africa's scenery scored 97.8% - the highest in the world - with the country being voted the world's fifth-best tourist destination.

    Now in their ninth year, the awards come out of a comprehensive survey of readers' favourite hotels, spas, cities, countries and more, based on a range of criteria that are then compiled into a score out of 100. In the country category, South Africa's overall score was 94.2% - putting it ahead of other destinations such as Thailand, France, the US, Greece and Malaysia.

    This is the sixth year in a row that South Africa has been ranked as one of the world's top 20 destinations. In 2005 the country came in at ninth place, up from 13th place in 2004.

    South Africa's hotels and spas were also rated among the best in the world, with six establishments making it onto the top 20 list of leisure hotels in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Clinching second position in this category was the multi-award-winning Singita Private Game Reserve, with an overall score of 95.6% and a top score of 97.95% for service and staff.

    "Singita provides the ultimate sophisticated safari experience," Condé Nast says of the reserve. "Three ultra-luxurious safari lodges (colonial Ebony, Afro-chic Boulders and converted farmhouse Castleton) are situated on an 18 500-hectare concession in Sabi Sand Reserve, bordering the Kruger National Park. Sophisticated, pan-African cuisine and a 35 000-bottle wine cellar bring civility to the bush. The goal-orientated game-viewing with knowledgeable, likeable rangers is excellent."

    The other top South African hotels in this category, according to position and score, were:


    5 (94.2%) - Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Mpumalanga
    9 (92.02%) - The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Cape Town
    13 (86.36%) - The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town
    18 (82.89%) - Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, Mpumalanga
    20 (81.45%) - Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa, Knysna
    Three South African establishments also made it onto the list of the world's top 15 hotel spas outside the UK. These were the Sanctuary Spa at the Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town, in sixth position with a score of 88.67%, the Altiraspa at the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel in Cape Town (eighth position, 87.25%), and the Pezula Resort Hotel and Spa in Knysna (13th position, 83.67%). The Altiraspa was also singled out for its amenities and products (97.5%), and service and staff (95%).

    In the Top 100 category of the Readers' Travel Awards, Condé Nast ranks the overall winners in all categories by their scores. Again, South Africa and its hospitality industry did well, with Singita Private Game Reserve in fourth position. The country's other winners, according to position and score, were:


    21 (94.2%) - South Africa (country)
    22 (94.2%) - Londolozi Private Game Reserve, South Africa (hotel)
    48 (92.02%) - The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Cape Town (hotel)
    For more on the Reader's Travel Awards, visit www.cntraveller.com/ReadersAwards/2006/

    Source: sa.info
    source: wellinformed.co.za
    Wellinformed.co.za - Networking Forums SA partner site. Let's support each other for a better South Africa.

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