The Technology Context – B101
2010 World Cup South Africa: Transition or no transition?
Research Question
With the preparations and developments made, could this be a transition of a third world country to a first world one?
PROJECT BACKGROUND
With 2010 world cup fast approaching, all eyes are glued to the one and only host country: South Africa; the first Confederation of African Football (CAF) nation to ever host the world cup! Can they seize the bull by its horns? That is a question on everybody’s lips at the moment; the ability of SA to host a successful world cup is at question, considering that it is a third world country. My project is set to further look on to the developments and preparations made by SA ahead of the 2010 world cup. Furthermore, I also want to make it crystal clear that, YES, we could be seeing a first world country in the making all because of the world cup, which I personally believe will be successfully hosted.
OBJECTIVES
But what preparations and developments are we talking about? In my report, I will mention three things in particular, which form part of my objectives. Firstly, I will touch on stadia, accommodation along with communication and lastly, transport. I’m also set to inquire about the political, economical, social and technical effects of the world cup on
SA being given the golden opportunity of being the host. I also plan to report about the current status of the project later on alongside the three sustainable technology issues I mentioned earlier. Also, I plan to look at the ties that
SA now has with other countries all because of the world cup.
PRIMARY SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY OBJECTIVES
As I mentioned earlier in the opening paragraph, I will concentrate more in three fields which in my belief, when we talk about sustainable technology involving a world cup would rather be disastrous and pointless if left out. These are stadia, accommodation along with communication and transport.
1. STADIA
The 64 football matches of the world cup will be played in nine SA cities-, Johannesburg (Jo’burg), Cape Town (CT), Durban, Port Elizabeth (PE), Nelspruit, Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg and Pretoria.
Ten world-class stadiums are being constructed ahead of the 2010 world cup with all of them expected to be 100% complete by October 2009. Out of the 10 stadiums, 4 are being upgraded, one of them Soccer City having the largest capacity of 94, 700, one is complete and five more are under construction. As of now, the major upgrade of Soccer City stadium is said to be 6 months ahead of schedule and upgrading of Loftus Versfeld stadium is gaining momentum and due for completion in 2008. This all alone is an indication that SA is ready to host the world cup and let alone show progress of being a first world country in the making.
Now, the most interesting part: Intensive planning has gone into ensuring that the stadiums will be versatile, multipurpose facilities that will not only serve a variety of sports codes, but will be suitable for entertainment and other community following the world cup. These stadiums are an example of sustainable technology as they will still be used after the world cup comes to an end not for football purposes only but for other sports codes as well!
2. ACCOMMODATION AND COMMUNICATION
The City of Joburg has come up with a new CCTV system which uses the latest technology to try and apprehend motorists who ignore traffic signals. These cameras are able to see as far as 3km and can rotate 360 degrees. The new system, operated by Omega Risk Solutions, is the latest technology and will eventually replace the old Cue Incident system. There are 63 strategically placed cameras in the CBD, and by March it is hoped that there will be 216. It was reiterated that cameras should be positioned in areas in the city where tourists and soccer fans are likely to be during the 2010 World Cup. Still on communication, SEACOM, and its supplier, Tyco Telecommunications, officially announced the commencement of construction of the 13 700 km SEA Cable System connecting the South and East African countries of SA, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania with India and Egypt, according to a MyADSL.co.za report. The SEA Cable System will be ready to serve Southern and East African markets from 2009, well in time to meet the bandwidth needs of the Confederations Cup and the 2010 WC, and the growing requirements of the economies in the countries it serves.
On to accommodation, construction of bed-and-breakfast facilities has begun countrywide particularly in Limpopo province in preparation for expected visitors during the 2010 WC.
Tongaat Hulett has received confirmation that the eThekwini Municipality has approved the Development Framework Plan for Umhlanga Ridgeside. The 140 ha development will be completed in phases of combined commercial, residential and leisure developments. The mixed-use area will encompass a 40 000m2 Zenprop Design Quarter and a 10 000m2 Mr Price concept store, as well as a number of new Hotel/Resort developments. R1, billion is being invested in an 80 000m2 rsort, which will cater for thousands of visitors to the region each year. This is one of three hotels planned for the development, two of which are marked as five-star facilities, which would be an excellent opportunity for the upcoming 2010 World Cup. All these, yet again are a stepping stone to a first world country.
3. TRANSPORT
A vastly improved public transport system is one of the legacies SA will secure from the hosting of the 2010 WC. The department of transport has been awarded a project preparation grant from the Global Environment to contribute to sustainable transport. It is exploring initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas. Government is also planning a car exclusion zone within a 2km radius of WC stadiums in 2010 to encourage greater use of public transport. Already, about 1024 taxis have been scrapped off in the city of Kwa-Zulu Natal alone in a move to ensure safe transportation of tourists during the 2010 world cup.
On to airlines, Alcatel-Lucent has started design work related to its 34 million euro deal, to design and deploy an integrated communication, security and IT system for the new King Shaka International Airport, north of Durban. ITWeb reports that the airport must be in service by the time SA hosts the FIFA Soccer World Cup, in June 2010, and will be able to handle more than 7.5 million passengers a year. Also, plans are underway for Southern Africa to provide about 19 airlines for the WC.
Construction work on the Gautrain, a multi-billion rand high-speed rail link between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Jo’burg airport has gone underground, with a 160-metre, 885-ton tunnel-boring machine set to tackle the rock under central Johannesburg. According to an allAfrica.com report, work is ongoing at 45 sites across the two cities, and it is expected that the line from the centre of Johannesburg to the airport will be completed in 2010, ahead of the 2010 WC. The 80-kilometre rail link will run between central Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport, with a separate line linking the system to Pretoria. This will be the first ever rapid rail link in Africa! All these more than convinces me that there could be a transition of a third world country to a first world one, right here in Africa!
Socially, the 2010 World Cup has opened up about 80 000 job opportunities in the local tourism and hospitality sector. This is according to a skills audit by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). The audit indicated that over the next three years, the industry will require about 24 100 cooks and chefs, 23 500 waiters and waitresses, 15 000 cleaners, 7 800 cashiers and 8000 managerial staff. The tourism industry is to make up about 12 percent of the country’s GDP by the time the 2010 World Cup comes around. The industry currently contributes about 8.2 percent of the national GDP, which is a R79 billion contribution. SA Tourism is expecting about 450 000 international travellers in the space of six weeks during the 2010 World Cup.
Also, South Africans’ confidence about its ability to be ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is on the increase. 76% of South Africans believe that SA will be ready according to market research company African Response. 70% of South Africans feel that South African roads will be ready to meet the expectations of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Overall confidence in the South Africa's airports being ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup increased from 71% to 77%. Moving on to South Africa's ability to deal with the electricity demands, confidence increased slightly from 52% to 57%
One consequence, if construction employees are to continue with their demonstrations time and again would be seeing SA not ready to fully host the world cup as the stadiums would be under prepared or not enough. This could actually see the world cup being moved to another country thus killing the African dream of hosting a world cup. A question in mind is, will the Gautrain be ready by 2010? If it is, are the personnel ready? One consequence, which is being addressed particularly in Cape Town, is the issue of accommodation. Lack or shortage of accommodation could see SA not fully profiting from hosting the world cup as tourists wouldn’t have a place to stay.
POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS
Politically, the WC has seen various government organs being formed to oversee 2010 preparations. These are: the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Technical Coordinating Committee and a 2010 Project Management Unit within the Department of Sports And Recreation. The Inter-Ministerial Committee comprises of heads of the ministries responsible for delivering on the Government guarantees to FIFA. The committee meets every month and reports to President Thabo Mbeki every month.
One effect of the 2010 world cup is that SA’s current account deficit widened to a record R162,6bn in the third quarter of this year, boosting the country’s reliance on foreign capital and holding the rand hostage to any swings in the mood of global investors. Imports are likely to continue outpacing exports over the next few years because of the government’s R482bn infrastructure spending programme, preparations to host the World Cup in 2010, and the higher cost of oil, which makes up a fifth of the total import bill. Even though it cost SA a lot of money to build the necessary infrastructure, it is worth mentioning that the economy has grown strongly for the past five years and is expected to perform well over the next three years.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I believe that despite all the humps SA was, is and will be facing, I still have high hopes that it will host a successful world cup and perhaps even transform into a first world country. Having hosted the Rugby world cup< world cricket club and African nations cup, and looking at the progress made this far, I do believe SA will overcome all the drawbacks and surprise the world
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup
2. http://www.southafrica.info/2010/brandingsa2010.html
3. http://www.iol/co.za/
4. http://www.project2010.co.za
5. http://www.sa2010.gov.za/government/trans_objectives.php
6. http://www.england2010.co.uk
