 |
Stadium workers riot over pay
IOL 14 June 2010
Durban ‑ Armed riot police charged into hundreds of security stewards at
a World Cup stadium hours after Sunday's match to break up a protest
about low wages.
Police appeared to set off two percussive grenades, causing loud bangs,
to drive the workers out of a parking lot under Moses Mabhida Stadium in
Durban hours after Germany beat Australia 4‑0 in Group D.
Associated Press reporters saw about 30 riot police charge into the
crowd to drive it out of the stadium. While calm quickly returned to the
stadium, some of the security stewards, wearing orange and green
jackets, continued milling around outside.
An AP photographer said police fired tear gas at protesters outside the
stadium. A nearby street was littered with trash where the protesters
were forced away. Concrete blocks had been pushed into a street.
About 100 police later surrounded a group of about 300 protesters on a
street near the stadium and separated the men from the women. An AP
photographer said he heard police tell the protesters they would be
arrested for causing a public disturbance.
Left peacefully
The protesters later left peacefully after calm discussions with police.
There were no injuries or arrests reported.
Repeated calls to police in Durban seeking comment were not returned.
A FIFA spokesperson declined to comment immediately and the local
organising committee for the World Cup did not immediately respond to
telephone calls and e‑mails seeking comment. The police command set up
in Johannesburg for World Cup‑related matters was aware of the protest
but had not received an official report from Durban.
Police were called to the scene after hundreds of angry stewards
gathered to complain about their wages.
"We left our homes at seven in the morning and now it is nearly one
o'clock," said Vincent Mkize. "In the dry run, they didn't want to tell
us how much we would get."
Another of the stewards, Fanak Falakhebuengu, told the AP he had heard
they would be paid R1 500 ($195) a day but were only getting R190 ($25).
"They were supposed to give us R1 500, that's what FIFA told us and they
gave us R190. We are working from 12 o'clock until now," said another
man who asked not to be named. He ran from police before he could give
his name.
Many of the protesters were waving small brown envelopes that had held
their pay. One handed to a reporter had the figure R190 written on it
under "amount payable."
Others said they had been abandoned at the stadium after the match and
would have to walk about four hours to get home. They said no transport
was provided for them.
Video
'They were supposed to pay us R1 500 a day'
Sapa 14 June 2010
Durban police on Monday vowed to arrest those who led the protest at
Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday night.
"We are busy investigating and we believe that some will be arrested
soon because they are known," Brigadier Phindile Radebe said.
According to the Associated Press about 300 security stewards protested
about low wages after the game between Germany and Australia.
The AP quoted one of the stewards, Fanak Falakhebuengu, as saying he had
heard they would be paid R1 500 a day, but were only getting R190.
"They were supposed to give us R1 500, that's what Fifa told us and they
gave us R190."
Radebe said spectators had already left the stadium when the protest
started.
"The police managed to move them away from the stadium, but they
regrouped and continued with the protest."
Police fired rubber bullets at them. ‑ Sapa
Police break up Cup wages protest
Sapa‑AP 14 June 2010
Armed riot police charged into hundreds of security stewards at a Soccer
World Cup stadium in the early hours of Monday morning to break up a
protest about low wages.
Police appeared to set off two percussive grenades, causing loud bangs,
to drive the workers out of a parking lot under the Moses Mabhida
Stadium in Durban hours after Germany beat Australia 4‑0 in Group D.
No injuries or arrests reported
There was no immediate word of any injuries or arrests at the protest.
Associated Press reporters saw about 30 riot police charge into the
crowd to drive it out of the stadium. While calm quickly returned to the
stadium, some of the security stewards, wearing orange and green
jackets, continued milling around outside.
An AP photographer said police fired tear gas at protesters outside the
stadium. A nearby street was littered with trash where the protesters
were forced away. Concrete blocks had been pushed into a street.
About 100 police later surrounded a group of about 300 protesters on a
street near the stadium and separated the men from the women. An AP
photographer said he heard police tell the protesters they would be
arrested for causing a public disturbance.
Repeated calls to police in Durban seeking comment were not returned.
No comment
Fifa and the local organising committee for the World Cup did not
immediately respond to telephone calls or emails seeking comment.
Durban police on Monday vowed to arrest those who led the protest.
"We are busy investigating and we believe that some will be arrested
soon because they are known," Brigadier Phindile Radebe said.
"The police managed to move them away from the stadium, but they
regrouped and continued with the protest."
Police were called to the scene after hundreds of angry stewards
gathered to complain about their wages.
"We left our homes at seven in the morning and now it is nearly 1
o'clock," said Vincent Mkize. "In the dry run, they didn't want to tell
us how much we would get."
Another of the stewards, Fanak Falakhebuengu, told the AP he had heard
they would be paid R1,500 a day but were only getting R190.
"They were supposed to give us R1,500, that's what Fifa told us and they
gave us R190. We are working from 12 o'clock until now," said another
man who asked not to be named. He ran from police before he could give
his name.
Many of the protesters were waving small brown envelopes that had held
their pay. One handed to a reporter had the figure R190 written on it
under "amount payable".
Others said they had been abandoned at the stadium after the match and
would have to walk about four hours to get home. They said no transport
was provided for them. ‑‑ Sapa‑AP
Riot Police End Workers’ Protest at Durban Stadium
Christopher Clarey(New York Times) 14 June 2010
DURBAN, South Africa — A World Cup Sunday that began at the soaring new
arch of Durban Stadium ended in smoke and shrieks as police officers
fired tear gas and what witnesses said were rubber bullets to break up a
large group of protesting security guards.
The altercation started shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, a few hours after
the match between Germany and Australia ended. It began in the parking
area underneath the stadium, where some administrative offices are
located. It soon spilled into the streets outside as several hundred
panicked protesters sprinted away as about 40 police officers advanced
toward them on foot.
It was the first black mark during this World Cup, which has generated
positive energy and reviews since it began on Friday.
Several of the guards said they and their colleagues were upset at being
underpaid or, in some cases, not being paid for their work Sunday, the
first day of competition in Durban.
“They’re giving us 205 rand; we started at 12 noon and worked until
midnight, and they want to give us 205 rand,” said Sikhumbuzo Mnisi, a
44‑year‑old from Durban.
At current exchange rates, 205 rand is about $27. “Different things have
been said to people, but we were promised 1,500 rand per day,” Mnisi
said. “We started to protest because we wanted to negotiate.”
Mnisi said the crowd of workers became unruly and started throwing
things like plastic bottles.
At least two workers were injured during the altercation with the
police; the workers said they had been struck by rubber bullets.
Cynthia Bhengu had blood streaming down her face as she sat roadside
waiting for an ambulance at almost 2 a.m.
“The police shot my wife in the face,” said her husband, Falakhe Bhengu,
who said that he was a security supervisor.
“It was supposed to be 1,500 rand for supervisors and 1,000 for
everybody else, and they gave us 190,” he said of the security company.
“If you asked too many questions, they wanted to hit you.”
Nkosingiphine Maphumulo, a 23‑year‑old, said he had signed a three‑month
contract but only worked three days so far and had yet to be paid.
“Everyone was excited at first, but I think this World Cup is going too
far,” Maphumulo said. “We don’t even have a cent to pay our expenses. We
are losing money, because I paid for transport to get here.”
Rich Mkhondo, head of communications for the local World Cup organizing
committee, said the protest did not have any impact on security at the
match or any spectators.
“Two hours after the end of the first match at the Durban Stadium last
night, there was an internal pay dispute between the principal security
company employed by the organizing committee and some of the static
security stewards employed by the company at the match,” Mkhondo said in
a statement e‑mailed to The Associated Press. “Police were called on to
disperse the protesting stewards.
“This happened, however, long after all spectators had left the stadium
after the match, and the incident had no impact whatsoever on the match
day security operations.
“The organizing committee will engage with its stadium security provider
to avoid a repeat of the situation during the course of the tournament.”
“Play has become spectacle, with few protagonists and many spectators,
soccer for watching. And that spectacle has become one of the most
profitable businesses in the world, organized not for play but rather to
impede it. The technocracy of professional sport has managed to impose
soccer of lightning speed and brute strength, a soccer that negates joy,
kills fantasy and outlaws daring. Luckily, on the field you can still
see, even if only once in a long while, some insolent rascal who sets
aside the script and commits the blunder of dribbling past the entire
opposing side, the referee and the crowds in the stands, all for the
carnal delight of embracing the forbidden adventure of freedom.”
Eduardo Galeano
African kids lured into soccer slavery
THE UGLY SIDE OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL
Lee Sorrell & Babatunde Ogunlade 6 June 2010
AFRICA becomes the beacon of the world this Friday when it stages the
greatest football tournament on Earth for the first time.
The World Cup kicks off in a blaze of celebration in South Africa's
capital Johannesburg.
But in the lawless backstreets of cities across the continent lurks the
despicable trade of soccer slavery ‑ the illegal and sometimes deadly
trafficking of child footballers to Europe...
UNLICENSED football agent Olarewaju Adeleke greedily displays a list of
46 African 'players' on his books.
But the majority are desperate children filled with false hope of
becoming professional footballers in Europe. The youngest is just FOUR
years old; another 11 are six or under.
Ruthless Adeleke is trading in human flesh. He promises them the dream
of becoming the next Didier Drogba or Samuel Eto'o by fixing a trial for
them at a top club in Europe. And he persuades their poverty‑stricken
parents to sign them into his care on shabby forms written in crude,
nonsensical English.
As he stands with one of his players, eight‑year‑old Dolapo and his
mother in the family's pitiful single room in Weighbridge, a slum area
of the Nigerian capital Lagos, the man who calls himself Big Omen
boasts: "What I write in the agreement, I told them that this child
belong to me.
"I told them I will take care of him. I'm taking him for trials for
Europe. So there will not be any problem."
Adeleke admits he uses the same tactics with each boy.
"I went to them (the parents) with my lawyer and they accept," he insists.
"They're happy because I told them that when they (the boys) get over
there (to Europe) they will still go to school.
"The parents have signed agreements with me and they hand over their
son's career to me. All of them accept it."
However, under Article 19 of the FIFA rulebook, it is an offence for a
player under the age of 18 to be moved from one continent to another for
football purposes.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has described this brutal trade as "social
and financial rape" and has announced a series of measures to combat the
problem.
But while Blatter and his fellow pampered football luminaries enjoy a
life of luxury and limousines during the next five weeks, despicable
"agents" will continue to make money from the brutal trade of
trafficking football children.
Adeleke's Big Omen For Good academy is one of thousands of unlicensed
soccer schools that have spawned across Africa in the past decade.
He promotes his grandly‑named sports organisation on internet football
message board sites.
In his introduction letter, Adeleke insists: "I am the players' agent in
charge of transferring good and fit players to FIFA LICENSED and various
clubs in the world. Also, I am in charge of scouting players for
different clubs in Nigeria and the whole wide world. I am interested in
working directly with your club to supply you good and fit players.
"I will be able to send players of different positions and promise to
buy tickets for the players to get over to you for trials. Please,
contact me immediately to enable me send you the profile and passport
for perusal."
Each CV for his kids states their name, date of birth, weight, height,
position and, bizarrely, MARITAL STATUS. One boy, Tijani, is just four
years old. He is described as a midfielder and affiliated to a local
football club. Another, Ismaila, is five, while defender Qudri
celebrated his sixth birthday yesterday.
Dressed in traditional African robes, and clutching three different
mobile phones, shaven‑headed Adeleke (right) invited undercover Irish
News of the World reporters to watch a series of trial games at his
academy in Ugudu ‑ a poor district in the southern part of Lagos.
On a bumpy dirt track at the end of a back street, young barefooted boys
show off their skills, desperate to be told they are bound for Europe.
Children like five‑year‑old Dalfique, whose favourite team is Manchester
United. "I like Wayne Rooney because he can score penalty," he says. "I
would like to play football in Europe."
Another boy, eight‑year‑old midfielder Daniel, says he supports
Barcelona and his hero is Lionel Messi.
"I want to be a footballer," he says. "My mum says if I have the
determination I should move on and if someone should help me with
football I should go for it."
His mother adds: "I want him to go to school and play football. He's
just a small boy. For the last two years we have really struggled to eat."
The father of midfielder Alawe, 13, adds: "If I had money three years
ago he would have been in Europe."
An agent from Canada had visited their home and demanded !2,000 to take
Alawe to Europe when he was just 10.
Alawe admits: "They asked to bring money but there was no money. That's
why I couldn't make it."
Adeleke insists he has previously arranged trials for his boys in
Serbia, Egypt, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and promises he can arrange
flights and visas to get them to Europe. "A relative is working as a
manager of an airline so he will help me with that, sir," he says. "When
you send me the official letter (invitation letter from a European club)
you have to go to the embassy.
"When I go there I just walk straight to the director or manager. So
they will see the letter, give the visa and I will arrange the flight
ticket. That's how it's done.
"Any boy you pick from me, I don't have problem with their visa or their
flight ticket to Europe."
Of the boys he claims he has sent to Serbia and Kazakhstan, he adds:
"They are in the academies.
I get paid from each one of them every month.
"I sent the travel documents to the club and they arranged for them an
invitation letter.
"I went to the embassy to collect visa. Everything you do is about the
contacts you have."
It is estimated that some 20,000 child footballers have been illegally
shipped from Africa into Europe.
Many unwittingly risk life and limb as they are transported in small
fishing boats from the North African coast.
Some are lost at sea or die through starvation.
Drogba's uncle, Michael Goba, helped rescue one teenager who was dumped
in Paris by an agent after conning the youngster's family out of !1,500.
On the other side of Lagos is another academy, run by another agent who,
like Adeleke, claims he has someone who can organise visas for his
under‑age youngsters to travel to Europe. "He's a travel agent in
Ikeja," he says. "In the embassies he has contacts in Germany, Italy,
Portugal, France, Belgium and Serbia."
Norwegian journalists Lars Backe Madsen and Jens M Johansson have
written a book, Der Forsvunne Diamanten (The Lost Diamond) which reveals
the grand scale of football's shameful slave trade.
It charts numerous pitiful cases of young players who are trafficked to
Europe in search of a dream only to be dumped if clubs don't sign them up.
Ahmed Fousseni was 16 and playing football in Douala, Cameroon, when he
was introduced to an agent called Christopher.
The agent promised him a contract with a top club in France in return
for !2,400.
However, after a trial at a French First Division side proved
unsuccessful, Ahmed was abandoned by his agent. And without any cash and
an expired visa, Fousseni was forced to live on the streets of Paris. He
was last seen working in the city's twilight economy, loading tyres on
to a lorry.
Former Cameroon international Jean Claude Mbvoumin runs an organisation
in France called Foot Solidaire which provides support to these
abandoned kids.
He has helped more than 1,200 youngsters in Paris over the last 10 years
‑ most of them from Africa.
Now he wants FIFA's help to educate families about the dangers of
football trafficking.
Mbvoumin said: "It's very urgent to launch this campaign because after
the World Cup the situation will be worse."
CASE STUDY: YVES LEFT IN PARIS
AFRICAN teenager Yves Camara, 15, was approached by a French agent
calling himself Phillip after taking part in a tournament near his home
in Ivory Coast capital Abidjan.
The agent said Yves had great ability and could become a star in Europe
if he was prepared to make the trip.
"He said it would cost about Ł1,250 (!1,500)," says Yves. "He came to
see my friend's dad and my friend's dad paid the money."
However, Yves' dreams of soccer stardom and untold riches were over
before they even began.
"Me and Phillip flew into Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and then
went to a hotel nearby," he recalls.
"He left me there and said he would come back the next day to take me to
a trial. I never saw him again. Then the hotel manager said he had not
been paid. I had to leave."
Yves was put in touch with Foot Solidaire.
With their help he is now studying and playing for an under‑17 side in
Paris, found for him by Michael Goba, a fellow Ivorian and the uncle of
Chelsea World Cup star Didier Drogba.
"I do not understand what happened to me," says Yves, now 16. "But I
will not give up."
Brutal Trials Dumped Dangers Studying
Curriculum Vitae
Name:................................... Tijani
Marital Status: ....................... Single
Date of Birth: .................. 4‑09‑2005
Position:.........................Midfielder
Weight: ..................................30LB
Height: ......................................2'5
Club: .... Super Star F.C. 2009‑2010
Curriculum Vitae
Name:................................. Ismaila
Marital Status: ....................... Single
Date of Birth: .................. 13‑9‑2004
Position:............Supporting Striker
Weight: ..................................40LB
Height: ......................................2'5
Club: .... Super Star F.C. 2009‑2010
HOPEFUL ‑ kids must fill in the CV but the dream can become a nightmare
links.org.au
The Poor Peoples World Cup
Lee Sorrell & Babatunde Ogunlade
After months of organizing a World Cup that is accessible for all the poor communities who won’t be able to see their favourite soccer teams playing in Cape Town’s expensive Greenpoint Stadium – there are only a few hours left until the kick-off of the PPWC starts!
This Poor Peoples World Cup is organized, because we feel that we are excluded from the FIFA World Cup 2010. We see that the government has put enormous amounts of money in Greenpoint Stadium and in upgrading Althone stadium, but we as poor communities don’t benefit from all of these investments. The soccer matches will be played in town, but we don’t have tickets or transport to go there. Besides this, the FIFA World Cup has negatively impacted our communities as we are not allowed to trade near stadiums, fan parks and other tourist areas anymore. The poor are not only evicted from their trading spaces for the World Cup, we are also evicted from our homes and relocated to the TRA’s, such as Blikkiesdorp, far away from the centre and from job opportunities and from the eyes of the tourists..
We as the Anti-Eviction Campaign and affected communities therefore decided to create our own World Cup: A World Cup that is accessible for everyone!! We therefore invited all the evicted traders to sell their products at the tournament and we invited the people who were evicted from their homes to make space for the FIFA World Cup. Not only the affected communities are invited, our PPWC is open to everyone, as we don’t exclude people from participation!
During this tournament that will be held on the next 4 Sundays, 36 teams from 40 different poor communities (from Guguletu, Michells Plain, Athlone, Delft, etc.), will be representing one of the official World Cup countries. Tomorrow we will start from 10 AM at Avondale (soccer fields next to Athlone stadium) with speeches from Martin Legassick (UWC Emeritus Professor/ housing activist), Michael Premo (Housing is a Human Right) and from communities. After this we will have a soccer game for minus 9 year old’s to kick-off the start of our tournament. Then we will have another speech and we will start with the official tournament at 12:00 (until 17:00).
Besides this PPWC, we are going to have a march on the 21st of June to invite the mayor, Dan Plato as well as people from FIFA to come to our final games on the 4th of July. With this march we want to tell our government and the World that this FIFA World Cup hasn’t bring us any good and that we are even being further marginalized!
We as the Anti-Eviction Campaign and all the affected communities, invite all media, tourists and people who are interested to come to our tournament tomorrow.
We hope to welcome you all to our Poor Peoples World Cup!!
For more information, please contact one of the AEC coordinators: Pamela Beukes: 078 5563003, Ashraf Cassiem: 076 1861408,
Mncedisi Twalo 078 5808646, Gary Hartzenberg 072 3925859, Jane Roberts 074 2384236 or Willie Heyn 073 1443619
For more, please visit the website of the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign at:
www.antieviction.org.za and follow us on www.twitter.com/antieviction
Visit Abahlali baseMjondolo at www.abahlali.org and www.khayelitshastruggles.com
The Poor People’s Alliance: Abahlali baseMjondolo, together with with Landless People’s Movement (Gauteng), the Rural Network (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, is part of the Poor People’s Alliance - a unfunded national network of democratic membership based poor people’s movements.
World Cup for All - Phansi Thiefa
Durban Social Forum demands real development, not more elite profits
Durban Social Forum which consists of a number of civil society organisations will march peacefully on 16 June 2010 to highlight our many long outstanding grievances, especially those of the youth. Even though there is danger of human trafficking and child prostitution during the World Cup, schools are closed and alcohol consumption encouraged. South Africa’s youth need the best education and real prospects, not prostitution, not army call-ups. Our youth also demand delivery to the people, not to elites and multinational corporations like Feefa.
We are always willing to discuss our issues with government but we are inevitably ignored. It is important to expose these matters to the entire world. South Africa can build some of the best stadiums in the world; proving that all other delivery can and must also be accomplished within a minimum timeframe. The R40 billion Government has spent on the World Cup could have comfortably housed over 3 million homeless South Africans. Street traders, subsistence fisherfolk, artists and local businesses must not be denied their rights.
Vulnerable children, traders, the poor, the homeless, shackdwellers, refugees and others are removed so tourists won’t see them. Police are redeployed from normal duties to devote service almost exclusively to THIEFA. The needs of ALL South Africans have been negatively impacted in the long term by this mega-event – the debts and opportunity cost overwhelm any tourist revenue. Our government has sold its citizens out for a gigantic, short-term publicity stunt and we must not let them forget their responsibilities.
Soccer will not make a better life for all – it will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer! The ANC have not given a World Cup for All but again chose to deliver to the rich instead of the poor. South Africa is the most unequal country in the world but the World Cup is not going to solve this problem. While elites hide the realities and falsely claim that spending public funds on the World Cup will lead to development – they are the only ones allowed to profit. We must confront the real problems that the majority experience every day of their lives.
THE POOR ARE ‘FEELING’ THE HARDSHIP
DSF urges all communities to join us and voice their concerns. We ask all communities to send a message of support for this campaign together with their concerns and demands. We want written assurances from government of when they will live up to their commitments and duties to all the peoples of South Africa. Please join our endeavour to rather serve the least well off in our society. Please pass on this message to as many interested people as possible.
World Cup too dear say two-thirds of fans
Opheera Mcdoom 12 June 2010
Two-thirds of soccer enthusiasts in 23 nations feel the first World Cup finals on African soil has become too expensive for fans to enjoy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Hosts South Africa kicked off the 2010 tournament on Friday with a 1-1 draw against Mexico who scored an equaliser late in the second half, breaking the hearts of fans in the Soccer City stadium who had hoped their underdog team may have begun the competition with a win.
But many South Africans could not afford the tickets to see their team play live, instead having to watch it on massive television screens set up in public fan parks.
In a poll of more than 12 000 soccer supporters in 23 nations, about 65% said the games were too expensive for the average fan. A separate poll of more than 2 500 South Africans found 78% shared that view.
Fifa was criticised for its initial online ticket selling system, which excluded poorer South Africans who do not have access to the internet.
The soccer world’s governing body then introduced cash ticket sales centres, but many found the tickets for the guaranteed three South African games had already gone.
“I’m from South Africa but couldn’t get a ticket to see them play,” fan Eli Motau complained.
Of the 23 other countries polled a majority of fans in richer nations, with Britain, Germany, France and Brazil topping the list, also said the finals were too expensive.
Andy Bird who travelled from Britain to watch England play said that a perception of high costs had largely stemmed from exaggeration mostly in the British media, who had portrayed mountainous flight, hotel and food expenses.
“The reality is something else,” he said, adding he had been surprised at how inexpensive the country was. “I only hope that people did not come just because they thought it was too expensive.”
Organisers have revised down the estimated number of fans expected to attend the month-long tournament from about 450 000 to around 350 000 to 375 000, partly because of the global financial downturn. - Reuters
www.mg.co.za
Tournament not benefiting the poor, protesters complain
The Star 12 June 2010
In the midst of World Cup excitement, about 60 members of the Anti-Privatisation Forum gathered in Diepkloof, close to Soccer City, yesterday with the intention of marching to the venue.
The group claimed that the World Cup was doing nothing for the poor, especially those without jobs or on low wages, as they would not get near the stadiums to watch the games live.
“The rich will mostly attend the games and they are the ones who will be profiting most out of the spectacle,” the organiser said.
“Fifa says its organisation is not for profit, but in reality it is a front for sports goods manufacturers, advertising companies, television broadcasters and airlines that have commercialised the sport that many people love and that brings the world together.”
The group faced a heavy police presence along Nasrec Road leading to Soccer City.
As the group were protesting, a group of children were playing soccer in the streets of Soweto, where many people have painted their houses with the South African flag and are flying flags from the rooftops. Even a dog was seen wearing a Bafana Bafana jersey. -
Sapa
Southern-Africa, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) statement on the 2010 Soccer World Cup: All in the Name of the Beautiful Gain
Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front 12 June 2010
The 2010 Soccer World Cup must be exposed for the utter sham that it is. The ZACF strongly condemns the audacity and hypocrisy of the government in presenting the occasion as a âonce-in-a-lifetimeâ opportunity for the economic and social upliftment of those living in South Africa (and the rest of the continent). ---- What is glaringly clear is that the âopportunityâ is and continues to be that of a feeding-frenzy for global and domestic capital and the South African ruling elite. In fact, if anything, the event is more likely to have devastating consequences for South Africaâs poor and working class â a process that is already underway. ---- FIFA, as sole owner of the World Cup brand and its spin-off products, has a team of lawyers scouring the country for any unauthorised selling of these products and marketing of the brand.
These products are seized and sellers are arrested despite the fact that most in South Africa purchase their products from the informal trading sector, as very few have R400 to dole out on team t-shirts and other gear. It has also has effectively gagged journalists with an accreditation clause that prevents media organisations from bringing FIFA into disrepute, clearly compromising freedom of press.
In preparing to host the World Cup the government has spent close to R800 billion (R757 billion on infrastructure development and R30 billion on stadiums that will never be filled again), a massive slap in the face for those living in a country characterized by desperate poverty and close to 40% unemployment. Over the past five years the working poor have expressed their outrage and disappointment at the governmentâs failure to redress the massive social inequality in over 8,000 service delivery protests for basic services and housing countrywide. This pattern of spending is further evidence of the maintenance of the failed neoliberal capitalist model and its âtrickle downâ economics, which have done nothing but deepen inequality and poverty globally. Despite previous claims to the contrary, the government has recently admitted this by doing an about turn, and now pretends that the project was ânever intendedâ to be a profit making exercise [1].
South Africa desperately needs large-scale public infrastructure, especially in the area of public transport which is in some cities, including Johannesburg, is almost entirely absent. The Gautrain, which was launched on Tuesday the 8th June (just in time for the big event) is probably the biggest irony here: in a country where the large majority rely on unsafe private mini-bus taxis to travel long distances on a daily basis, the Gautrain offers high speed, luxury transport for tourists and those travelling between Johannesburg and Pretoriaâ who can afford it if a single trip between the airport and Sandton will set you back a massive R100. The same picture reveals itself everywhere: the Airports company of South Africa (ACSA) has spent over R16 billion on upgrading the airports, the commercialised South African National Road Agency Ltd (SANRAL) has spent over R23 billion on a new network of toll roads â all of which will implement strict cost-recovery measures to recoup the billions spent, and most of which will be of little benefit to poor South Africans. All over the country municipalities have embarked on urban regeneration schemesâ accompanied by corresponding gentrification schemes, as the government attempts to hastily paper over the harsh South African reality. Over 15,000 homeless people and street children have been rounded up and dumped in shelters in Johannesburg alone, in Cape Town the municipality has evicted thousands of people from poor areas and squatter camps as part of the World Cup vanity project. The City of Cape Town (unsuccessfully) attempted to evict 10,000 Joe Slovo residents from their homes in order to hide them from the tourists travelling along the N2 highway, and elsewhere they are being removed to make space for stadiums, fan parks or train stations [2]. In Soweto, roads are being beautified along main tourist and FIFA routes, while adjacent schools sport broken windows and crumbling buildings.
Although many South Africans remain unconvinced, others are inundated and swept along by the deluge of nationalist propaganda aimed at diverting attention from the circus that is the World Cup. Every Friday has been deemed âsoccer Fridayâ, in which the ânationâ is encouraged (and school children forced) to sport Bafana-Bafana t-shirts. Cars are kitted out in flags, people learn the âDiski-danceâ which is performed regularly at every tourist restaurant, and buy Zakumi mascot dolls. Anyone sceptical of the hype is denigrated unpatriotic, the prime example being when appeals were made to striking South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) workers to shelve their concerns âin the national interestâ [3]. In a context where close to a million jobs have been lost over the course of the past year, government celebrations that the world cup has created over 400 000 jobs are empty and insulting. The jobs that have been created in the run up have been mostly casual or âLimited Duration Contracts (LCDs)â, taken by workers that are not unionised and paid well below the minimum wage.
Apart from the repression of unions, social movements have received similar hostility from the state, which has unofficially put a blanket ban on all protest for the duration of the event. In fact there is some evidence that this has been in place since as early as the 1st March. According to Jane Duncan:
A snap survey conducted at the end of last week of other municipalities hosting World Cup matches revealed that a blanket ban on gatherings is in operation. According to the Rustenberg municipality, “gatherings are closed for the World Cup”. The Mbombela municipality was told by the SAPS that they were not going to allow gatherings during the World Cup. The Cape Town City Council claimed that it continues to accept applications for marches, but indicated that it “may be a problem” during the World Cup period. According to the Nelson Mandela Bay and Ethekwini municipalities, the police will not allow gatherings over the World Cup period [4].
Although it is clear that the constitution, often hailed for its âprogressivenessâ is far from the guarantor of freedom and equality that government claims it to be, this new form of repression is clearly in contradiction with the constitutional right to freedoms of expression and gathering. However, social movements in Johannes
burg including the Anti-Privatisation Forum and several others have not given up so easily, having managed to get authorization for a protest march on the day of the opening with the help of the Freedom of Expression Institute. However, the march is being forced to be held three kilometres from the stadium where it will not attract the sort of media attention the government is worried about.
Not only has the state been repressively severe on the poor and any anti-World Cup demonstration or activity, all within the guise of painting South Africa as a host flinging its arms open in invitation to those flocking to its upmarket hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and cocktail lounges, but it does so under the guidance of Sepp Blatter & Friendsâ legal criminal empire called FIFA (wonderfully referred to as THIEFA by the Durban Social Forum). Not only are they expected to benefit from a 2010 windfall of nearly â 1.2 billion, but have already gained over â 1 billion from media rights alone.
The stadia, and areas around the stadia, which were handed over to FIFA for the duration of the tournament (âtax-free cocoonsâ literally creating FIFA-controlled and monitored areas exempt from normal taxation and other State laws), and all routes to and from the stadia have been forcibly cleared of anyone selling non-sanctioned FIFA products and those eking out an existence in squatter camps along airport roads. As such, people who would have banked on World Cup sales to boost their survival incomes are left out in the “trickle down” cold.
FIFA, as sole owner of the World Cup brand and its spin-off products, also has a team of approximately 100 lawyers scouring the country for any unauthorised selling of these products and marketing of the brand. These products are seized and sellers are arrested despite the fact that most in South Africa and on the continent purchase their products from the informal trading sector, as very few have R400 to dole out on team t-shirts and other gear. It has also has effectively gagged journalists with an accreditation clause that prevents media organisations from bringing FIFA into disrepute, clearly compromising freedom of press [5].
The major irony is that soccer was once truly the game of the working class. Viewing games live at stadia was cheap and easily accessible to people who chose to spend 90 minutes forgetting about the daily drudgery of their lives under the boot of the boss and the State. Today, professional football and the World Cup bring exorbitant profits to a small cabal of a global and domestic elite (with billions spent unnecessarily and in a time of a global capitalist crisis) who charge patrons thousands of rands, pounds, euros, etc. every season to watch disgustingly overpaid footballers fall and dive all over manicured pitches at the slightest tug and who squabble, via parasitic agents, over whether or not they are deserving of their huge salaries. A game, which in many respects maintains its aesthetic beauty, has lost its working-class soul and has been reduced to just another set of commodities to be exploited.
Bakunin once said that âpeople go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happyâ. Perhaps, amongst all the blindly nationalistic flag waving and vuvuzela-blowing, we can add sport to his equation and that it might seem easier to forget than to actively partake in combating injustice and inequality. There are many who do, though, and the working class and poor and their organisations are not as malleable to illusion as the government would want to believe. From temporary squatter camp constructions at the doors of the stadia, to mass protest and demonstrations, to countrywide strike action, unsanctioned or not, despite the taunts and jeers and the labels of being âunpatrioticâ, or blanket bans on freedom of speech, we will defiantly make our voices heard to expose the terrible inequalities characterising our society and the global games played at the expense of the lives of those upon whom empires are built and will be, ultimately, destroyed.
Down with the World Cup!
Phansi state repression and divisive nationalism!
Phambili the people’s struggle against exploitation and profiteering!
This statement was issued by the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front
For more information and other articles of critique see:
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?2,40,5,2037
http://antieviction.org.za/
http://www.abahlali.org/
For other articles and statements on the current climate of struggle and repression in South Africa see:
* Landless militants and shack-dwellers under attack in Soweto
* Let Us Fight The Government, Not Each Other
* The poor clashing with the poor over electricity in Soweto
* Police Attack the Landless Peopleâs Movement in eTwatwa, Ekurhuleni: One Person is Dead and another Seriously Injured
* The Homes of Two Landless People’s Movement Leaders Burnt as Police Look On
* The Attack on the Landless Peopleâs Movement Continues
Notes:
1. See Star Business Report, Monday 7th June, 2010
2. http://antieviction.org.za/2010/03/25/telling-the-world-that-neither-this-city-nor-the-world-cup-works-for-us/
3. http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=178399&sn=Detail
4. For article see http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/489.1
5. http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/blog/?p=2336
Related Link: http://www.zabalaza.net
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en
Poor cry foul over World Cup in Durban
Richard Lapper in Durban 7 June 2010
The joggers and surfers are out in the morning sun on Durban’s north shore. But as South Africa’s third biggest city prepares to host its first World Cup match on Sunday, not everybody is happy.
On the freshly paved promenade, fishermen are protesting against an official decision to bar them from a pier where they have made their livelihoods for two decades.
“Do we not exist in this country any more?” asks Khalil Adam, a bearded 30-year-old who says that selling fish provides his main source of income. “All of a sudden we have been ejected off the pier. A council member told me we are too dirty to fish there.”
He adds: “They are putting on a party to tell the world it is a beautiful country, but poor people are being trampled on.”
Campaigners say that about 5,000 subsistence fishermen have been affected by Durban’s decision to exclude them from the pier and nearby areas, as part of a redevelopment project linked to the World Cup.
There are similar stories in other South African cities. Last week, Amnesty International reported that police were expelling homeless people and street traders from “exclusion zones” around football stadiums. People in the Athlone district of Cape Town were moved into bleak temporary housing because their homes were too close to training facilities.
Campaigners in Durban say that many others in the city have been affected by World Cup-related developments which, they allege, are destroying jobs and encouraging crime. “Having worked in the community for years, it is clear to me it will not benefit poor people,” says Desmond D’Sa, who works with the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance. “More and more people are being pushed into poverty.”
Mr D’Sa cites the farmers whose land was taken when Durban built the King Shaka airport for $1bn. They have yet to receive any compensation. Meanwhile, traders in central Durban have been affected by plans to redevelop a market and residents of a slum have been moved from shacks that were judged to be too close to football training grounds.
The fishermen’s case is particularly ironic, say campaigners. Twenty five years ago, anti-apartheid protesters won the right to use the piers after a campaign. “They want to make it all tourist friendly because of the World Cup,” says Max Magnusson, 57, a veteran of that earlier struggle. “They are using it as an excuse to get rid of us.”
World Cup supporters, however, are unapologetic. Obed Mlaba, the mayor of Durban for the past 15 years, says the tournament has given the council the chance to make improvements it has long wanted.
Mr Mlaba, from the ruling African National Congress, says the protesters are seeking to defend the old system.” Society is dynamic but a little bit of it will always be static. Over time they will join with us,” he says.
Critics argue that the city’s new airport and the $450m Moses Mabhida stadium are unnecessary extravagances. After all, an existing 52,000-seat rugby stadium is a stone’s throw from the new facility and Durban already has an airport. But Mr Mlaba sees the new developments as essential for a more dynamic and outward looking modern city. The mayor is already eyeing a possible bid to host the Olympic Games.
“Our role is to ensure that this city becomes as vibrant as possible. We have always wanted to open the beach front,” says Mr Mlaba. “A lot of infrastructure is needed to create jobs for our people.”
But this cuts little ice with campaigners. “There has been no consultation whatsoever,” says Mr D’Sa. “We are not against the World Cup but we think it will bring no improvement to our lives.”
International Labour Conference (ILC) - FIFA drives an Unfair Globalization by violating Workers’ Rights
International Labour Conference (ILC)
On 10 June 2010, 1000 workers’ delegates participating in the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, will present Yellow Cards to FIFA. While the ILC is in session, South Africa will be the first country on the African continent to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the history of that organisation. Both the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) and Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA) insist on the importance of addressing the implications of mega-sporting events not only on the economies of host nations but also on workers’ working conditions.
Mega-sporting events such as the World Cup are seen by nation states as a panacea for economic growth and urban redevelopment. However, the delivery of the event has direct consequences for promoting the Decent Work agenda intensifying workers’ exploitation without changes to their wages and working conditions.
FIFA has consistently evaded social responsibility for wages and working conditions of the tens of thousands of construction workers employed largely in atypical forms of employment.
• FIFA did not meet its obligation for Decent Work!
• 70% of workers were given short term contracts with no job security by Labour Brokers & Sub Contractors leading to a flexible and informal labour market.
• Three workers died at Green Point, Peter Mokaba & Bombela Stadiums.
• Employers gave access to construction sites for organizing after workers went on 26 strikes.
• Workers earned R2500 per month = USD321 while employers made a profit of 218% in 2007.
• Refusal to have genuine Inspection with trade unions.
• Denial of workers’ rights!
In an attempt to promote decent working conditions the BWI launched its campaign for decent work towards and beyond 2010 in South Africa. The intellectual property rights which are supposed to protect the commercial interests of FIFA are at the same time being used by FIFA to undermine trade union efforts to campaign for better working conditions. Campaign material was seized by French customs as the words, “Fifa World Cup” are regarded as intellectual property.
The mandate of the ILO to promote decent work is based on the fundamental principles and values enshrined in its constitution and reaffirmed by the Philadelphia Declaration; Declaration on fundamental rights The socio-economic impact is not the sole responsibility of FIFA but what is certain is the fact that the sheer size and short-term nature of mega-events with its quest for huge profits is an economic phenomenon that cannot be left unchecked and untaxed.
The BWI wishes to record that FIFA has violated the most elementary principles of the ILO Decent Work principles and must be given a Yellow Card! The struggle for decent work continues in the future mega sports event, and in Brazil if FIFA does not change it will get a Red Card!
The campaign is led by the BWI’s South African affiliates and the Labour Research Service (LRS) in partnership with European and global trade unions and NGOs, principally Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA).
CONTACTS :
Building and Wood Workers International: Genevičve Kalina or Wim de Groof Mobile 079 667 66 19
Swiss Labour Assistance: Soltan Dohka Mobile 079 647 53 81
http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=2781&Language=EN
Prisoners hurt in protest over no TV for Cup
Graeme Hosken Crime Reporter 11 June 2010
Twelve juveniles imprisoned outside Pretoria clashed with warders after they embarked on a hunger strike when their demands to have TVs to watch the soccer World Cup opening were apparently not met.
The 12 who went on the hunger strike on Thursday are held at Odi Correctional Centre in Mabopane for various crimes including rape, robbery and theft.
Violence broke out when the convicts barricaded their section A cell with mattresses and threatened to burn down neighbouring cells.
According to prisoners who contacted the Pretoria News after the clashes, warders, armed with batons, charged at the prisoners, beating them over their heads and hands as they clashed with each other.
“It was chaos,” said one young inmate.
He said the violence broke out when those in cell 7 became upset after warders did not bring them a TV “as promised”.
“After the current TVs broke, prisoners were promised portable ones so that they could watch the opening match. When the TVs did not arrive those in the cell refused to eat breakfast until they received what they were promised.
“The warders became angry and started beating and assaulting the prisoners. Three of them had to be taken to nearby Odi Community Hospital for treatment for their injuries,” he said.
Correctional Services spokesman Manelisi Wolela, who confirmed allegations that the protest started over concerns about not having TVs to watch the competition, said an internal inquiry would be conducted alongside a police investigation.
“The investigation will establish the facts about a scuffle between offenders and officials at Odi Correctional Centre which resulted in 12 offenders suffering minor bodily injuries.
“Preliminary reports show that officials had to use their batons to stop the offenders, who blocked the entrance to one communal cell with mattresses while threatening to burn down cells.
“The 12 offenders were taken to the prison’s hospital section for medical treatment. Three were later sent to a local hospital to ascertain the extent of their injuries,” he said.
* This article was originally published on page 3 of The Pretoria News on June 11, 2010
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS INDABA Western Cape
Press Statement on 2010 FIFA World Cup
The Social Movements Indaba of Western Cape (SMI-WC) is a PLATFORM of different community organizations around Cape Peninsula. On implementing the national SMI decisions to organize national joint actions and events, SMI-WC announces its position on the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP held in South Africa.
The World Cup came at a time when the majority of poor South Africans are involved in a nation wide service delivery revolts. The world has been told that South Africa is one of the countries that can host big events freely with out any security risks. Having said that, the world is not told that the country is facing an increasing housing backlog and a sky rocketing rate of unemployment.
Again the world is not told that millions of poor South African living in informal settlements are still using the apartheid bucket toilet system, no flushing toilets and clean running water. The world is also not told that millions of poor South African lives without electricity and many are currently experiencing water and electricity cut – offs.
When South Africa won the bid to host the world cup the nation has been told that world cup will create more jobs for the poor people. And yet the poor street vendors are being removed from selling in the world cup stadiums or they must pay R50 000 registration to be able to sell their local food in the stadiums. The workers who built the stadiums have been given one match ticket to for the world cup as compensation while they’ve already lost their jobs.
Is that job creation or benefit for the South African poor if we cannot even sell our Pap and Vleis for the foreigners to taste the local African foods? Is that a benefit for the poor when millions of Rands are being spent on building world class stadiums while people are living asbestos houses and others with no shelter at all? It that a benefit for the poor when the rail workers could not get 15% increase on their wages while the management increase their salaries with 30% twice a year.
The SMI strongly condemn the South African government’s failure to deliver on the basic services for the poor working class communities while they spend millions of Rands building stadiums instead of houses for the people. The SMI strongly condemns the ANC government for not sticking to its election manifesto promises to build houses, provide electricity and water, and build sanitation and flushing toilets for the poor communities.
As the SMI we are shocked and surprised by the political directions of the ANC government as they reflect the ANC’s neo-liberal GEAR policies. The SMI is also not surprised by the direction of the ANC, never mind its election promises, because we knew that the ANC is no longer a party that serves the interests of the poor, but it is a party of monopoly capital and a party that responds and represents the interests of big business and the ruling class.
It is therefore important that the world must know that while the country is hosting the world cup, it rates number one as the most unequal country in the world. The SMI will not be silent and we will continue to voice our anger and show the outside world that South Africa has never changed.
The SMI is not anti-sport or anti – soccer, but our main concern is that the South African ANC government has spent millions of Rand on world cup preparations while the poor communities and workers at the shop floor could not get houses for their families.
It is out of that understanding that the SMI nationally will be having protest marches to voice our discomfort about the manner at which decisions are taken concerning the use of our resources as the South African Citizens.
The SMI will be targeting local FIFA fan Parks in our townships for protesting in areas such as Mew way Hall in Khayelitsha, Tafelsig sportfield in Mitchel’s plain and many more.
We are calling all progressive organizations and communities to support our protest marches in these areas.
We strongly support the Anti-Privatisation Forum in their march to FNB/ Soccer City stadium to voice our demands and show to the world that the poor people in South Africa do not benefit from the world cup.
For information contact:
Mzi 0787257630
Bells 076 731 6157
POOR’S PROBLEMS ‘BIGGER THAN WORLD CUP’
Reuters
“To the millions of our workers and the poor, their problems are much bigger than the World Cup and they will never surrender their genuine struggles for a living wage in the interests of appeasing ... visitors to our country,” Numsa said.
A strike at logistics group Transnet last month illustrated how the World Cup offers workers leverage. The firm caved in and agreed to a higher pay increase to end a three-week stand-off which disrupted railways and ports.
But a sense of patriotism could see workers baulk at any action that would blight South Africa’s global image as it hosts the soccer tournament for the first time on African soil, said Standard Chartered analyst Razia Khan.
“Threatening to strike at any other point is one thing, threatening to strike when the country is in the international spotlight ... is something else,” said Khan, head of research for Africa at the bank.
“South Africa can’t afford a repeat of May, with the Transnet strike. Workers don’t want to be ... seen as the reason why South Africa disappointed the world with a poor showing. It does somewhat limit their ability to push for wage demands over the course of the World Cup.”
The wage war is already taking its toll on business sentiment, with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) last week citing threats of labour unrest among the reasons for a dip in its confidence index in May.
Sacci said it was concerned that under difficult economic circumstances the country was dogged by “a spate of labour demands for wage rates well in excess of inflation” and that the the demands would negatively impact growth and job creation.
Edited by: Reuters
High court decision delivers a knockout to Fifa Local Organising Committee
The Daily Maverick
Nic Dawes, editor of the Mail & Guardian, must be feeling pleased with himself these days, and so should local media. The newspaper won not one, but two significant legal battles related to the freedom of access to information in as many weeks.
The first media victory was in the Pretoria high court which ordered that a confidential report on Zimbabwe’s 2002 elections be handed to the investigative newspaper, as we’d predicted. The second is equally significant: It relates to all the tenders that the World Cup local organising committee issued and it looks as if the Mail & Guardian will be poring over volumes of documents to see who was granted what, how much and who benefited around the time the final matches will be played.
That’s if there’s no upset regarding security at the Soccer World Cup - incidentally, it was the issue of security that first alerted the M&G to possible tender irregularities at the World Cup LOC. “When covering the Confederation Cup we had a tip-off regarding some of the contracted security providers that were not being properly registered with the relevant authorities, and concerns were raised about impropriety in the tender process,” said M&G editor Nic Dawes. The newspaper requested information from Danny Jordaan’s outfit, but were refused by the LOC, which stated that it was a “private body”.
“We thought that a bit odd given that there are eight ministers on the LOC board which deals with government money, so we submitted a private body request and they refused that as well. The refusal seemed so outrageous and the stakes so substantial, (that) if we didn’t go to court on this one, when were we going to do so?” Dawes said.
On Tuesday, acting Judge Les Morison of the Johannesburg high court ordered that the LOC tender documents be handed over to the M&G within 30 days. While this is a victory for one newspaper, the precedents set out in the legal process are clearly a triumph for journalism in this country.
“Firstly, this judgment sets out in immense detail a lot of precedent on this issue, and secondly some of the tests that need to be applied. It is crucial that it puts in front of both private and public bodies pretty stern sets of tests for them to refuse access to information. Finally, in awarding costs to the M&G, it removes some of the risks related to this process and puts these on the LOC rather than us,” said Dawes. Together with the positive judgment related to the confidential Zimbabwe election records won recently by the paper it makes this a very strong week for freedom of information in South Africa.
Jordaan’s LOC appears to be doing everything in its power to delay the release of the documents. The LOC claims that there are some 1,700 lever-arch files of information and wants to charge M&G hundreds of thousands of rands for access to the papers. “We contend that most of the information is available in electronic form and the LOC can drop off a few DVDs or we can go an collect a few DVDs.” Clearly some of the documents will be of no value, but what the paper’s investigative team will be looking for is which companies were awarded which tenders, how much are they were worth and who the ultimate beneficiaries of those tenders are. The paper’s recently formed Centre for Investigative Journalism, called amaBhugane, will also probe the track records of companies that were awarded tenders.
The issue is highly relevant, given the fact that the security tender process for the Confederations Cup was so badly bungled. Dawes said security, one of the most crucial elements of the Confederations Cup was “not just slipshod, it was appalling”. Two weeks before kick-off security hadn’t even been finalised. “Large and highly competent security firms pulled out because the conditions imposed by the LOC were ridiculous. They ended up using a tiny firm called Chippa Security Services nobody had heard much about. That gave clear cause for concern, if not on grounds of impropriety, then in terms of incompetence.”
Together with Jordaan’s insistence on drawing a veil over the LOC’s financial matters and tender decision-making processes, the security debacle raised a red flag for the M&G. “Government funding into the LOC was in the hundreds of millions and Fifa put in considerably more. There has been a strong local climate of corruption and Fifa doesn’t exactly have an impeccable record. Where people insist on drawing a veil over financial activities and there is a huge intersection of money, political influence and public power, you have to raise concerns.”
The harsh reality is that Fifa fever has the potential to blind South Africans at a time when they should be keeping their eye on the ball. Billions have been pumped into the Soccer World Cup with little benefit evident for ordinary citizens and taxpayers, who are footing the bill delivered by an increasingly corrupt government. It’s highly possible that, as the nation nurses its collective headache from the world’s biggest soccer party, we’ll be waking up to yet another corruption scandal.
Undoubtedly, the M&G will be the paper to pay great attention to in the coming weeks.
By Mandy de Waal
Read the M&G’s story “LOC ‘too busy’ for M&G court battle”. Read Sunday World’s story on World Cup safety woes. Read The Guardian’s article on Sepp Blatter’s nephew benefiting from World Cup ticket sales.
Visit the M&G’s online home for its investigative journalism unit, amaBhugane
Wednesday 9 June, 2010
Superb new multilingual anti-capitalist tune from nomadicwax
Immediate download of World Cup in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
Free Download
International media production company Nomadic Wax (African Underground/Democracy in Dakar) has teamed up with Genoa, Italy’s DJ Nio, Brooklyn’s Funk Nouveau, Blackler Mastering and producer Eliot Leigh to create a one-of-a-kind World Cup-inspired transnational hip-hop collaboration available for free download beginning June 8th 2010. The 12 minute multi-national musical melange features rappers hailing from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, and Europe.
Each of the fifteen international rappers artists featured on the track recorded their verses independently in their own country sending the finished vocal files to Brooklyn New York to be mixed and mastered. “This is the kind of global recording collaboration that could not have even been imagined even ten years ago” said Nomadic Wax Creative Director Magee McIlvaine. “The fact that we can get fifteen of the world’s most talented Emcees to collaborate in this way is incredible. This is just the kind of transnational synergy that get me excited about the potential for international hip-hop to have a major impact on the world stage.”
“World Cup” is the first of it’s kind and explores the complexities and controversies of this historic event: the first ever World Cup to be held in Africa. According to The Economist, “South Africans themselves are grumbling about the eye-wateringly large amounts of money that FIFA…is poised to make, even though South Africa is bearing most of the cost.” Legendary South African emcee Emile YX (Black Noise Crew) used the ‘World Cup’ track as an opportunity to respond to what is currently happening in his hometown of Cape Town, rapping “We’ll foot the bill just so they can foot the ball.” Emile and 15 other artists from a range of nations, including Italy, Brazil, South Africa, Morocco, and Trinidad-Tobago, among others, rap their verses in French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Arabic and explore many of the controversies, benefits, and pitfalls of the historic 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The track was mixed by Eliot Leigh of Funk Nouveau and mastered by Kevin Blackler at Blackler Mastering.
For interviews, media inquiries, or for information about other projects, please contact Nomadic Wax via Ben Herson at (917) 225-8472 or ben@nomadicwax.com, or Magee McIlvane at (301) 467 6406 or magee@nomadicwax.com.
About Nomadic Wax – Nomadic Wax is a fair-trade international record label and production company dedicated to producing and promoting global urban music and media. For more information visit: www.nomadicwax.com.
About DJ Nio – DJ Nio, a.k.a. NioSiddharta, is a member of the Italian underground rap group Zero Plastica. He creates and mixes worldwide hip-hop and reggae music. For more information visit: www.zero-plastica.com.
About Funk Nouveau – Funk Nouveau is an explosive New York City based production duo currently working on a host of major label pop and hip-hop projects. Originally professional DJs, when not working on original songs, they can be found crafting dynamic, electro-influenced dance remixes. For more information visit: www.funknouveau.com. For more information about Eliot Leigh visit: www.eliotleigh.com.
About Blackler Mastering – Blackler Mastering is a state-of-the-art mastering house located in Brooklyn, NY founded by former Sony Music Studios mastering engineer Kevin Blackler. He has mastered such albums as Live by K’naan and featuring Mos Def and Prodigy’s Product of the 80’s. For more information visit: www.blacklermastering.com.
MARCH TOMORROW NEAR SOCCER CITY: THE SOCCER WORLD CUP IS HERE BUT THE POOR CONTINUE TO ‘FEEL’ HARDSHIP
APF 10th June 2010
The Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) and allies will be embarking on a march tomorrow (11th June) to coincide with the opening of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The march will start at 09h00 from Ben Naude Drive, opposite Fons Luminous Combined School Assembly Area and will proceed along the Rand Show Road/Aerodrome Drive towards Soccer City. The APF urges all community and other civil society organisations who share our concerns and who wish to add their voices, to join us. We have no intention of disrupting the World Cup but simply to voice our discontent/concerns.
Despite the APF’s attempts to overturn them, conditions have been imposed by the Johannesburg Metro Police (in the name of ‘national security’) such that the march will not be allowed to proceed to Soccer City itself but will end at a designated ‘speakers corner’ some 1,5 kms away from the stadium. A memorandum of grievances and demands from communities that make up the APF has been drawn up and all the main local, provincial and national government offices have been contacted to come and receive this memorandum.
The Soccer World Cup is here and the official theme is “feel it, it is here”. However, despite the fact that most people love the game of soccer, poor communities are only feeling the hardship of South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup and the neoliberal policies which continue to ensure that poor people remain poor.
The massive amounts of public funds used to build new stadiums and related infrastructure for this World Cup have only served to further deny poor people the development and services they have been struggling for over many years. Millions remain homeless, unemployed and in deep poverty, thousands in poor communities across South Africa continue to be brutally evicted and those struggling to survive (like street vendors) are being denied basic trading rights and are criminalised.
Yet, our government has managed, in a fairly short period of time, to deliver ‘world class’ facilities and infrastructure that the majority of South Africans will never benefit from or be able to enjoy. The APF feels that those who have been so denied, need to show all South Africans as well as the rest of the world who will be tuning into the World Cup, that all is not well in this country, that a month long sporting event cannot and will not be the panacea for our problems. This World Cup is not for the poor – it is the soccer elites of FIFA, the elites of domestic and international corporate capital and the political elites who are making billions and who will be benefiting at the expense of the poor.
For the past fifteen years the majority of South Africans have continued to suffer the inheritances of the apartheid regime and neoliberal macro-economic policies. General living conditions, largely due to a lack of basic services and employment opportunities, have gone from bad to worse to bad. These problems are very real and they range from:
* the huge backlog in formal housing (parallel to the increased growth in shack settlements in all main urban and peri-urban areas)
* lack of access to electrification in many poor areas (upwards of 30% of South Africans – most of whom are poor – remain unelectrified and are forced to use dangerous substitutes such as paraffin and candles)
* a poor quality public education system (in which educational resources are scarce and a serious crises in the provision of basic services at public schools continues)
* a dire lack of proper recreational facilities and programmes in poor communities (contributing to a range of serious social problems, especially amongst the youth)
* the immense number of impoverished, unemployed people across the country (despite the promises of job creation through the World Cup, over 1 million have lost their jobs over the past two years – including those workers casually employed to build the new stadiums - and the real unemployment rate is around 40% - a national crisis!).
The APF wants to make it clear that we love the game of soccer. Soccer is a predominately working class sport that is enjoyed by billions around the globe. But this World Cup does not represent those billions but rather the interests of a small elite who have manipulated the beautiful game and have used this World Cup to make massive profits at the expense of poor ordinary South Africans who, after all, are the ones who have paid – through the public purse – for what so few will enjoy.
South Africa is the most unequal society in the world and we believe that addressing this socio-economic inequality must be the top priority of our country, our government is addressed. One World Cup – no matter how much we enjoy watching soccer – is not going to address or solve our fundamental problems. The more we continue to allow the elites to hide the realities of our country, to falsely claim that this World Cup will provide lasting social unity and leave a positive developmental ‘legacy’ and to spend public funds to do so, the farther we move from confronting the real problems that the majority in our country experience every day of their lives.
For comment/further information contact:
Sithembiso Nhlapo 078 148 0153
dubheza@gmail.com
Mashao Chauke 082 212 6518
chaukemash@gmail.com
Sipho Magudulela 074 938 2145
si.magudulela@webmail.co.za
ANTI PRIVATISATION FORUM 123 VOGAS HOUSE CORNER MOOI AND PRITCHARD, JOHANNESBURG 2000
TEL: 011 333 8334 FAX: 011 333 8335
Website: www.apf.org.za
LCN STATEMENT ON THE SUSPENSION OF THE USAGE OF SIX MONTHS BETWEEN LESOTHO AND SOUTH AFRICA BOARDERGATE(S)
Lesotho Council of NGOs
We, the civil society organisations under the auspices of the Lesotho Council of NGOs (LCN) representing and serving Basotho community organised into several formations countrywide;
Recognising, the geographical location of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa and the subsequent socio-cultural as well as economic interdependence of the nations of the two states;
Aware, of the existing harmonious relations between Lesotho and the post-Apartheid South Africa characterised by the several bilateral agreements, including Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation (JBCC) among others;
Further aware, that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) of which the two countries are members under its regional integration programme has identified the free movement of people of the region as one of the priorities;
Recalling, that the Rt Honourable the Prime Minister and His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki signed an agreement in 2007 in Cape Town South Africa to the facilitate such a free movement between the two countries;
Mindful, of the jubilant mood that covered the whole African continent when Mr. Joseph Sepp Blatter, the President of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) announced that the FIFA 2010 World Cup shall be held in South Africa in 2004;
Believing, that Basotho have a right to fully enjoy the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, because it is an African event, a reality confirmed by His Excellency Happy Mahlangu, the South African High Commissioner in Lesotho who invited Basotho to “Feel it!!! It is here!!!” during the celebration Freedom Day on the 27th April 2010 in Maseru and endorsed by President Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa by inviting all African leaders to the same event;
Surprised, that during this jubilation period;
The government of the Kingdom of Lesotho declares cancelation of the temporary travel document, without having warned users in advance, a decision whose repercussions are to be felt now and in future ;
The government of the Republic of South Africa decides to suspended application of Border Concession popularly known as SIX MONTHS until the end of World Cup games;
Further amazed that the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho denies knowledge of the changes to border concessions;
Therefore resolve as follows:
Publicise the dissatisfaction of the people of Lesotho about the (a) prompt decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Public Safety and Parliamentary Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the use of Temporary Travel Permit (b) decision of the Republic of South Africa on changes to border concessions.
Call upon the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to review its decision, the government of South Africa to allow Basotho free and ordinary movement to South Africa
That failure of the South African government to act immediately, the official opening ceremony of the tournament shall be met with protest in the grounds of South African High Commission right at the time of the celebrations in South Africa;
Government of Lesotho should come out clearly and address the nation on its position towards South African government decision.
Private Bag A445
Maseru 100, Lesotho
Southern Africa
Telephone (+266) 22317205
22325798
Fax (+266) 22310412
House No. 544 E-mail: lecongo@lecongo.org.ls
Hoohlo Extension
Maseru Website:www.lcn.org.ls
SMOKING GIVEN RED CARD AS FIFA KICKS BUTT
eThekwini Health Unit 10 June 2010
Spectators attending the feast of football which is the 2010 FIFA
Soccer World Cup, will have the added pleasure of watching the soccer
in smokeless stadiums as FIFA has banished smoking from the stands.
Smoking is also not allowed on public transport to and from the
venues.
Thousands of locals and visitors will be able to enjoy the matches
without a cloud of somebody else’s smoke hanging around them. Smokers
should be aware that they will be red-carded if they smoke in the
stands.
Spectators have paid good money to enjoy the games with their
families, and it is only right that the non-smoking majority should be
able to do so without having to endure a fog of poison generated by
thoughtless smokers,� says Angela Brown, the eThekwini Municipality�s
Quality Assurance Manager �
The FIFA Stadium Code of Conduct stipulates that smoking is prohibited
in the stadium stands and in the area around the pitch. No one will be
able to smoke in the stands, hospitality suites, or any area from
which the game can be watched.
The smoke-free rules will be strictly enforced by stadium security,
and offenders can expect to be ejected from the stadiums if they do
not comply with the rules.
The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is a celebration of sporting excellence
and healthy lifestyles.
South Africa has world-class stadiums and red-carding cigarettes will
make the venues healthier, cleaner and family friendly.�
Ends
For more information, contact Ms Angela Brown, Quality Assurance
Manager in the eThekwini Health Unit on 031 311 3584 or 083 4598 562
Issued by eThekwini Municipality�s Communications Unit. Contact Sane
Shandu on 031- 311 4806 or e-mail shandusanelisiwe@durban.gov.za
BAFANA BAFANA OPENING MATCH MUST BE ABOUT MAKING A GLOBAL CALL TO END HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND XENOPHOBIA
SACP 10 June 2010
The NATIONAL UNION OF METALWORKERS OF SOUTH AFRICA (Numsa) wishes Bafana Bafana well in its match with Mexico in the official opening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We call on the spectators to enjoy this match as a tribute to the contribution and sacrifices made by Latin American countries in our fights against the imperialist dominance and oppression of the people of Africa.
The metalworkers regard the opening match as important towards strengthening our friendship and solidarity between our two peoples and continents, and South – South solidarity. This friendship and solidarity is crucial in the midst of the global capitalist financial crisis which is mostly being felted by the working class and poor of the two countries and continents. Currently trade unions and trade unionists in Mexico are being harassed and banned by the fascist Mexican regime.
The opening match should serve as defiance to the barbaric, immoral and exploitive Capitalist system, and of which football by its nature promotes communalism and sharing a key element of Socialism.
We call on South Africans, especially the workers and the poor to don their Bafana replica jerseys and blow their Vuvuzela’s aloud as part of appreciating the skill and style of football that will be displayed by the two national teams.
Soccer has been an organizer and unifier during our struggle for national liberation and freedom. It was the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) acting together with the national liberation movement which isolated the fascist Nationalist Party regime by banning South Africa from participating in the world soccer stage. This action by FIFA played a significant and qualitative role in exposing the inhumane and unjust apartheid South Africa and rallied the international community behind the struggle to overthrow the regime.
Over the past prepatory games our Bafana has performed in a satisfactory manner to the jubilation of the majority of our people. This can be attributed to a breath of fresh air at SAFA after years of squabbles within the SAFA. The election of the new leadership has provided our national team and soccer development in the country with unity of purpose and focus.
As Numsa we call on the workers and the general public to rally behind Bafana and fill the stands en masse as they prepare to do the country proud. The technical team, under the tutelage of Parreira, needs the support from our soccer-loving South Africans. These players, products of the working class, have defied all the odds to use their skills to entertain our people.
We call on FIFA and 2010 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to use the opening match and all other games to make a global call to end human trafficking and xenophobia. The poor and developing countries of the world are the most affected by this heinous act. The World Cup games are a deserving platform to make a global call for the ending of human trafficking and child labour as permeated by inhumane and barbaric crisis-ridden Capitalist system.
Mexico given its geographic location and proximity to Haiti and Jamaica is a monumental reminder to odious and malevolent exploitation and trafficking of Africa’s poor to be slaves in the developed countries of the master – the imperialist Britons and Americans. This can be a better tribute that FIFA can give to the late ANC President Oliver Tambo who fought internationally against apartheid and the injustices felt by the people everywhere and anywhere in the world.
Let’s do it for Oliver Tambo by kicking out human trafficking and xenophobia in the world!
Contact: Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson – 083 627 5197 / 073 299 1595
SHAME ON THE GAME
Creamy Ewok Baggends featuring aTari-Logo
Beat production by DJ Veranda-Panda
Executive production by I Robinson
Engineered by Colin Peddie at Sonic Studios, Durban
Mixed and mastered by Mike Sims at The Planet Art
http://soundcloud.com/creamy-ewok-baggends/shame-on-the-game-ewok-mp3
The Khulumani Support group is currently undertaking the prosecution of 5 major corporations complicit in supporting the Apartheid Government of South Africa during the struggle. These same companies are current investors in the FIFA World Cup. This track is part of a Hip Hop compilation being released in June 2010 to create awareness around this apparent lack of justice.
World Cup won’t deter strikers
Carien Du Plessis Political Bureau 28 May 2010
STRIKING workers will not be deterred by the World Cup and will not back down on their demands “in the national interest”, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has said.
Following a meeting of the labour federation’s central executive committee in Joburg yesterday, Vavi told journalists that Cosatu’s interest in improving people’s standard of living was “bigger than the World Cup”.
“The World Cup will come and go, but beyond that we will still face the reality of poverty,” he said.
Vavi also said there was no precedent in law that allowed for the suspension of strikes for the duration of the World Cup.
“(Workers) can’t be asked to moderate while the other fellows (well-paid chief executives) are not moderating at all.
“If we ask the workers to give up their justifiable struggles, what we actually ask for is for inequalities to deepen, and South Africa will go from being one of the most unequal societies in the world to becoming super number one in inequalities,” he said.
Members of Cosatu-affiliated transport union Satawu have been on a wage strike for the past three weeks against employers Transnet and rail agency Prasa.
Electricity
Cosatu has also threatened to go on strike over increasing electricity tariffs.
Vavi said a meeting with the government, business and labour body Nedlac on June 14 - four days after the World Cup kick-off - would determine if workers would down tools.
He said that if no progress was made at the meeting, Cosatu would mobilise its members “for a massive strike” as soon as Nedlac declared the matter had been duly considered.
Last month Cosatu delivered a section 77 notice of its members’ intention to strike over the high electricity tariffs “impacting negatively on the economy”.
Trade union federations Nactu and Fedusa have since joined Cosatu’s action.
Vavi said the first meeting between Nedlac and the government departments, Eskom and other bodies involved was held only on Tuesday “after numerous postponements” due to the unavailability of some respondents.
He said these respondents had committed themselves to giving written responses on the issues raised in the notice before the next meeting was due.
Eskom’s tariff increase of 24.8 percent in the current financial year and 25.8 and 25.9 percent in the two following years has sparked inflation fears.
World Cup terror alert
SA accused of being slow to respond to warnings
STEPHAN HOFSTATTER, SUTHENTIRA GOVENDER and TENESHIA NAIDOO 30 May 2010
South African intelligence services have been accused of being slow to react to warnings of terror threats to the 2010 World Cup.
quote ‘Information confirms that several venues will be targeted, some simultaneously, others at random’ quote
This week, the US Congress counter-terror caucus was briefed on threats to the tournament.
This corroborates what local intelligence sources have told the Sunday Times.
Ronald Sandee, director of the NEFA Foundation, warned the US Congress that:
* Pakistani and Somali militants are running terror training camps in northern Mozambique;
* Trainees from these camps may have crossed into South Africa to join or form cells planning World Cup attacks;
* Surveillance and strike teams planning attacks are well established in South Africa. Terror groups involved include al-Qaeda and their Somalian allies, al-Shahaab; and
* Simultaneous and random attacks are being planned during the World Cup.
Furious efforts are under way to recover lost ground, but some warn these may be too little, too late.
On Wednesday, the National Joint Operational Centre was activated at an undisclosed military base in Pretoria. It is co-ordinating the deployment of all South African security and intelligence structures to ensure a safe World Cup, including 24-hour protection of teams and officials.
According to two insiders, a watch-list of 40 terror suspects has been drawn up.
The Sunday Times has also received two separate accounts of at least one arrest linked to World Cup threats.
Police have neither confirmed nor denied the arrest or watch-list.
Intelligence chiefs contacted, including secret service and crime intelligence bosses Moe Shaik and Mark Hankel, declined to be interviewed. “If you comment too much about intelligence, you undermine it,” said Hankel.
This month, a Saudi army colonel was arrested in Iraq for allegedly plotting with al-Qaeda to attack the World Cup, but, on Wednesday, Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke said an Interpol investigation had exposed the plot as a hoax. The day before, al-Qaeda posted a Web notice denying any involvement in the alleged plot.
But several intelligence sources - as well as briefing papers seen by the Sunday Times - and extensive interviews with security experts and counter-terror analysts suggest that local authorities may be instilling “a false sense of security”, as one analyst put it.
The existence of operational militant training camps in several provinces in South Africa, and of established terror strike cells planning to target the World Cup, was confirmed independently by three sources with direct or indirect access to active intelligence operations.
Two sources separately confirmed the Mozambique camps and presence of both al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab operatives.
One conceded: “It’s impossible to tell. It’s simply unknown if capabilities for large-scale, orchestrated attacks exist.”
But all agreed that concrete plans for attempted attacks exist. “There is no doubt about that.”
Sandee is more forthright. He told the US congress that numerous references were made to World Cup attacks in closed-frequency radio broadcasts and telephone intercepts this month in Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, Pakistan and Yemen.
“Information confirms that several venues will be targeted, some simultaneously, others at random. Reference is also made to the possibility of a kamikaze-type attack.”
NEFA bills itself as an apolitical, non-partisan institute whose researchers include investigative journalists, academics and former intelligence analysts who have worked for the FBI and US Defence Department. Sandee worked as a senior analyst for the Dutch Ministry of Defence’s counter-intelligence section.
He said an al-Qaeda spokesman also warned in a communication intercepted in mid-April that “the South African people should get away, not only from the contest between the US and Britain, but also from those who mocked the prophet Muhammad - Denmark and the Netherlands”.
His briefing notes, seen by the Sunday Times, contained details of three training camps in Nampula and Tete provinces in Mozambique run by Somalis, Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis.
He identifies a Pakistani national suspected of running an al-Qaeda co-ordinating cell that instructs trainees when to move across the border, using a seafood restaurant in South Africa as a front.
Sandee told the Sunday Times on Friday the information he had presented was derived from several intelligence agency sources, as well as NEFA’s own informants on the ground. “I believe there is an 80% chance of an attack,” he concluded.
He agrees with several analysts who believe that until recently South African intelligence bosses were in denial about the level of threat posed to the World Cup.
“Since late last week, there seems to be a change within the leadership of (SA intelligence services),” says Sandee. “But I am afraid that it is too late. How many terror cells can you pick up now, even if you work 25 hours a day?”
Intelligence operatives close to the investigation confirmed that the government started taking threats seriously only earlier this year, after an ad-hoc task team comprising dormant counter-terror experts, military and police intelligence officers and National Intelligence Agency operatives provided briefings on active terror cells.
These cells involved Somalians, granted refugee status, suspected of belonging to al-Shahaab, which the US has confirmed is funded by al-Qaeda.
But mid and lower-ranking operatives complain that their tip-offs and warnings are either being ignored or not being relayed to the top brass.
A source with links to police and crime intelligence said: “All leads by operatives and across agencies, SA and foreign, should be followed vigorously, if only to send the right message, along with much stronger visible security measures. None of this is happening right now, which makes the World Cup more vulnerable than it should be.”
This view is supported by academics and terror analysts. “We will be excellent at reaction, but counter-intelligence is their Achilles’ heal, because there are too many political appointees,” says former naval officer and senior researcher at the SA Institute for International Affairs Frank van Rooyen.
“We are definitely vulnerable to suicide bombers and car bombs. All the signs are there that al-Qaeda is planning one of these attacks on the World Cup.”
Sex workers hope for World Cup bonanza: Pretty youngsters selling their bodies eye foreign currency
BUYEKEZWA MAKWABE - Additional reporting Shanaaz Eggington 30 May 2010
Biting her lip nervously she watches the police leave the room. “Skye”, 26, is sitting on the bed where she would have made just enough money to buy a few days’ groceries. She is a sex worker in a “massage parlour” in Cape Town.
The Sunday Times catches her entertaining a naked man during a “bust” by the city’s vice squad - a unit established almost eight months ago to rid the city streets of sex workers.
On the eve of the World Cup, pretty young faces selling their bodies are sprouting like mushrooms around the city, and sex workers around the country are hoping to rake in foreign currency from tourists.
Turning her face to avoid the cameras, Skye agrees to speak to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity. While she works as a lady of the night, Skye’s family thinks she is baby-sitting.
She doesn’t think she is committing a crime, and has been in the trade for only four months. By day, she is a clerk at a Cape Town factory, earning less than R4000 a month. With eight people to support, her pay is simply not enough.
“My mom lost her job, and basically we’re a big family. No one was working. I’m the only income, and I can’t keep them. I have to support myself and my son. He is five. His dad died in a car crash when he was two. So a few times a week I come in (to the parlour) from 10 to two. My mother would obviously be upset if she found out, but . she will know in her heart that I’m not doing it for fun. I don’t even keep R10 for myself,” she said almost defiantly.
Skye was recruited by a friend who has been a prostitute for eight years.
“I don’t drink, I don’t touch alcohol, but I was drunk when I did it for the first time. I was totally drunk, drunk.
“I can deal in drugs, but I won’t take that risk. I can steal, but I won’t. So this is the only way, the only honest way.”
Skye is hard at work trying to find her mother a job. She sends her CV to “every place I can”.
Her father, she claimed, has not been around since she was a little girl.
Skye’s client, a coffee shop manager and father of three, claimed he opted to use sex workers after his marriage broke down. “Women change,” said the chain-smoking 40-something man.
The massage parlour, which insists all its sex workers get massage qualifications, charges a standard R950 an hour and R1 650 for a night with Skye.
The pretty petite blonde said she would say goodbye to the industry when her family was financially stable.
A few blocks from the massage parlour, other young women are plying their trade on the streets, relying on their wits for protection.
When the Sunday Times accompanied the vice squad, 16 street sex workers were rounded up and profiled. Only four were picked up for the second time. The rest were new faces, including 24-year-old Lauren, who was picked up on Voortrekker Road.
She tried at first to fob off the police by explaining she had so many condoms in her bag because she had such an active sex life. And the blonde wig? She claimed it was a bad hair day.
“For this kind of work, you don’t need a qualification like other jobs. All you need is grade 1,” she said later while holding hands with her friend Alicia.
The vice squad’s spokesman, Neil Arendse, said the squad had noticed a rise in the number of sex workers on Cape Town’s streets.
Arendse said sex workers drawn to prostitution in Cape Town from other provinces were usually lured by boyfriends, who make false promises of employment in the city.
At a suspected brothel operating as an unlicensed guest house, the squad found about six Chinese women with refugee papers and two outside rooms full of used condoms.
At another “guest house”, the squad found a room with porn playing next to the picture of the Virgin Mary. On the wall a price list read: “Strip show: R1200 p/h, lesbian show at R750 p/h, couple threesome R850 p/h.
“Interviewing these ladies has given us the impression - as some have explicitly stated - that they want to make money out of the World Cup, and will stop after,” Arendse said.
Lobby group SWEAT’s spokesman, Vivienne Lalu, said talk of sex workers rolling in the money during the World Cup was mere speculation. “Every day the formal economy is recalculating their potential earnings. So, too, is the informal sector. Obviously, the girls are looking forward to being paid in foreign currency, and hoping to make more money. But it still remains to be seen.”
At the end of the night’s raid one of the sex workers, who was clearly inebriated, called out: “You have wasted my time, officers. Now, when you see me back on the road, I’ll be naked. I need to make money.”
Big jump in street walkers
The City of Cape Town’s vice squad has found that:
* There has been a hike in the number of sex workers in Cape Town. In January and February, the squad recorded 97 “new faces”;
* The majority of the new faces on Cape Town’s streets are South African - and only 11% are foreigners;
* They are between 18 and 30 years old;
* Most of the sex workers do not have a matric qualification;
* The majority are addicted to drugs; and
* 90% of the men found in the brothels are married professionals, including doctors and lawyers.
Traffic-stopping campaign to promote Durban holidays
Suren Naidoo (The Mercury) 1 June 2010
JOBURG traffic is likely to slow to a snail’s pace when bikini-clad babes and hunks in board shorts, carrying surfboards, take to the streets to hand out bottles of sunblock at major intersections.
The initiative is part of a World Cup marketing campaign spearheaded by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and is aimed at convincing the city’s core domestic tourism market to travel to Durban from Gauteng as usual during the World Cup period.
The campaign comes in the wake of the hotel occupancy crisis facing the accommodation industry in Durban and KZN.
Lower-than-anticipated World Cup demand for accommodation in Durban has seen Fifa hospitality affiliate Match hand back more than 60 percent of accommodation it had booked.
The extent of Match’s hand-back has angered local hoteliers, but they are now banding together to fill hotel rooms with those traditional tourists who may have been displaced by the World Cup.
Click here!
Durban chamber general manager Jane Pillay said they had the backing of the eThekwini municipality and the tourism industry to undertake the initiative. “The municipality has been unbelievable in its support in terms of finance and permission to piggy-back on its current ‘Durban: The warmest place to be for 2010’ campaign. We have already contracted TBWA/ Hunt/Lascaris, which handles the city’s World Cup account, and they have come up with some great ideas,” she said.
Brendi Richards, of TBWA/ Hunt/Lascaris, said of the campaign: “Durban and the KZN coastline is the warmest place to be during June/July, while the rest of SA freezes during winter. We want to take that message to not only international World Cup tourists, but local tourists too,” she said.
Richards said there would be information about accommodation on a specially created website, durbanlastminute.co.za, as well as on the free bottles of sunblock and in giant wording on the surfboards.
The website would have a comprehensive list of hotels and B&Bs in Durban with accommodation available during June/July, and has a link on the official Durban World Cup website.
# To contribute to the campaign financially or be listed on the website, contact the Durban chamber’s Jane Pillay at 031....
ANC sees no strikes during World Cup
Reuters 28th May 2010
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress does not expect its labour ally Cosatu to embark on strike action during the soccer World Cup, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said on Friday.
Cosatu said this week it may strike over power price increases during the month-long World Cup, action which could affect the event and embarrass President Jacob Zuma’s government.
“Our understanding is Cosatu has made it clear over and over they are not intending to strike. We take that in good faith that there will not be any strikes during (the) World Cup,” Mantashe told a news briefing in London.
South African transport workers on Thursday ended a three-week strike which disrupted the railways and ports of Africa’s biggest economy.
Economists and the central bank have criticised recent strikes, saying unions are trying to hold the government and state enterprises to ransom by staging walkouts close to the World Cup to extract pay hikes above inflation of 5,1%.
Mantashe said that South Africa was fully prepared for the June 11 to July 11 World Cup.
“We will host the best World Cup ever. People who come to the World Cup will feel the warmth and generosity of the South African people. We want to send this message despite all that is reported in the papers.”
NATIONALISATION NOT PARTY POLICY
Matashe reiterated that the nationalisation of South Africa’s mines is not ANC policy, despite the push of outspoken ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema to have mines taken over by the state.
“At this point of time there is no policy in the ANC that says we will nationalise mines. We emphasise that Malema is president of the youth league but (he) is not dictating the policy of the ANC,” Mantashe said.
Malema said earlier this week that nationalisation of the mines was being discussed by the ANC’s decision-making National Executive Committee.
Although the influence of mining on South Africa’s gross domestic product has declined, especially as gold reserves become exhausted, the sector remains one of the country’s major employers.
Mantashe, in one of his strongest criticisms of Malema yet, said he expected the youth league leader only to talk about policy regarding youth issues and leave policy-making to the ANC.
“We have a message and the message is: ‘No one is bigger than the ANC’. If anyone crosses the line he may have his membership summarily suspended... That goes not just for Malema but for everyone,” Mantashe told Reuters.
Malema was fined R10 000 and had to make a public apology earlier this month after the ANC took disciplinary action against him for defying orders from Zuma to cease making inflammatory and racially tinged comments.
Cops ban ‘education for all’ march
DAVID MACFARLANE & TARRYN HARBOUR 28 May 2010
Sunday Times
Is the government planning to suspend the Constitution and implement an undeclared state of emergency during the 2010 World Cup? This is the question being asked by civil society members outraged that Gauteng police this week banned a march planned for June 10 in support of education for all.
More than 30 local and international organisations united earlier this month to plan the march, which is intended to dovetail with the pledge by President Jacob Zuma and Fifa boss Sepp Blatter to use the football spectacular to promote education for all.
Ironically, police have cited the World Cup as the reason for the ban.
Zuma also announced early this year that he would convene an education summit among heads of state during the tournament. Deepening the irony of the police ban is that among the 30-plus organisations planning the June 10 march is 1Goal, the international movement -- co-chaired by Blatter and run by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) -- that threw its weight behind Zuma’s summit announcement.
Cosatu, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Idasa and the Public Participation in Education Network (PPEN) are among the organisations planning the march, intended to bring a local focus to the GCE’s global campaign centred on 72-million children worldwide who are out of school.
“Education remains deeply divided and unequal in South Africa,” the organisations intending to march announced earlier this month. “Through the march we are saying that a quality and equal public education should not be a commodity for a few but the right of everyone, both here and across the continent.”
The march was to proceed from Johannesburg’s Pieter Roos Park to Constitution Hill, where it was hoped Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga would receive a memorandum of concerns.
But this week, Johannesburg metro police told PPEN coordinator Heidi-Jane Esakov, who had been liaising on behalf of the marchers with the authorities regarding the requirements of the Gatherings Act, that the South African Police Service (SAPS) had instructed that “no protest marches will be allowed” during June and July.
Police then agreed to meet Esakov on Wednesday to discuss this, but cancelled the meeting the day before, saying in an email forwarded to all march organisations: “Our manpower will be used for the Fifa World Cup [and] therefore no marches will be approved.”
On Thursday, several of the organisations intending to march said in a statement, “We are deeply concerned by this suspension of our constitutional right to protest ... Our hard-won constitutional right cannot be taken away by the whim of policemen or politicians ... We regard the [police] action as unconstitutional and are therefore challenging it legally.”
The ban amounts to a “suspension of the Constitution and an imposition of a state of emergency” during the World Cup, PPEN coordinator Salim Vally said. The march was to be peaceful, he added.
Richard Lee, media manager for 1Goal South Africa, said: “We are extremely disappointed the march has been banned. It was an opportunity for South African civil society to make its voice heard before the heads of state summit that we expect to be held on June 11.”
Through Thursday, the Johannesburg metro police’s successive responses to the M&G appeared to soften the hard line it had taken with the marchers.
Metro deputy director André van Loggerenburg first told the M&G on Thursday: “The march is not banned, it’s just not approved. At a provincial commanders meeting in early May, the SAPS requested that, as far as possible, approval for marches during the World Cup not be given, because of the potential for protest and unrest.”
He added: “I’m not exaggerating when I say that all our manpower and resources are concentrated on the World Cup … But we are not unwilling,” he said.
Later, Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Eugene Opperman said, “There’s been a miscommunication. People are saying there’s a total ban on marches, but this is not the case.”
The police will examine each march application to assess threats of security and disruption and the necessary meeting with PPEN should still be held, he said.
SAPS national commissioner General Bheki Cele said metros had the prerogative to approve or deny march applications and the SAPS could only advise them.
Public‑sector unions threaten World Cup strike
PEROSHNI GOVENDER 10 June 2010
South Africa's public‑sector unions, representing about 1,2‑million
workers, have rejected a wage offer by the government and said on
Thursday they could hold a national strike during the Soccer World Cup.
The state employees are the latest workers to threaten industrial action
that could disrupt the world's largest sporting event, being staged for
the first time on African soil, and could embarrass President Jacob Zuma
and his government.
The unions said the workers, including nurses, police officers, teachers
and other government officials such as immigration staff, turned down a
6,2% wage raise, demanding an above‑inflation 8,5% salary increase.
"If the conciliation efforts fail next [week on] Friday, we will have no
choice but to strike in the middle of the World Cup," Manie de Clerq,
secretary general of the Public Servants' Association, told Reuters.
De Clerq said a potential strike could include immigration officials,
leaving the country's ports of entry short‑staffed at a time when
hundreds of thousands of visitors are descending on South Africa for the
tournament.
"It is unfortunate and we don't want to spoil the games, but you can't
give train drivers big increases and ignore state workers," said De
Clerq, referring to above‑inflation increases given to workers at the
country's logistics group, Transnet.
Other union officials said they would strike only if all else failed.
"Strike action is our last resort and we are exploring opportunities,"
said Sizwe Pamla of the National Education Health and Allied Workers'
Union. ‑‑ Reuters
South African unions use World Cup as wage tool
Reuters 9 June 2010
South Africa's labour unions are using the hosting of the 2010 FIFA
World Cup as a bargaining tool to press for above‑inflation pay rises
that could undermine the economy's recovery from a sharp downturn.
The manoeuvre could backfire on workers if struggling companies in
Africa's biggest economy are forced to shed more jobs after nearly
one‑million were lost during last year's recession, the first in nearly
two decades.
While the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), a
crucial ally of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), insists that
workers have nothing to lose by striking during a tournament that it
says offers little economic benefit to the poor, it might be reluctant
to disrupt an event that has ignited national pride.
Cosatu helped President Jacob Zuma to power, but relations with the ANC
have soured of late and the federation has backed its members' demands
for wage rises up to three times the inflation rate, which the
government says are not viable.
"(Cosatu) are able to play hardball at this stage, stare down management
because they are prepared to risk more and at this stage, they are
prepared to risk the World Cup," said independent political analyst Nic
Borain.
"It locks the Zuma administration into a productivity framework that is
hugely negative for employment because labour at this cost, and labour
which is so difficult, is unattractive to investors."
Cosatu affiliate the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
(NUMSA), whose members want a double‑digit pay rise from State power
utility Eskom, said this week that it would not be deterred by what it
called "political blackmail" to hold back from industrial action during
the World Cup.
POOR'S PROBLEMS 'BIGGER THAN WORLD CUP'
"To the millions of our workers and the poor, their problems are much
bigger than the World Cup and they will never surrender their genuine
struggles for a living wage in the interests of appeasing ... visitors
to our country," Numsa said.
A strike at logistics group Transnet last month illustrated how the
World Cup offers workers leverage. The firm caved in and agreed to a
higher pay increase to end a three‑week stand‑off which disrupted
railways and ports.
But a sense of patriotism could see workers baulk at any action that
would blight South Africa's global image as it hosts the soccer
tournament for the first time on African soil, said Standard Chartered
analyst Razia Khan.
"Threatening to strike at any other point is one thing, threatening to
strike when the country is in the international spotlight ... is
something else," said Khan, head of research for Africa at the bank.
"South Africa can't afford a repeat of May, with the Transnet strike.
Workers don't want to be ... seen as the reason why South Africa
disappointed the world with a poor showing. It does somewhat limit their
ability to push for wage demands over the course of the World Cup."
The wage war is already taking its toll on business sentiment, with the
South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) last week citing
threats of labour unrest among the reasons for a dip in its confidence
index in May.
Sacci said it was concerned that under difficult economic circumstances
the country was dogged by "a spate of labour demands for wage rates well
in excess of inflation" and that the the demands would negatively impact
growth and job creation.
Edited by: Reuters
COUNTDOWN: THE RIGHT TO THE CITY CAMPAIGN
Urgent press release Abahlali baseMjondolo 10 June 2010
Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape 21 days ago launched its
campaign ‘the right to the city campaign’ today the world and South
Africans are counting few days before the kick off of the 2010 FiFa
World cup, also Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape is counting
few hours before kick starting its campaign.
Part of the aim of the campaign is to build shacks outside Green Point
soccer stadium at Cape Town, occupying governmental offices, invading
open public spaces within the city and occupying unused hotels, flats
and schools within the City.
Tomorrow, the 11th June 2010 is the first day of our campaign, about
100 members of Abahlali baseMjondolo will meet at Cape Town next to
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) at Keizerngracht Street
at 10:00 from there we will proceed to where our protest is going to
take place.
Our action in terms of South African gatherings Act is viewed as
illegal, as it suggest that we need to notify the police 14 days
before such action but according to us our action is genuine and
legitimate and we see no reason for us to notify them while we are
going to occupy their offices because we refused to be controlled in
any way in our actions.
All media agencies are invited to expose the police and governmental
arrogance towards the poorest of the poor. We want the world to see
how the poor are denied the right to well located land by South
African Government and by the City of Toilets or the ‘Shit City’ (The
City of Cape Town).
For more information please contact Mr. Qona at 076 875 9533 or
Nobantu Goniwe at 078 760 5246
Thousands of fans face World Cup blackout
Remote villages have no TV signal, electricity
Sipho Masondo, The Times, Johannesburg, 7 June 2010
As soccer fever grips South Africa, four Limpopo villages have been
forgotten.
There will be little in the way of World Cup viewing in Mafarafara,
Mahlatsi, Taung and Thokomane, under the jurisdiction of the Greater
Tubatse municipality, in Burgersfort.
The remote villages, which are home to thousands of people, have been
bypassed by development. They are not electrified and cannot receive
television signals because they are in the foothills of the imposing
Makwali and Pakaneng mountains.
The desperately poor villagers are not the only ones in the district
facing a World Cup blackout.
Greater Tubatse municipal manager Simon Malepeng said about 80% of the
region's 66000 households cannot receive television transmissions. Many,
he said, cannot even receive radio broadcasts.
"We have been engaging with the SABC and Sentech [signal provider to the
public broadcaster]. A bit has been done by the SABC and Sentech as far
as radio is concerned."
Malepeng said the municipality has arranged one public viewing site for
villagers, at Moroke. But this is unlikely to be much of a consolation
because Moroke is about 150km away.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the broadcaster had recently
installed low-power transmitters in a handful of rural communities in
inhospitable areas in Northern Cape and Limpopo, but the budget was not
sufficient to pay for coverage for all communities.
Providing signals was Sentech's job, Kganyago added.
But Sentech will not take the blame for overlooking villages in the
Greater Tubatse area. Its mandate, said its spokesman, Nthabeleng
Mokitimi, was to provide signals to areas specified by the public
broadcaster.
Many of the villagers will be able to listen to World Cup matches on
SABC's Thobela FM, but for some even that is a luxury because the
mountains, towering hundreds of metres above them, block signals.
Lawrence Mdluli, 19, of Mafarafara, loves soccer - and Bafana Bafana in
particular - but he is one of the many fans in the area who will not be
able to watch the national team fight for the Cup.
"I love soccer, too much. I want to see the World Cup, but I don't know
what I will do,'' he said.
Mdluli, whose family does not have a television, told The Times that his
family would have saved for a set if they had access to the airwaves and
electricity.
His friend, Thushego Rachoshi, 20, said he would try to watch the
matches at a local tavern that has a satellite dish, a decoder and a
generator.
Malepeng said there was a huge electricity-supply backlog in the region.
"About 27000 households in our municipal area don't have electricity.
It's probably the biggest backlog in the country. We don't have a
licence to dispense electricity, but Eskom told us that they don't have
capacity. Much of their capacity is reserved for the mines around this
region."
But lack of electricity and access to the World Cup are just some of the
problems facing the villagers - there is an acute shortage of housing,
roads and clinics.
While waiting for the fruits of democracy, elderly Alfred Mdluli, from
Mafarafara, might lose his leg. Because of the rough terrain and gravel
roads, Mafarafara, Thokomane and Mahlatsi are serviced by a mobile
clinic in Taung.
To get to Taung, Mdluli, a former miner who has had a leg infection for
several months, has to cross the Tubatse River, which does not have a
bridge. Ironically, Mdluli's makeshift, self-made cable car - which he
set up years ago to help women and children cross the river to get to
the clinic - will not save him. To get to the river, Mdluli has to be
carried then lifted onto the cable car.
"What can I do? I will probably die here, or I will just have my leg
amputated. This is the story of our lives - the ANC government doesn't
care about us. They only care when we have to vote for them."
Mdluli, like most of the people in the region, lives in a makeshift home
constructed of clay bricks. The family has to use a communal tap and a
pit latrine.
Co-operative governance MEC Soviet Legkanyane said there was a shortfall
of 385000 houses in the province.
Lekganyane's spokesman, Clyson Monyale, said most areas in Tubatse had
been earmarked for development.
"There are studies currently going on. Those informal settlements were
not planned. People just settled there," he said.
Roads and transport MEC Pinky Kekana had not respond to requests for
comment by the time of going to press.
DA MP Herman Groenewald said he was shocked that, after 16 years of
democracy, people were still living in such conditions:
"Those people are being stripped of their human dignity. The Zuma
administration must prioritise rural development. Most of this country's
people live in rural areas."
From:
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article492701.ece/Thousands-of-fans-face-World-Cup-blackout
YOU DESERVE TO KNOW ABOUT "FIFA"
Historic World Cup Soccer_Diski
Don't Forget the Memories
Dos and Don'ts of World Cup Branding – South Africa
The 2010 World Cup is widely seen as an unparalleled marketing
opportunity for South Africa and its business community, and it is only
natural for South African businesses to attempt to exploit this
opportunity to its utmost, by using the event to promote their products
and services.
However, FIFA, as the “owner” of the event, is at pains to ensure not
only that the goodwill and reputation attached to the event are not open
to abuse, but that the interests of the official sponsors, who have
entered into agreements with FIFA and who have paid substantial sums of
money for the right to have their names attached to the event, are not
undermined by “ambush marketing”.
“Ambush marketing” is the colloquial term applied to any attempt by a
supplier to associate its products or services with an event, despite
not being an official sponsor. The supplier uses the event as a platform
to promote his brand or product, but without making the financial
investment and the other obligations undertaken by a sponsor.
Protected marks
In order to combat ambush marketing, FIFA has sought to protect all
variations of the South Africa 2010 logo and all the country-specific
logos and symbols of all of the previous football world cup events, as
well as all previous world cup emblems and pictures or drawings of the
FIFA World Cup Trophy and Jules Rimet Cup (the previous World Cup
trophy). As at 6 February 2008, the following marks associated with the
World Cup had been registered by FIFA as trademarks and/or as registered
designs:
• The Official Mascot
• The Official Emblem
• The Official Poster
• 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
• World Cup 2010
• RSA 2010
• Football World Cup
• FIFA World Cup
• South Africa 2010
• SA 2010/ ZA 2010
• 2010 FIFA World Cup
• Soccer World Cup
• World Cup
• South Africa World Cup
• All names of all South African venue cities with the figure “2010”
behind them
• Twenty Ten / 2010
• World Cup South Africa.
Apart from the protection afforded by the registration of the names and
symbols listed above as trademarks, legislation has been enacted in
South Africa specifically in order to provide protection to the
organizers and sponsors of high profile events, like the World Cup, that
are inevitable targets for ambush marketing. One of these measures is
section 15A of the Merchandise Marks Act (the MMA).
What the act states
Section 15A(1) authorises the minister of trade and industry to
designate an event as a “protected event”. Section 15A(2) reads: “For
the period during which an event is protected, no person may use a
trademark in relation to such event in a manner which is calculated to
achieve publicity for that trademark and thereby to derive special
promotional benefit from the event, without the prior authority of the
organizer of the event.” In other words, any attempt by a supplier of
any product or service to use the goodwill generated by the World Cup in
order to promote his own brand, without FIFA’s prior permission, is
prohibited.
A recent judgment granted in FIFA’s favour in the North Gauteng High
Court illustrates the application of Section 15A of the MMA. The
respondent, Metcash Trading Africa (Pty) Limited, had since 1985, sold a
range of lollipops known as “Astor” pops. In December 2004, Metcash
launched a range of lollipops under the name “Astor 2010 pops”. The
packaging and marketing material used by Metcash in relation to the
lollipops, in addition to the date “2010″, featured pictures of soccer
balls and partial depictions of the South African flag.
I am speaking to you as a father, husband and professional businessman,
do you think it is fair that we are being labeled “AMBUSH MARKETERS”?
What country forbids its tax paying citizens the opportunity to share in
the benefits of its children’s efforts. Remember those are our children
playing the game. The greed of the FIFA officials is astonishing. They
even protest the right to use the date of the year in local merchant
advertising. The article speaks about being creative and the benevolence
of FIFA has permitted us to get some of the crumbs off the table, if we
were smart enough,. I am deeply disturbed by this, tell me what you think.
None the less I am a man with great compassion and love for God and
life, I will survive.
Usman Imam administrator
INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM ACTION ALERT
World Cup tender documents to be released
Verashni Pillay 9 June 2010
Days before kick-off, answers to who cashed in on the millions spent on the Soccer World Cup will finally be forthcoming after a Mail & Guardian court victory on Tuesday to access tender documents.
Acting Judge Les Morison ruled in the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday afternoon that the World Cup local organising committee (LOC) must provide the M&G with all tender documents pertaining to contracts awarded for the World Cup and the Confederations Cup within 30 days.
Download the judgement here. (3.7MB)
M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes emphasised that the newspaper was not raining on the World Cup parade.
"We're as excited as anyone else about the World Cup, but we think it's crucial that South Africans have a full picture of where the billions of rands spent staging the Cup have been spent, who has benefited and what the nature of the decision-making processes were in that regard," he said following the court decision.
LOC refusal
The newspaper's legal battle with the LOC and its chief executive, Danny Jordaan, began over the refusal to release any tender documents relating to the tournament. This included the name of companies to which contracts were given and the value of the tenders.
The LOC contended it is a private body and should not have to comply with the requirements of transparency laid down in public procurement legislation.
However, Morison said that the M&G and the public had no way to know if there was any corruption with the awarding of these tenders if the LOC did not provide them with the tender documents.
"Refusing access to these records would enable the organiser of this event to keep from the public eye documents which may disclose evidence of corruption, graft and incompetence in the organisation of the World Cup, or which may disclose that there has been no such malfeasance," the judge said.
Morison awarded costs to the newspaper.
Second victory
The court victory was the second in a week in the M&G's battle for access to information.
On Friday North Gauteng High Court Acting Judge L Sapire ordered the Presidency to hand over a confidential report on the 2002 Zimbabwe election to the M&G within seven days, and to pay the costs of the newspaper's court application.
Read the full judgement
The M&G applied earlier this year for access to a report compiled by judges Dikgang Moseneke and Sisi Khampepe containing their conclusions about the fairness of Zimbabwe's 2002 presidential election.
The M&G contended the report was of enormous public interest, especially given the widespread view that the elections were marred by vote-rigging, intimidation, violence and fraud by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government.
Dawes said that both cases are important as they vindicate our rights of access to information, both as the media and the public.
"[It] sends a message that the Promotion of Access to Information Act is living legislation, rather than a pretty piece of paper," he said.
"We probably should not have had to go to court in either of these cases. We should have been able to succeed on the basis of the legislation. But what these cases do is indicate very clearly to both public and private bodes what their responsibilities are."
www.mg.co.za
While sports fans are filled with anticipation for the FIFA World Cup in
South Africa, there is a side of soccer that FIFA, Nike, adidas, Puma
and others don't want you to know about. The International Labor Rights
Forum and its partners in India and Pakistan have identified ongoing
labor rights violations in the production of soccer balls including
child labor, non-payment of the minimum wage and extensive use of
temporary laborers.
Speak Out Now in Support of Soccer Ball Stitchers
ILRF asks FIFA to use its power as the industry leader to chart a new
course for workers in Pakistan, India, China, Thailand and other places
that stitch soccer balls. In some cases, stitchers are paid barely 1%
of the retail price for a match ball -- this means workers are making $1
for every $100 spent on game day soccer balls. Workers deserve more!
Can you join ILRF to demand that workers be paid enough to send their
children to school AND be granted permanent jobs?
ILRF is calling on the soccer ball industry, especially FIFA, to take
immediate action to address the issues of extremely low wages and
proliferation of temporary workers to improve conditions for the workers
that produce the balls for the 2010 World Cup games.
You can also check out the report released today by ILRF detailing the
abuses faced by workers stitching soccer balls.
http://www.laborrights.org/
ANC YOUTH LEAGUE IS NOT PART OF THE PROGRAMME TO BOYCOTT THE FIFA JUNE 10 CONCERT
ANCYL 2 June 2010
The African National Congress Youth League is not part of the programme
to boycott the June 10 FIFA Concert in Soweto, Orlando Stadium. The ANC
Youth League has had engagements with the Creative Workers Union of
South Africa (CWUSA) and wrote an urgent letter to FIFA, SAFA and the
Presidency requesting audience on our plea that local artists should be
allowed to showcase South Africa’s music and talent during the festivity.
The ANC Youth League’s stance has forever been that we are not opposed
to the inclusion of international artists in the concert, but that South
African and African artists should prominently feature in the concert,
including on prime time slots of the concert. We are of the conviction
that a music festival in Soweto in June should amongst other things
commemorate the struggles of young people who fought against exclusion
that was perpetuated through the imposition of language. The concert
should never be allowed to be a way of excluding South African artists,
particularly locally brewed music such as Kwaito music on an
international platform that comes once in a lifetime.
The ANC Youth League will during the course of this week, meet with
FIFA, the LOC and all relevant stakeholders to raise and emphasise the
point that local artists should be included in the concerts, including
on prime time slots.
Issued by the African National Congress Youth League
Contact Floyd Shivambu, ANC Youth League Spokesperson
S.African calls for W.Cup concert boycott
AFP 1 June 2010
AFP - A South African artists union Tuesday said it was mobilising a
boycott of the FIFA World Cup kick-off concert to protest the large
number of international artists in the line up.
"This is not an African event, we are telling the masses to stay away
from this event," said Oupa Lebogo, general secretary of the Creative
Workers of South Africa.
"We are not calling for violence or protests outside the concert venue,
we just want people to stay away from it," he said.
Tickets for the much anticipated concert have been sold out, with prices
ranging from 450 rand (58 dollars/ 47 euros) to 1,400 rand.
Since the March announcement of the star-studded line up, including
American performers such as Alicia Keys and John Legend, local musicians
have been demanding greater participation.
FIFA has since increased the local acts to seven from three in the
initial list.
The unions also feels that the 450 rand price for the cheapest ticket is
too steep for the ordinary South Africans.
"That amount is more than a weekly wage for many workers in this
country. This is an elitist event which is not intended for the people,"
said Leboga.
Legendary trumpeter, Hugh Masekela and the Grammy Award winning Soweto
Gospel Choir are some of the local headliners.
The concert takes place at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg's historic
Soweto township on June 10 and will be broadcast live worldwide.
FIFA World Cup kick-off concert boycott call by S.African artist union
As the FIFA World Cup is coming closer, all issues surrounding the game
is popping up. Initially it was security concerns now it is the
representation of native artists in the event.
A South African artists union said on Tuesday that it was mobilizing a
boycott of FIFA World Cup Kick-off concert protest the large numbers of
international artists in the line up.
The kick-off concert is scheduled to take place at Orlando Stadium in
Johannesburg’s historic Soweto Township on June 10. It will be broadcast
live worldwide.
General Secretary of the Creative Workers of South Africa Oupa Lebogo
said, “This is not an African event, aw are telling the masses to stay
away from this event.” He added, “We are not calling for violence or
protest outside the concert venue, we just want people to stay away from
it.”
How successful will be the call of boycott, time will tell but for time
being Tickets for the event have been sold out, with price ranging from
450 rand ($58) to 1400 rand.
Since the March announcement of the star-studded line up, including
American performers such as Alicia Keys and John Legend, local musicians
have been demanding greater participation.
To pacify the raising voice of he local artists FIFA has increased the
local acts to seven from three in the initial list.
It is not just the representation of the artist in the much anticipated
event but the price of Ticket is also a big issue. The union feels feels
that the 450 rand price for the cheapest ticket is too steep for the
ordinary South Africans.
"That amount is more than a weekly wage for many workers in this
country. This is an elitist event which is not intended for the people,"
said Leboga.
Legendary trumpeter, Hugh Masekela and the Grammy Award winning Soweto
Gospel Choir are some of the local headliners.
Read here for more related information on
http://www.merinews.com/fifa-worldcup/index.jsp
Article Source: http://articles.webraydian.com/
World Cup pushes out South Africa's poor
Gretchen Wilson 3 June 2010
In Protea South, an informal settlement near Johannesburg, Maureen Mnisi
walks through the mud of her neighborhood to show how locals get
electricity. She points to a slack wire dangling over a tree and leading
into a shack. "It's a illegal connection. And its not safe," she says.
Mnisi lived here since 1988, when apartheid was in full swing. The
long‑awaited shift to democracy has brought her few concrete benefits.
"We've been left out. We don't have water, we don't have toilets, you
know, and all these things."
Mnisi lives just a few miles from Soccer City, a brand‑new stadium built
for the World Cup. Last year, the city of Johannesburg wanted the 6,000
households here to move to another slum with better services, but a lot
further from the city. "We were facing forced relocation, up until we
take our matter to court," Mnisi says.
Locals won the case, but Mnisi and human rights activists say cities
here are pushing out the poor, including settlement dwellers and street
vendors, before the tourists arrive. They say city clean‑up campaigns
put public image before the rights of citizens.
City officials say they're just following tight regulations always
required by Fifa, the powerful international group that runs the World
Cup. Those regulations affect informal traders like people who run food
stalls or sell goods on the street. They won't be allowed to trade
during June and July, because Fifa requires that cities limit such
businesses to protect their sponsors, who spend millions to get those
rights.
At a meeting in Johannesburg, street vendors are meeting to challenge
city bylaws that limit public space during the World Cup. Nkosinathi
Jikeka with StreetNet International, a global network of informal
traders, says "everybody's told that this is our World Cup and that all
of us are going to benefit. But an ordinary person on the street, the
layman, the poor South African, he's not going to benefit."
Jikeka says that unless they get access to the huge market of World Cup
tourists, only big business will come away the winners.
SHACK DWELLERS THREAT TO CUP
Francis Hweshe Wednesday, 2 June 2010
ABAHLALI baseMjondolo (ABM) will set up shacks outside Cape Town’s
stadium on the eve of the World Cup to show the world how they live.
ABM deputy chairperson Mthobeli Zona told Sowetan: “We know the
government will send the police to beat us in front of the media … and
the whole world will know about our struggles.
“We live in dirty and smelling places. We have no jobs. We live shameful
lives. There are no toilets here. There is no electricity. We have to
pay R20 a month or 50c a day to use other people’s toilets,” he said.
Zona said the government should have used the money they spent on the
Gautrain and Bus Rapid Transit system to “relocate shack dwellers to dry
areas. What we don’t want is to be moved to Temporary Relocation Areas
(TRAs).
“The government should put their cats and dogs in TRAs. They make us
sick,” he said.
Another resident in Khayelitsha’s QQ Section, Nobantu Goniwe, said she
would join the demonstration.
Having lived in QQ Section for the past 10 years, Goniwe complained that
many people got tuberculosis because of the “hard living conditions.”
She complained that when Premier Helen Zille visited the area in winter
when it was flooded, she wore gumboots.
“We live here and we don’t have gumboots. I just wish we could swap
places with her,” Goniwe said.
She said the World Cup was not going to bring changes to their community
where unemployment and crime were rife.
Teenagers Azola Zadunge, Thembinkosi Mdumela, and Mananga Mzubongile
said they were excited about the World Cup and would watch the games at
the Khayelitsha fan park. They said the World Cup had not benefited any
youth in their community.
City of Cape Town spokesperson Pieter Cronjé said they would not let
anyone put up a shack.
“The area around the stadium is already under security. It will be
regrettable if people use the World Cup to air their grievances” he said.
Construction workers lose out: 2010 ticket incentive bungled
Colleen Dardagan The Mercury 1 June 2010
HUNDREDS of construction workers who helped build Durban's Moses Mabhida
Stadium stand to lose out on their promised free World Cup match tickets
as Fifa's local organising committee has bungled the allocations.
Last year, President Jacob Zuma and Fifa president Sepp Blatter promised
the workers two free tickets for games in the World Cup stadiums they
helped to build. To date, construction companies have yet to receive all
the treasured passes - while others, who were not eligible, have
received ticket vouchers. They were to redeem the vouchers at ticketing
centres by yesterday.
Cindyanne May, of Group Five - the principal contractor on the Moses
Mabhida construction site - said she had sent the names of more than 5
000 construction workers to the committee, but the ticket allocation
process had been a "mess".
"We were asked to send a comprehensive list of everyone who had worked
on the stadium for three months or longer to the local organising
commitee in October last year, which we did. We went through our entire
access control list and sent it off to our client (the eThekwini
municipality).
"They confirmed the list and sent it to the committee in January... We
received notification from the committee earlier this month that the
letters were ready and that a decision had been taken not to allocate
tickets to senior directors, managers or engineers... the tickets, they
said, were only for hourly workers. We received the vouchers and checked
them against our master list. There aren't vouchers for everybody. We
cannot work out how they did the allocation, as there is no consistency.
Over 600 workers (who should have received tickets) have not received
vouchers and some senior directors and managers who shouldn't have
received tickets, have been allocated two tickets each."
May said the company was now receiving abusive phone calls from irate
workers and sub-contractors whose expectations had been raised. "Twice
we have asked for an explanation from the committee, but we haven't had
any response."
While local organising committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo failed to
respond to e-mailed questions sent by The Mercury, sub-contractors were
fuming.
Warren Butler, the managing director of Rebcon Engineering, said he had
received two tickets for himself, while only some of his employees had
been allocated tickets.
"It just seems so haphazard. Workers on that stadium site sweated blood
and tears, they deserve these tickets," he said.
Rasheed Amod, of Afripile, said none of 60 staff who had worked on the
stadium had received tickets. The same applied to a host of other
sub-contractors contacted by The Mercury. Shannon King, who is in charge
of distributing the vouchers at Group Five, said some of the contracting
companies appeared on the beneficiaries' list and some did not.
World Cup security tight: Police block UK soccer hooligans
Reuters 1 June 2010
British and South African police have foiled an attempt by English
hooligans to sneak into the country for the World Cup via Dubai, the
police minister said yesterday.
Nathi Mthethwa also said about 3 200 identified hooligans had until
today to hand in their passports to British police to prevent them
travelling.
"A month ago some of them were trying to go via Dubai to come to South
Africa and both the South African and UK forces were able to nip them,"
Mthethwa said.
About a dozen hooligans had been intercepted, but he would not give
details of where they were stopped. South African officials have said
they were working closely with British police to prevent hooligans
reaching Africa's first World Cup.
"We really will not take any nonsense this time around... This
commitment by the UK authorities (to ban these hooligans) is not just a
commitment, it is something concrete."
South African police have little experience of hooliganism, which does
not occur at soccer matches locally, and are relying on spotters and
intelligence information from European forces.
The minister said there was no substance to a report in the Sunday Times
saying the chances of a terrorist attack during the tournament could be
as high as 80 percent and that Pakistani and Somali militants were
running training camps in Mozambique.
The paper said some militants might have already crossed into the country.
"There is no specific terrorism threat to South Africa as we speak.
"I don't think our intelligence is weak, we are able to challenge
anybody with our intelligence," Mthethwa said.
But he added that this would not make security forces complacent.
"It would, however, be folly for any country to grandstand and proclaim
that it is immune to terror attacks," he said.
Analysts say although no threats have been identified, the World Cup, as
the globe's most watched sporting event, would be a tempting target for
al-Qaeda and other groups.
Officials have said they were paying particular attention to protecting
eight matches, but have only mentioned one of them - the match in
Rustenburg between England and the US on June 12, the second day of the
tournament.
"The US has been targeted for some time, it will continue to be and it
is not alone. There is this possibility wherever the US is. We have not
taken any chances," Mthethwa said.
He also dismissed threats from white right-wing groups in South Africa,
saying they were being dealt with by police.
Police have recently broken up what they said were right-wing bombing
plots, including a plan by white supremacists to plant explosives in
black townships.
The murder of white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'Blanche last month
stoked tensions. - Reuters
No terror camps here, declares Mozambique
Tor Sellström 2 June 2010
MAPUTO: Mozambican police yesterday denied a report that terrorist
training camps linked to al-Qaeda and the Somali Islamist militia group
Al-Shahaab have been set up in northern Mozambique "to plan World Cup
attacks".
Mozambican police spokes-man Pedro Cossa said: "There are no training
camps for terrorists in Mozambique." - Mercury Correspondent
Making peace through soccer: In Africa, football is much more than just
a game. It has been known tosolve conflicts and promote reconciliation on
the continent, writes Tor Sellström
Tor Sellström (The Mercury) 2 June 2010
Many African leaders continue the tradition of combining football with
politics today. This is notably the case with presidents Paul Kagame of
Rwanda and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, who actively promote the game
in pursuit of reconciliation and unity in their war-torn and deeply
scarred countries.
In both Rwanda and Burundi, football is officially promoted as a vehicle
to heal broken communities and build unity between the Hutu and Tutsi
population groups. In Rwanda, the government's National Unity and
Reconciliation Commission regularly arranges football matches to
reintegrate perpetrators of genocide into the society. In Burundi,
matches have been staged between the armed forces and former rebel
movements.
The use of football for peace, reconciliation and unity is not limited
to the two Central African countries. In the aftermath of the
intra-state wars that so plagued Africa in the 1990s, football has -
often in innovative ways - all over the continent proved to be an
efficient tool for conflict resolution. The UN has recognised this as
part of its expanded peace-building mandate. It has also been noted by
the Regional Economic Communities in Africa.
Numerous football-for-peace initiatives have been launched all over
Africa, often at local level and by divided communities themselves. The
game of football has made, and continues to make, a constructive
contribution towards the maintenance and building of peace in many ways.
The first is in the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration
process after the conclusion of a peace accord, in particular with
regard to demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers. In Liberia
and Sierra Leone, two countries where the parties to the conflicts made
extensive use of children, boys as well as girls, child soldiers were
disarmed with their commanders and other adult combatants. The
subsequent demobilisation and reintegration phases were, however,
separate, with children placed in interim care centres where they could
receive trauma treatment, basic skills training and family reunification
assistance.
Children from opposing factions were often taken to the same centre,
with the potential of causing serious problems. However, placing them in
mixed football teams and organising a competitive league system proved
the best option to avoid conflicts. After some time, the former child
soldiers were more concerned about their teams than about the armed
forces for which they had previously fought. One monitor in Liberia
noted: "Players on the team had come from five different warring
factions. In the war, some had been winners, some losers, but the only
thing they discussed was the tactics for the next game. There had been
no reconciliation workshops, no formal handshakes, no signing of any
treaties, but for this group of young people the war (was) definitely over."
A second area where football in post-conflict situations has been
particularly effective is humanitarian action, notably with regard to
conflict prevention among refugees and by offering a full and meaningful
life to amputees and other victims of war. In the huge Kakuma camp in
northern Kenya, for example, the formation of ethnically mixed football
teams has assisted in breaking down divisive barriers between refugees
from no less than eight African countries.
With regard to healing and rehabilitation of amputees, Liberia and
Sierra Leone are at the forefront. In Liberia, amputee football started
as an initiative of the National Commission for Disarmament,
Reintegration and Rehabilitation and has been highly successful.
As in Sierra Leone, many amputee football clubs have been formed and
several of the players have become stars in their own right.
Thirdly, all over Africa football is increasingly used to promote gender
equality and to empower women. In Rwanda, several organisations have
with this objective in mind designed new approaches to the game. One is
to organise ethnically mixed teams with an equal number of boys and
girls, but where only the girls are allowed to score goals. Highly
successful in traditionally male-dominated environments, the approach
has been replicated in other African countries, such as Mali.
A fourth area, of course, is socio-economic development, in particular
where football is used to promote education and health, including
HIV/Aids awareness. This is an area where there are an abundance of
examples.
Some of Africa's most famous football stars, all of whom will
participate in the forthcoming World Cup, are using their success on the
football field to support their home communities. Michael Essien
promotes health care in Ghana; Samuel Eto'o supports education in
Cameroon; and Nwankwo Kanu has a heart foundation in Nigeria. They are
true role models. So are Didier Drogba and the entire Ivory Coast team
in peace-making.
During the conflict in Ivory Coast, Drogba and his team-mates repeatedly
called on the warring parties to lay down their arms. The Ivorian
captain - who has been appointed a UN Messenger of Peace - behind the
scenes participated in the mediation efforts that resulted in the
Ouagadougou Peace Accord in March, 2007.
Whereas yesterday African political leaders used football for peace and
unity, today African football players approach politics with the same goals.
Let us all "Make Peace Happen!"
# This article draws from the content of a special-issue magazine,
Playing for Peace, published by Accord (The African Centre for the
Constructive Resolution of Disputes) to highlight 'Football for Peace
and Development in Africa'. Tor Sellström is a senior adviser to Accord.
LOC 'too busy' for M&G court battle
Adriaan Basson 24 May 2010
The local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2010 Fifa World Cup is "too
busy organising the World Cup" to provide the Mail & Guardian with
copies of tender documents.
The LOC's advocate Alfred Cockrell told the South Gauteng High Court on
Monday that even if the court grants the M&G access to copies of all
tender documents relating to the tournament, it would be "impossible" to
provide the paper with copies three weeks before the tournament kicks off.
Acting judge Len Morison reserved judgment and said he would attempt to
rule as soon as possible "due to the urgency of the matter".
The opening game of the tournament is on June 11.
Cockrell argued the M&G should not know which service providers
benefited from the LOC through South Africa's hosting of the World Cup
and last year's curtain raiser Confederations Cup tournament.
The LOC contends it is a private body and should not comply with the
requirements of transparency laid down in public procurement legislation.
Earlier in the day, advocate Geoff Budlender SC argued for the M&G that
it was the public's right to know how the LOC spent its money, even if
its budget only partially came from government.
Cockrell argued Fifa was essentially a "Swiss club" and that the hosting
agreement was between Fifa and the South African Football Association
(Safa), and not the South African government.
"Governments don't organise football tournaments, they build railways
and roads," said Cockrell.
He argued that even if the LOC exercised certain public powers, awarding
tenders was not one of them. The LOC, according to him, does not act in
terms of legislation and is not bound by government's procurement laws.
Cockrell said there was other ways for the M&G to obtain documents
relating to World Cup tenders, to which Budlender replied the M&G was
not "litigating for fun". According to Budlender the M&G did precisely
that and ran into a brick wall.
"It shows the LOC's attitude," he added.
In his various responses to the M&G's questions on matters of
procurement, the LOC's spokesperson Rich Mkhondo flatly refused to
divulge any information, saying it was against the committee's policy.
Commenting on Mkhondo's response to the M&G, Morison said it was "pure
spin".
"In the end the fundamental question stay, with all its obligations, can
anyone really say the LOC is performing private functions with a
straight face?" asked Budlender.
Budlender, advocate Kate Hofmeyr and attorney Dario Milo of Webber
Wentzel represented the M&G while Cockrell and attorney Sue Hayes acted
for the LOC.
www.mg.co.za
Researchers dismiss Cup trafficking fears
Stuart Graham 25 May 2010
Sex work researchers have dismissed fears of a massive rise in human
trafficking for the Soccer World Cup, saying cash‑strapped NGOs could be
tagging onto the tournament to win extra resources.
Recent research had found fears of human trafficking had been grossly
exaggerated in the build up to the tournament, Marlize Richter, a
researcher from the University of the Witwatersrand said at a discussion
hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Cape Town on
Monday night.
"I suspect very little of it is done maliciously. The World Cup provides
the opportunity to raise awareness of levels of violence in South
Africa, specifically on women and children. I don't think that makes it
right to perpetuate myths and unsubstantiated claims.
"I think there is an element of resources in the NGO world and if you
can show there is a big threat and that your organisation can provide
for it, then it is in your interests to perhaps spice things up.
"I'm not thinking it is a conspiracy theory or someone out there is
trying to make money for profit. But I do think there is a sense of
getting resources while you can tagging on to the World Cup."
Chandre Gould, a researcher for the ISS who has authored a book on sex
work in Cape Town ‑‑ Sex Work and Human Trafficking in a South African
City ‑‑ said she had encountered very few cases of human trafficking in
her investigation.
'Figures are false'
She said a widely reported figure of 40 000 sex workers being trafficked
into South Africa for the tournament was entirely false.
"That number of 40 000 has no basis in fact. In the World Cup in Germany
and the Olympics in Athens no increase in trafficking was found. There
is no reason to believe South Africa will be any different from Germany
or Athens.
"So we are not anticipating that we will see a dramatic change in
circumstances."
She said very little research had been done on human trafficking. In
Cape Town she found only a handful of cases of women who had been
trafficked.
"We determined a point‑in‑time estimate of the number of sex workers ‑‑
964 in brothels and 245 on the street ‑‑ a total of 1 209.
This means that 0.03% of the population of Cape Town works in the industry.
"Our evidence suggests that while sex workers are often subject to
exploitative or abusive working conditions, very few are forced to sell
sex. Most take up the work because it is a rational choice given its
earning potential."
Another ISS researcher, Gareth Newham, said if policy makers wanted to
deal with the problem they had to have proper research available.
"It is not that these things are not happening, but to deal with the
problem we have proper information available." ‑‑ Sapa
www.mg.co.za
We were conned, Sutcliffe: Angry hoteliers slam Fifa empty rooms
TRIBUNE REPORTERS Sunday Tribune 23 May 2010
ETHEKWINI City Manager Michael Sutcliffe is to hold an urgent meeting
with hoteliers in the city to deal with fears in the hospitality
industry that the World Cup will be a flop.
Sutcliffe ruffled feathers this week when he laid the blame for low
occupany rates in Durban squarely on the shoulders of hotels that had
raised their room rates for the international event starting in three weeks.
Sutcliffe said: "Our rates are higher than Europe, for example, but
there are a number of reasons for this. Unlike Europe, which has a
strong emphasis on casual labour in the hospitality trade, we use a more
permanent, regulated work force, which means labour costs are higher.
"But some hotels have also increased their rates particularly out of
greed over the World Cup, and those hotels should not be complaining
becau se they deserve the low occupancy rate."
Hoteliers slammed Sutcliffe, saying occupancy rates could be as low as
15 percent, rather than the 40 percent they originally feared.
And, this was not because of high tariffs, but rather Fifa's hospitality
agency, Match.
Alan Gooderson, chairman of the Gooderson Leisure Group which runs
beachfront hotels, described Sutcliffe's comments as "ridiculous."
"It's absolute nonsense. We did not put up our tariffs and I certainly
don't think anybody else did."
Gerhard Patzer, East Coast chairman of the Federated Hospitality
Association of SA and the GM of the Hilton Hotel in Durban, said some
establishments had been "very greedy - but they were the minority".
He said hoteliers were pulling out all the stops to reverse the low
occupancy rates in the city.
Patzer said the number of visitors expected for the event had
drastically reduced to 250 000 from expectations of 450 000.
He said massive efforts were under way to attract South Africans to Durban.
Meetings have been held with Tourism KZN and Durban Tourism to devise a
campaign "that tells South Africans that there are rooms in Durban that
are competitively priced".
A key reason for the low occupancy rates is that Match, which is
contracted to handle Fifa's ticketing and accommodation, had returned
"as many as 50 percent or 60 percent" of the rooms booked. "We are going
to see a lot of empty rooms," Patzer said.
This week the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry hit out at Match,
saying it should take full responsibility for the city's predi-cament.
Chairman of the chamber's tourism committee, Mike Jackson, said there
was "huge concern" about the low occupancy rates.
"Last week we called an emergency meeting of the tourism committee. We
thought we would get about 12 people, but ended up with over 50
people... The mood was one of total dismay."
Jackson "totally disagreed" with Sutcliffe's statements, saying prices
were reasonable.
He said four years ago, Match contracted most of Durban's hotel rooms
only to put them back on the market three weeks before the World Cup
because they couldn't fill them. This had left hoteliers in a mad rush
to let rooms out in what is their traditional peak season.
Gooderson said Durban had "the cheapest hotel rate in the whole of the
country". "There was no price hike, if anything, prices have come down,
particularly on the beachfront which has been in turmoil with all the
construction since October.
"We took a hammering in December because of the condition of the
beachfront and we've discounted our tariffs even further. At this point
you'd pay a standard rate, not even an in-season rate for a room during
the World Cup."
Gooderson said his hotels were at less than 45 percent occupancy, which
he blamed on Match.
"They've cocked everything up... It's shocking how we have been conned
by Match."
Gooderson said that an overestimate of visitor numbers by Match as well
as high airfares were the key reasons behind the low occupancy. Hotels
also couldn't take bookings for rooms while Match held them.
Like many other hotel groups in the country, Gooderson said he had been
aggressively targeting locals in an attempt to boost occupancy.
"We have been advertising and telling people to come down to Durban for
a holiday, even if they are not interested in soccer. The rates are dirt
cheap right now."
Sutcliffe's colleague and the head of the council's strategic project
unit, Julie-May Ellingson, said the city had not built anything simply
for 2010, and to do so would have been "stupid beyond belief".
She said officials aimed to host several international events and were
looking to move some of the city's sporting events to the Moses Mabhida
Stadium to sustain interest in the R3.1 billion structure.
Durban will also host several international conferences soon after the
World Cup. Among these is the International Olympic Committee's 123rd
conference at which the winner of the Winter Olympics bid will be announced.
Ellingson is convinced that the developments will allow the city to
counter the post-tournament depression.
Don't expect to get rich out of the World Cup
Zohra Mohamed Teke 23 May 2010
City Manager Mike Sutcliffe has toned down expectations of the World
Cup, saying people should not expect a "sudden windfall" from the
tournament, amid growing concern that forecasts of foreign visitor
numbers may have been too ambitious.
In an interview with the Sunday Tribune, Sutcliffe also dismissed claims
that he had signed away the rights of the city to Fifa, in the wake of a
public backlash at the football body's extraordinary demands on how the
city should function during the month-long event.
However, Sutcliffe admitted that a national strategic committee was
needed for future international events hosted on South African soil,
which would serve as a one-stop shop for all decision-making governing
events.
Lessons
"There is no doubt that there are lessons to be learnt, and we will be
evaluating these after the World Cup," he added.
However, on the question of why Durban lost out to Gauteng in the number
of games being hosted as well as the base for the International
Broadcasting Centre, Sutcliffe played this close to his chest, refusing
to divulge the reasons, except to say, "There's some interesting
reasons, which you can read about in my book which I am writing."
Defending the contract with Fifa, Sutcliffe said there were specific
conditions attached to the event, which formed part of the agreement
between national government, the South African Football Association
(Safa) and Fifa.
"It is not fair to say that the entire city has been hijacked by Fifa.
As part of the deal to host the World Cup, parts of the city fall under
control of Fifa, and obviously they have a mandate to international
sponsors who want maximum commercial benefit out of this.
"As far as our development goes, we did not just agree to the exact
specifications of what Fifa wanted the stadium to look like.
"Instead, we insisted that the stadium must also serve other games after
the World Cup and so we compromised on Fifa's specifications and our
needs," said Sutcliffe.
Tour operators and hoteliers in the city have repeatedly raised concerns
about the low number of visitors to South Africa for the World Cup, with
hotels last week calling it a "crisis" and citing its 40 percent
occupancy rates in the province.
Sutcliffe said he would be meeting representatives of the hotels to
discuss this, but said South Africa's high hotel rates were partly to blame.
High prices
"Our rates are higher than Europe, for example, but there are a number
of reasons for this. Unlike Europe, which has a strong emphasis on
casual labour in the hospitality trade, we use a more permanent,
regulated work force, which means labour costs are higher.
"But some hotels have also increased their rates particularly out of
greed over the World Cup, and those hotels should not be complaining
because they deserve the low occupancy rate," he said.
Fifa announced last month that it expected a much lower visitor turn-out
to South Africa than anticipated, with a figure of 220 000 - a drop of
just over 50 percent of its initial estimate.
Hate attacks may rise again
FARANAAZ PARKER | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 21 May 2010
Following reports that a flood of violence will be unleashed on migrants
and refugees after the World Cup, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
has told the Mail & Guardian that it is monitoring the situation.
On Monday The Guardian newspaper reported that foreign migrants and
refugees in South Africa have been warned to prepare for a wave of
xenophobic attacks as soon as the World Cup ends. This followed a
statement last week from the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in
South Africa (Cormsa), which said that violence against foreign
nationals continues to be a problem, with at least 10 incidents of
xenophobic violence already this year.
Cormsa's statement said many foreigners had expressed their concerns
about threats of post-World Cup violence aimed at them by neighbours,
colleagues, taxi drivers, passersby, nurses, social workers and police
officers. "We are monitoring the situation in certain parts of the
country where cases of violence against foreign nationals continue to be
a cause for concern," NIA spokesperson Brian Dube told the M&G, adding
that the security services believe the threat could be exaggerated.
"We want to reassure all communities that the full might of the law will
be extended to those who continue to engage in these criminal
activities," Dube said.
A Burundian hairdresser, who asked to be called Mariam, told the M&G
about chilling advice a customer had given her. "She said, 'My friend, I
feel sorry for you because after the World Cup you will be killed. So
I'm going to give you some free advice. You must go home. It's not me
but there are an organised few that are being prepared to do that to
you. So when you get your money, keep it so you can go home.'"
Her compatriot, who calls herself Mushia, told the M&G that these
threats have also been extended to South Africans who are sympathetic to
refugees.
She said a Sotho friend who runs a stall at the Yeoville market was
told: "We're preparing the paraffin and matches. We're coming to burn
you too because when we have our meetings, you're not coming."
Cormsa representative Duncan Breen said member organisations from across
the country have been reporting similar threats to refugees. He also
said there are "indications of localised meetings in some areas" and
allegations that "lists of names have been drawn up, including minorities".
Tara Polzer, a researcher in Wits University's forced-migration studies
programme, said that she has seen little evidence of centralised
planning of post-World Cup violence but "the idea is spreading on a
local level; it's being discussed and legitimised by being repeated over
and over again".
There has been some recognition from authorities but no significant
interventions have been put in place to address the factors that sparked
the 2008 attacks, Polzer said.
The key trigger then was competition for leadership positions, she said.
"In some cases elected officials such as ward councillors tried to
solidify their support base by inciting violence and by being seen to
tap into a popular concern. Given that leadership is a key trigger, and
with 2011 local government elections coming up, those forms of
mobilisation could increase."
Clinical psychologist Johanna Kistner said she has heard similar stories
from many of the refugees she works with in the Johannesburg inner city.
They are often threatened with some kind of deadline -- "after the
elections", "after Mandela dies" and now "after the World Cup" -- she
said, admitting that part of it might be panic. "But it's so persistent
and pervasive that we have to take it seriously," she said.
Police ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi said: "The minister has not
been approached officially … If people have been threatened, they need
to report it to the nearest police station. If they [Cormsa] have
information that is legitimate, they must come and engage with us."
A tale of two stadiums
NIREN TOLSI | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 20 May 2010
They have sports heroes on the Cape Flats too. Names of footballers such
as Calvin Peterson, the Valentine brothers, Peter and Kevin, and Neville
"The Athlone Ghost" Londt roll off the tongues of people whose memories
stretch back to apartheid.
These are players revered as much for their skill on the pitch -- at
Athlone stadium, especially -- as they are for their role in the
political fight that was intertwined with sport in South Africa in the
1970s and 1980s.
"We watched and played Sacos [South African Council of Sport] sport here
and discussed the matters of the day, becoming conscientised as
youngsters," says Athlone stadium manager Shahied Adams. "There were
political rallies and you knew you had arrived as a sportsperson if you
got on to this pitch."
Sacos was the radical umbrella body for black sports organisations
during apartheid that propagated the ideal of "no normal sport in an
abnormal society". Led by administrators such as Hassan Howa, it lobbied
successfully for a moratorium on white South African teams playing
international sport as a weapon against apartheid.
"That is why it hurts that Athlone is not a World Cup venue. This
stadium is the home of nonracial sport and nonracialism in Cape Town. If
you wanted the World Cup to reflect South Africa, its history and where
we are now, then Athlone should have been used," said Adams.
Initially touted as a host stadium by both the Western Cape government
and the City of Cape Town, Athlone was discarded in favour of building a
new stadium in Green Point with a R4,5-billion price-tag and a 68
000-spectator capacity, 13 000 of which is temporary seating.
The decision to build the new stadium was at Fifa's insistence: it
preferred the camera-friendly aesthetics of Table Mountain and the
Atlantic Ocean near Green Point over the slums surrounding Athlone.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said she commissioned a study in 2006
to examine the viability of the new stadium and alternative sites:
"Upgrading Newlands rugby stadium was the best option … But I was told
in no uncertain terms by Fifa that it was either Green Point or
Johannesburg. It was either we go ahead with building the new stadium or
Cape Town was going to lose out on the World Cup."
But Cape Town's new stadium is far from Cape Town's playing fields.
In Bonteheuwel, near Athlone, Bluegum United Football Club's
chairperson, Lindsay Daniels, is overseeing the coaching of their
various junior sides: from under-nines to under-17s. With scant
resources -- both for the club and for the impoverished youngsters -- he
is determined to keep football alive.
"Sponsorship for grassroots football is hard to come by," he said. "We
get no money from Safa and we never hear from government departments
like education and sport. We struggle, taking money from our pockets for
kits, balls and training equipment."
It is a common refrain among the numerous football club administrators.
Said Claude Brown, the president of Atlantis Football Association and
Aberdeen FC: "Safa provides training for our administrators and coaches
-- that's great -- but it's hard to stomach things like a R1million
incentive for Bafana to score a goal during the World Cup when we are
getting nothing at grassroots level. And where is the development plan
that should have been in place as a soccer legacy?"
Norman Arendse, president of Safa Cape Town, is candid about the "fatal"
top-down approach to sports administration, which leaves grassroots
structures "with crumbs". But he's also realistic. "Ideally, we should
have upgraded Athlone -- a monument to nonracialism -- and spent that
extra R3-billion to R4-billion on sports infrastructure in the
townships. But that's not how things work."
For Wayne Weitz, the general secretary of Sea Point Swifts, which
celebrate their 90th anniversary this year, football is not merely sport.
"We've nurtured role models and contributed to society during apartheid
through teaching responsibility and political awareness. Now, too, when
kids are faced with things like drugs, gangsterism and negativity all
around, we try to change their lives," said Weitz.
Hawks chief Anwa Dramat is reputed to have been politicised as a young
footballer when learning about Sea Point Swifts' history: the club was
forcibly moved from Sea Point in the 1960s to Green Point because of the
Group Areas Act. Later, they were moved to Athlone and finally to
Bonteheuwel.
Weitz said holding matches at the stadium in Green Point will leave "no
legacy whatsoever for communities where football is played. We can't
afford to go there, or to get tickets."
The organising committee spin doctors and politicians will have us
believe that football will come full circle to Green Point: the first
football match in Cape Town is reputed to have been played there -- but
under Winchester Rules, which allowed the use of hands.
But that is a small circle that excludes those who live and breathe the
game far away from the picturesque surroundings of Table Mountain and
the Atlantic Ocean.
Authorities still in the dark about World Cup terror threat
NIREN TOLSI | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 21 May 2010
South African security agencies were, on Thursday afternoon, still in
the dark over the arrest of alleged terror suspect Abdullah Azzam Saleh
Misfar al-Qahtani in Iraq earlier this week.
In an interview with the Associated Press following his arrest on
Monday, al-Qahtani, a former lieutenant in the Saudi army, admitted to
planning an attack on the Danish and Dutch football teams in South
Africa during the World Cup next month.
But national police spokesperson Colonel Vish Naidoo said: "We are still
waiting for information from the Iraqis. So far nothing has been
forthcoming ... We are taking it seriously though and will be doing our
own research and validation of the threat posed."
This week's arrest coincided with the release of a report by
international intelligence gathering company Strategic Forecasting
(Stratfor) that downplayed the possibility of a jihadist terror attack.
The special report, entitled Security and Africa's World Cup, noted
that, "despite thinly veiled threats from regional jihadists, none of
the major groups [either global or regional] possesses the capability or
the strategic intention to carry out a spectacular attack against a
World Cup venue".
The report found that al-Qaeda's core in Afghanistan and Pakistan had
"not demonstrated an ability to strike outside South Asia for years" and
blamed the "devolution of al-Qaeda prime" by United States military in
the area for "severely hampering" if not disabling its capacity to mount
terror attacks. The report noted that al-Qaeda's more "capable and
active regional nodes" such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the
Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and al-Shabaab in Somalia were focused on
regional acts of destabilisation.
The report also found that al-Qaeda's offshoot in the Arabian Peninsula
-- responsible for the attempt to bring down the NorthWestern Airlines
Flight 253 from Holland to the United States in December last year -- is
the "only one that has demonstrated the ability to strike outside its
region". This group, according to the report, is being closely monitored
and "disrupt[ed] by US military in Yemen". The US authorities are
"working closely with South African officials" for the World Cup.
According to media reports, al-Qahtani is believed to belong to ISI and
alleged attacks were planned in response to previous cartoons by a
Danish artist, which were considered by some Muslims to have denigrated
the image of the Prophet -Muhammad.
'I was cheated!':Token BEE man in Soccer City deal Left out in the cold
White boss 'lived way beyond his means'
ROB ROSE and STEPHAN HOFSTATTER 22 May 2010
Tens of thousands of soccer fans yesterday cheered their way through the
first major game at Soccer City, Johannesburg, the main venue for the
2010 World Cup. But one man was not celebrating.
quote 'My relationship with Johan, despite being a director and
shareholder, was one of master and servant' quote
Meshack Mabalane has gone to court, accusing the company which built
part of the outer shell of the calabash stadium of using fake
empowerment credentials to win the contract.
He alleges Height Safety International used him as a "front" to land
deals to build the facades of World Cup stadiums in Johannesburg,
Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
This is the first time double-dealing has been exposed in the opaque
"sub-contracts" doled out to construction companies as part of the
R17-billion spent building stadiums for the tournament.
The government promised that taxpayers' money spent on stadiums "will
follow the standard practices of broad-based black economic empowerment".
But former partners and employees, backed up by company and court
documents, reveal that while Height Safety boss and former special
forces operative Johan du Toit drove flashy cars, went on regular
hunting trips and moved into a luxurious home, Mabalane - a 20%
shareholder in the company - was being paid between R4000 and R8000 a month.
But Mabalane said "to date, I have received no dividends", despite the
business's success.
Du Toit claimed "Meshack was paid dividends" in the early years. But
this could not be verified from the financial accounts.
"His workers call them (the Du Toits) the Beckhams," said former
business partner, recce and hunting buddy Willem Bezuidenhout. "Johan
lived way beyond his means."
In court papers, Mabalane said: "My relationship with Johan, despite
being a director and shareholder, was one of master and servant."
Du Toit had told him "that I must never question how he runs the business".
"(When I asked) about my right to dividends as a 20% shareholder, he
yelled at me and told me that I knew nothing about business and money,
and that the salary he paid me was more than sufficient."
Du Toit said this week that Mabalane was lying.
"That's not what happened at all. He sat in on every board meeting and,
as a director, he absconded from site (at the Port Elizabeth stadium),
costing us a contract worth R700000," he said. Mabalane denied this.
Du Toit scoffed at claims he was living the high life off company
profits that should have been shared with Mabalane. He admitted Mabalane
was being paid R8000 in 2007, but said that although he (Du Toit) was an
80% shareholder, hewas being paid only R12000 a month.
"(Mabalane) didn't invest any money for his shares, and he wasn't being
paid less money because he was black. There just isn't that kind of
money available."
Du Toit valued the World Cup contracts awarded to Height Safety at
R16.7-million, but said the company was struggling to get payment from
some contractors.
Height Safety's money flows are difficult to track. Company financials
show Height Safety made a R13154 net loss in 2010 and a R159062 net
profit in 2009. But auditors Enslin and Associates warned that because
of poor internal controls, "we could not satisfy ourselves that sales
and cost of sales figures have been kept correctly, accurately and are
complete".
The financials also reveal Height Safety lent hundreds of thousands to
Du Toit and his subsidiary company, Height Safety Training, which owns
his second house.
Du Toit said the company "got no contracts based on our black
empowerment status - we got nothing from Meshack's involvement".
But Mabalane says companies that hired Height Safety had "the incorrect
impression that I was, indeed, reaping benefits (of) economic empowerment".
A number of Du Toit's former partners and employees confirmed that
Mabalane was frozen out of all decision-making processes and was not
given financial statements.
"Johan ran around trying to fabricate his BEE credentials to get the
World Cup contracts," said a former senior employee, who wanted to stay
anonymous. "He knew as long as he put Meshack up front, he would get BEE
contracts. He played that card to the hilt."
Bezuidenhout backs this view. "(Du Toit) told clients we were
BEE-compliant, but Meshack was never consulted about financial
decisions. He had to ask permission for everything. Meshack was done in."
roser@sundaytimes.co.za hofstatters@sundaytimes.co.za
Devil lies in detail of World Cup stadiums: Sub-contracts could harbour a sea of corruption
- as Fifa has discovered
ROBE ROSE and STEPHAN HOFSTATTER 22 May 2010
The fronting dispute at Height Safety International offers a rare
glimpse into the murky world of sub-contracts at the World Cup stadiums.
Grinaker-LTA was the primary contractor that built Soccer City at a cost
to taxpayers of R3.4-billion, but acting CEO Eugene Erasmus says there
could have been "nothing dodgy" in any of the main contracts.
"A committee including the City of Johannesburg, project manager
Phumelela Africa, and Grinaker-LTA scrutinised all tenders before
recommending the winner to the city," he said.
However, this does not hold true for the sub-contracts. In the case of
Soccer City, the committee appointed Italian company Cimolai as the main
contractor for the roof - assessing its credentials at every step.
But Cimolai then appointed Austrian firm Rieder, which in turn appointed
Height Safety International to install the brackets and panels.
At this lower level of sub-contracts, there is no such robust scrutiny.
"We were not involved in the adjudication of Cimolai's selected
sub-contractor, Rieder, nor in the selection of its sub-contractor,
Height Safety International," Erasmus said.
Height Safety CEO Johan du Toit confirmed his company was not appointed
through a tender process, but said its empowerment credentials were
irrelevant to it getting the R10-million Soccer City contract.
"We did not have to submit a tender. We were just appointed," Du Toit said.
Yet, as the court papers in his fight with shareholder Meshak Mabalane
attest, there were concerns about Height Safety's empowerment status,
and whether the 20% held by Mabalane represented a proper BEE stake.
Du Toit said Height Safety was appointed because it was the only company
that could do the job - not because of its empowerment status.
But the lack of transparency in these sub-contracts means this could not
be verified.
When contacted this week, Rieder's South African representative Thomas
Bunker said: "We are not commenting on our sub-contractors, or our
relationship to them, or anything related to this issue."
This highlights a gap in the appointment of companies to
multimillion-rand contracts, paid for with taxpayers' money.
The Sunday Times estimates, based on figures disclosed by
municipalities, suggest that about 30% - more than R6-billion - of the
R17-billion spent to build the stadiums may have been paid to
sub-contractors. According to a City of Johannesburg document on the
World Cup, about R426.8-million of the R3.4-billion had been paid to
"local small sub-contractors, local suppliers and major sub-contractors
with empowered equity status".
"Two-thirds of these 21 major sub-contractors have 50% or more black
shareholding," the document says.
In March, Grant Thornton released a study, estimating that tourists
would spend R13-billion during the World Cup. But Gillian Saunders, the
specialist advisory firm's strategic solutions director, said there was
no sense of how much was being spent on the construction sub-contracts.
"Once a company ... is appointed, there is no requirement on them to
give anyone access to details of the sub-contracts," she said.
Fifa itself has been embarrassed over sub-contracts, notably an
R840-million deal awarded through licensee Global Brands Group to
Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products to produce 2.3 million Zakumi World
Cup mascots.
The Sunday Times exposed how Shanghai Fashion paid youngsters R23 for
13-hour shifts to make the dolls before Global Brands withdrew its
approval.
World Cup hospitals face crisis: Locals will lose out as health authorities
scramble to meet Fifa guidelines
SUBASHNI NAIDOO - Additional reporting by
Prega Govender, Kim Hawkey, Zine George and Agiza Hlongwane
May 22, 2010
As South African health authorities scramble to meet Fifa's World Cup
medical requirements, locals with chronic conditions and those needing
specialist care will lose out.
quote 'We acknowledge there are problems like quality of care, human
resources and drug shortages, but we feel we will be ready' quote
Fifa's guidelines for designated hospitals around the country - which
include keeping wards half empty - will result in long-term patients
removed from their beds and shifted to facilities elsewhere.
Routine referrals to major specialist hospitals have already been
curtailed, if not stopped, until after the World Cup, leaving hundreds
of patients without care for the next two months.
The moves come amid growing concern among emergency medical
professionals that crumbling public hospitals will not cope with mass
casualties in the event of a disaster during the tournament, expected to
attract 300000 fans.
A member of the local organising committee, who declined to be named,
said an emergency with over 200 people injured would be a major challenge.
"There are plans in place which look quite impressive on paper, but not
in real life," he said.
In Durban, three hospital chiefs were fired this week and another took
early retirement.
On Friday, the local organising committee's medical officer, Dr Victor
Ramathesele, admitted that public healthcare was "in crisis" and
hospitals had been asked to block staff leave during the World Cup, keep
as many beds free as possible and "tone down" referrals to
Fifa-designated facilities.
He said one designated private hospital and one state hospital in each
match city had been "set aside", but, in an emergency, other hospitals
would be called on.
"If we have a disaster ... it does not matter whether you have beds or
not - you would have to deal with the disaster."
Military health services would assist "to fill in the gaps".
"We acknowledge there are problems like quality of care, human resources
and drug shortages, but we feel we will be ready."
Minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi said a certain number of beds had to
be "combat ready".
"If you want 40 beds to be empty, you will do that even if it means
postponing elective surgery. Each chief executive of the hospital will
indicate to us how many beds he will be making available," he said.
His department had asked other countries for assistance with emergency
medical services.
The head of trauma at Fifa-designated Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg
Academic Hospital, Professor Jacques Goosen, said locals would
definitely be at risk. But he said beds would not be unnecessarily
cleared in preparation.
"We are planning nothing like that ... (the hospital) is for the people
of South Africa." However, some patients would be discharged in the
event of a disaster.
FIFA ripping off SA`
Voice of the Cape 22 May 2010
With the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup merely a few weeks away, an
investigative reporter based in the UK has said that the Local
Organizing Committee (LOC) should have done more to protect the interest
of ordinary South African citizens. This is according to Andrew Jennings
an investigative journalist based in London. Jennings For the past nine
years he has investigated the sporting body for the past ten years. He
is of the opinion that FIFA was not really able to impose all the rules
it has on South Africa during the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany.
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) this month launched a book
entitled the Player and Referee: Conflicting Interests looks at the
soccer tournament and is a national case study which looks at the issues
within all host provinces as well as the challenges to their
construction of their respective stadia. The case studies have been
examined by six top investigative journalists.
"When you mention the word FIFA we have to have two concepts in mind.
One is the mass of officials around the world who do mostly clerical
work but on top of that there is a tiny super structure- Sepp Blatter
who controls his 24 man executive committee and about a third of them
are involved in bribery and corruption, ticket rackets and diversion of
funds. Not all of them are involved in these activities," explained
Jennings.
Banned
Jennings is also the only journalist to be banned by FIFA President Sepp
Blatter. "Sepp Blatter banned me in April 2003, after I wrote a story in
a London newspaper, disclosing that he pays himself a vast secret bonus-
six figures is Swiss Francs. We never got the precise number. He banned
me because I did this with a legally sworn affidavit from a former
finance director.
"The evidence is perfect, Blatter pays himself money. He will never talk
about what he earns. I defy any reporter anywhere in the world to
actually say to Sepp Blatter and get a truthful answer- how much do you
pay yourself in bonuses, expenses, car allowances and accomadation
allowances", said Jennings.
Jennings said that he would like to see South African reporters gang up
on Blatter when he is in the country for the soccer spectacle, so that
he would be forced to reveal all of these details. He said the same day
the article was published to a media statement was issued which said
that Blatter would sue the London Daily Mail as well as the Jennings. To
date no lawsuit has been brought against the journalist or the newspaper.
Rules
When asked about all the rules and regulations which were put in place
by FIFA for the World Cup in South Africa, Jennings replied that there
was a serious problem in South Africa. "FIFA would never have been
allowed to get these legislations passed to have public authorities
banning street vendors telling you as South Africans what you can and
can't do in your own country.
"I think that you have to look at the local organizing committee and you
have to be putting tough questions Danny Jordaan, Irvan Khoza and the
rest of them. It would appear gentlemen that you have sold South Africa
down the river. Can we talk about it please, because no other country
would put up with this, Germany did not put up with this kind of
repressive behavior in 2006. And if England is successful we certainly
won't put up with this either", explained Jennings.
According to Jennings both the local media as well as the international
media is concerned about the informal sector in South Africa which has
been sidelined by the Soccer World Cup. "Of course Danny Jordaan is
going to say that he has not sold South Africa down the river. Look at
the evidence and make up your own minds. FIFA will make off at the end
of the tournament with billions of dollars", said Jennings.
Ticketing system
He has also slammed the ticketing system which has been used by FIFA for
the World Cup. "Everybody that who wanted to knew that the majority of
the population sadly knows that they do not have access to computer
terminals. The majority of the population does not have plastic credit
cards; they do not have banking accounts. This is a well known to
Jordaan and the other South African officials.
This is even known to the international media. We have visited the
informal settlements, we have visited the townships and we know about
economic deprivation. So why did FIFA go ahead with this insane internet
ticket system. But I can tell you why because it means that they can
hold an awful lot behind to sell on the black market.
When asked if he had documented proof of this he replied that it had
happened in other tournaments on numerous occasions. "It always does
happen. I got hold of the internal Ernst and Young audit report from
2006 Germany World Cup on a Mr. Jack Warner from Trinidad who is the
FIFA Vice President getting 5400 tickets to sell on the black market. I
got the report and the story is now well known."
When asked about the media accreditation and the manner in which FIFA
went about accrediting various media houses in the country, Jennings
replied that once again the Local Organizing Committee should be held
accountable. "I think it worse in South Africa and again you have been
let down by your own football leaders.
"They should be going in to fight on your behalf and say hang on how can
you refuse our community. There should be at least one of our reporters
in there with a microphone. They must be let into the congress to see
FIFA enjoy the money they are extracting from this World Cup. I have
never seen FIFA getting away with so much on a host country.
Mandela as pawn
In his research Jennings indicates that former President Nelson Mandela
and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu were used as pawns in April 2004 by
Jack Warner. "You know as well as any body else in the world that Nelson
Mandela suffered over many decades for his own country, South Africa.
Then when he got off Robben Island and he did that famous walk we all
thought that, that was the end of him being oppressed but it was not.
"He wanted to go on struggling for his country and get the football
tournament. Jack Warner forced Mandela and Tutu who were both very
unwell to go to a jamboree in Trinidad so that he could show off his
prisoners. I think Mandela was treated better while he was imprisoned on
Robben Island," said Jennings.
"He was exhausted; he should not have being flying all that way in the
first place to beg for his country. Then on the day of the vote in
Zurich Warner turns up and demands more face time and Mandela just had
to do as he was told," said Jennings. VOC (Dorianne Arendse)
Fake SWC jerseys swamp SA
11 May 2010
Johannesburg - One month before the Soccer World Cup kick-off, fake
jerseys and souvenirs have swamped South Africa's streets, despite a
clampdown on bogus goods coming mainly from Asia.
Knock-off jerseys for the national team Bafana Bafana, England, Brazil
and Spain are sold freely on the streets, as vendors openly tout for
customers while dodging police.
"There has been a marked surge in fake football merchandise. Most of the
items seized are manufactured in Asia," said Mohamed Khader from Spoor
and Fisher, a law firm representing FIFA.
Since the beginning of the year, customs authorities have confiscated
over R100m worth of counterfeit football apparel coming mainly from
China and other Asian countries.
According to FIFA lawyers, over 100 cases involving counterfeit World
Cup goods had been brought to court since January.
That hasn't deterred vendors in downtown Johannesburg, the country's
business hub, where stalls brandish different national jerseys dangling
from hangers.
Fake jerseys for England or Brazil go for R250 on the streets, while the
authentic shirts sell for R600.
Street-savvy vendors evade police raids by peddling their wares at busy
intersections, enticing passing drivers and pedestrians.
"I won't tell you where I got my stock from but I can tell you that
there is a big demand for all jerseys right now," said a vendor in
Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg.
"Selling the jerseys has put money in my pocket. I know of people who
have been arrested for doing this job but it is worth taking a chance,"
said the man, who did not want to give his name.
Khader said Adidas, which is kitting out many of the teams, was hit the
hardest by cheap imitations.
"In some case these fake products are passed on as the real thing.
Consumers must be very careful about what they are buying. Big brands
like Adidas are not spared," said Khader.
He warned consumers to look out for finer details of the product, like
the quality of the fabric and logos before buying.
According to the Counterfeit Goods Act, conviction for fake goods trade
is punishable by a three-year jail term or a R5 000 fine per item found
in possession.
FIFA-branded memorabilia -- like hats, T-shirts and the green-haired
official mascot Zakumi -- are among the most sought-after items on the
black market.
The host nation's gold and green jersey has also become particularly
popular as the world's biggest sporting tournament draws closer.
Demand for Bafana Bafana jerseys has skyrocketed since September, when
the Football Friday initiative was launched to encourage locals to show
their support for the team by wearing the jersey on Fridays.
While FIFA frets over the fake goods, the official merchandise has
raised the ire of unions who complain that the multi-coloured national
flags and the Zakumi mascot are made in China.
The country's largest union federation, Cosatu, says outsourcing from
foreign firms deprived locals of jobs.
In February, reports of the mascot being produced in a Chinese sweatshop
employing children rocked FIFA, prompting an investigation into the
factory's work conditions and a temporary suspension of its production.
Cosatu, spokesperson Patrick Craven said the union would encourage the
South African public to boycott any World Cup goods not produced locally.
"Local companies have lost out, Chinese companies have emerged as big
winners.
The Brendan Jack unofficial, Fifa-unendorsed guide to the 2010 Soccer
World Cup
Daily Maverick
Sepp Blatter’s spectacle is here. Just about. Which means intrepid
tourists - unfazed by mild insurrections, crumbling roads, strikes,
crime or the myriad botherations that make South Africa wonderfully
unique - are packing. Here’s what to pack, where to go and how to
apologise for colonialism.
The sundry foreigners readying themselves to head to South Africa for
the 2010 Fifa World Cup must be facing a quandary. Do they bring a
mini-generator with? What local phrases should they learn? And exactly
how do you play a vuvuzela with a lion chasing you down a suburban street?
Following his groundbreaking documentary “Krugersdorp – City of the New
Future”, The Daily Maverick asked Brendan Jack for advice. A writer,
producer, director and comedian who dreams of working for world peace
with Bono, Jack is the star of “Crazy Monkey”, “Straight Outta Benoni”
and “Footskating 101”.
Daily Maverick: How many local languages do foreigners need to know to
get by?
Brendan Jack: You'll only need to speak in Rands. Currency is our most
widely understood language.
DM: What local phrases could be useful?
BJ: "Sorry we tried to colonise you. Our bad."
"Can I just pay a spot fine for talking on my cellphone while driving?"
"Do you sell any bigger wooden giraffe statues than this one?"
"I'm from Namibia, don't charge me European prices."
DM: What should tourists bring with?
BJ: Evian water. It's expensive here. A passport.
DM: What can first-time tourists to South Africa expect?
BJ: Malls. Spanish flags on cars. Animals roaming freely - in zoos and
game reserves. Fellow Americans.
DM: How can tourists ensure they don’t fall foul of Fifa?
BJ: Bring sunscreen in case they confiscate your non-Fifa sanctioned
sports cap.
Fifa will be monitoring you at all times. Fifa is your friend.
DM: Are there special procedures for paying homage to Sepp Blatter?
BJ: There's the Sepp Blatter tribute dance, which you'll learn on
arrival at the airport.
You could also friend him on Facebook and send him encouraging messages.
DM: What lesser-known local attractions could hold appeal?
BJ: The Owl House in the Sneeuberg Mountains. Knysna Forest - aka Middle
Earth. (Before it was changed to New Zealand.)
DM: What about undiscovered attractions?
BJ: The Bunny Park in Benoni has more bunnies than the Playboy Mansion,
except the whole family can go. The Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in
Roodepoort is great for a picnic or a drink before work. There's a very
rural golf course near Victoria West in the Karoo. You carry around and
play off Astroturf mats. Phone them for directions. And then there’s De
Aar. Because wherever you go, there De Aar.
There’s Charlize's old house in Benoni. Not that interesting, but it's
the birthplace of SA's Marilyn Monroe. The Lakeside Mall in Benoni. It
looks like a Mississippi riverboat and has a mine dump next to it.
There's also an overgrown park nearby, where you can organise liaisons
with strangers on MXit from Durban Deep in Roodepoort. The Wisteria Lane
of Footskating. Just leave before nightfall.
DM: Any places foreigners should avoid?
BJ: Kabul.
DM: What basic political knowledge should visitors know about?
BJ: You only need to know the words “Julius Malema” to set South
Africans off on a 10-minute rant. Once finished, the aforementioned
South African will feel that you've bonded politically.
DM: How will foreigners know the difference between Jacob Zuma and
Julius Malema?
BJ: One of them will be spraying champagne on the working class as you
speak.
DM: What must visitors know about the vuvuzela?
BJ: The thin side goes in your mouth. It’s impossible to play more than
one note and it’s said to be even more difficult to master than the
French Horn.
DM: How can visitors soak up South African culture?
BJ: From an air-conditioned hotel-supplied van shuttling them to the
stadium.
DM: Any special dress code so that the foreigners can fit in?
BJ: White tourists should wear Madiba shirts. You won't stand out at
all. Also, Panama hats and moonbags (the Yanks call them fanny packs)
will help you become “invisible” to locals. For the Brits, a shirtless
look with crab-apple red skin seems to be popular.
DM: South African wines are an obvious choice, what about lesser known
beverages and cuisine?
BJ: Pre-mixed Brandy-and-Coke takes the guesswork out of pouring it
yourself. Nik Naks chips and a boerie roll - served on a paper plate.
Afval, which is basically intestines. There's a reason it sounds awful,
but if you want something different...
DM: What do visitors need to know about our local currency?
BJ: It's easier to pay in war bonds than with R200 notes.
DM: How can visitors take a little bit of Africa back home with them?
BJ: If you're famous, then via an adoption agency. Also, buy an overly
long wooden giraffe statue that doesn't fit into carry-on luggage.
Unfortunately, we don't make convenient mementos like snow globes.
Mostly because we don't get snow.
By Mandy de Waal.
The underbelly of world football
Andrew Jennings talks to Sally Evans about his damning exposé of Sepp
Blatter & Fifa
Sally Evans 20 May 2010
The Big Interview: With only 20 days to go before we host the world's
biggest sporting event, there's no turning back.
quote 'South Africa bent over and let Fifa have their way' quote
But when the final whistle has blown, the dust settled and all our
guests from hither and thon have returned thither and yon, discarding
their vuvuzelas on the way to the airport, will we find that it has all
been worth it?
In the past year, there have been hundreds of reports of people falling
foul of the rules and regulations governing the soccer World Cup - a
brand fiercely and brutally protected by Fifa, which, since it was
founded exactly 106 years ago today, has become one of the world's most
secretive and perhaps most powerful organisations.
Fifa's glory is on the field, under the bright lights of our amazing new
stadiums, but its shame lurks in the shadows, and there's no one who
knows the darker side of Fifa better than British investigative sports
reporter Andrew Jennings.
Jennings has spent three decades exposing the corruption and greed that
has come to define some of the world's biggest sporting organisations.
Consequently, he has the rare privilege of being the only reporter in
the world banned from Fifa media briefings.
Speaking from his home in Manchester, in the UK, Jennings said his first
encounter with sports investigations was by chance: he "stumbled into
the International Olympic Committee".
"I discovered that the IOC's president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, was a
fascist under [long-time Spanish dictator Gen Francisco] Franco - and
that the only exercise he had ever done was raising his right arm. It
was then that I started delving into the IOC's national executive
committee, and I learnt a lot. I wrote three books on the buggers!"
Jennings caused such a ruckus with his exposé on the Olympic body's
"blue-shirted" leader that he was jailed for five days in Lausanne,
Switzerland. It was this that catapulted him into the world of Fifa.
"The IOC and Fifa had a common link: International Sport and Leisure.
The company was Fifa's former marketing partner but went insolvent amid
allegations that it was bribing Fifa officials to secure lucrative
contracts for marketing and television rights. The kickbacks for Fifa
were fantastic. I didn't want to investigate Fifa, but I knew something
was there."
On the subject of Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, Jennings does not hold
back.
"Herr Blatter!" he jokes, adding: "He doesn't like it when you call him
that ."
Since South Africa won the bid in 2004 to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup,
we have become accustomed to Blatter's face on our televisions:
kowtowing to former president Nelson Mandela, cutting ribbons at new
sports facilities in poor townships and, of course, assuring us that "we
are on schedule".
In his acclaimed book Foul! Jennings gets straight to the point on our
successful bid.
"One candidate for 2010 had something Jack Warner - a Fifa executive
from Trinidad and Tobago, notorious for allegedly defrauding that
country's soccer team of millions of pounds in 2006 - wanted more than
anything else: Nelson Mandela. And if they wanted his vote, Jack had to
have his pound of Mandela's flesh [access to Madiba]."
Jennings has devoted much of his time to investigating Warner's alleged
corruption and nepotism.
"He is a horrible, horrible thief."
Jennings explains that 13 players from the national Trinidad side, the
Soca Warriors, which qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, are
still owed money by Warner, the head of their national soccer federation.
The players were each paid about 500 Trinidad pounds, but it came out
later that the Trinidad and Tobago soccer federation had made 15million
pounds.
In May 2008, a UK court ruled against Warner and ordered that the
players be compensated - but this has yet to happen.
But that's Warner. How is Blatter, the man who will be moving in for a
month to run our country, perceived internationally?
Jennings says: "Well, it's not for nothing that he has been booed at the
last two World Cups. Your country is being exploited. The profits of the
World Cup won't trickle down - they won't go to anyone except Fifa.
"Have Fifa's soccer grants been properly applied?" Jennings asks. "No.
Blatter looks for officials who can be corrupted. He is a very good
politician."
One of the main bones of contention in the hosting of this World Cup has
been the price of transport and accommodation.
"When the lights went out at Lehman Brothers, everyone took a big hit.
Because of the financial crisis, corporate and ordinary fans didn't have
the resources to pay silly money for hospitality packages."
The problem, Jennings says, is that the exclusive holder of the official
hospitality programme, Match Hospitality, "has milked the fans".
Blatter's nephew, Philippe, is a partner in the company.
"Paying $755 for a return domestic flight is not going to happen this
time. It is too late, people decided last year that they weren't coming.
Transport and hospitality got the shaft; these come before violence as a
deterring factor. People just can't afford it.
"Not even the American wholesaler could sell the overpriced hospitality
packages. For Match it's just greed, greed, greed.
"What matters is the percentage of the commissions they make. So they
push the prices higher to make a bigger commission. But the corporates
won't spend money in this economic climate."
But aren't Fifa and the local organising committee constantly assuring
us that there are hardly any tickets left?
"Well, your municipalities are buying tickets. They tell you there are
no empty seats because we have to believe there is a scarcity value;
there has been a political move to cover up the scandal. Blatter is
dishing out tickets to the unemployed - you are going to get screwed."
Jennings insists, in no uncertain terms, that Fifa, Match and the local
organising committee have "screwed" us and that any profit made from the
event "stays in Zurich", where Fifa has its headquarters.
"South Africa bent over and let Fifa have their way. Officials and the
government have sold South Africa down the river: 'Bye Africa, bye
suckers!'"
For visitors from the northern hemisphere, he adds: "Trading one winter
for another is not all that appealing."
According to Jennings, after the final whistle blows, South Africans
have nothing to look forward to but a mountain of scandal, debt and - in
our shiny new, expensive stadiums - some rather large white elephants.
|
