THEME: THE 2010 SOCCER WORLD CUP AND THE
SUPPORT OF THE dplg TO THE 9 HOST
CITIES.
Honourable Co-Chairpersons, Mr S L Tsenoli and Mr B M Komphela
Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committees on Provincial and Local
Government and Sport and Recreation,
Honourable members of Provincial Legislatures,
Colleagues from the national department of Foreign Affairs,
Colleagues and 2010 Co-ordinators from Host Cities: Bloemfontein, Cape
Town, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mbombela, Nelson Mandela, Polokwane, Rustenburg
and Tshwane;
Representatives of the Private Sector:
Vodacom – Mr Peter Matlare, Mr Mthobi Tyamzashe and Mr Edwin Roberts of
ABSA;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I would like to preface our presentation on the
subject of the 2010 Soccer World Cup with a reference to what our President, Mr
Thabo Mbeki said last month, on the 7th July 2006 in Berlin and with
reference to the Soccer World Cup in Germany:
“We are confident that the
2010 Soccer World Cup will do the same to consolidate our self-respect and
dignity gained when we attained our freedom and democracy in 1994 and in a
unique way help our own nation and the continent of Africa also to bask in the
‘Miracle of South Africa’.”
This is the context within which we view the
importance of the oncoming Soccer World Cup.
Honourable Chairpersons,
You will be aware that with regard to this
international event, the recent July 2006 Extended Cabinet Lekgotla confirmed Government’s commitment to work with all
partners of society to focus on specific areas, as indicated below:
·
Ensuring that infrastructure
projects are completed on time and undertaken with confidence and efficiency;
·
Ensuring common action across the
three spheres of Government, State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), big and small
business, the football authorities and across society as a whole;
·
Encouraging the development and
implementation of a vision for the national soccer team;
·
Monitoring preparations and
implementation of the security strategy and transport plan and communicating
them widely to ensure that SA and the world appreciate this work; and
·
Promoting international marketing on
a massive scale to take advantage of this unique opportunity to improve
perceptions of our country and continent.
ROLE OF THE dplg
The approach of the dplg is
informed by the sustainable development trajectory that we are pursuing for the
benefit of local communities. Noting
the government-wide plan in support of the local sphere of Government during
this term (2006~2011), the dplg
intends to provide hands-on support to cities that will host the 2010 Soccer
World Cup. This support will be
targeted in the following areas:
(i) Policy and strategic direction with
regard to Provincial and Local Government matters;
(ii) Provision of infrastructure
and institutional support systems;
and
(iii) Contribution towards co-ordination
and integration efforts of Government
as a whole.
POLICY
AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION WITH REGARD TO PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATTERS
The
dplg has prepared a practical governance checklist for purposes of
evaluating the implementation plans of the Host Cities. Amongst others, this plan seeks to alert
Host Cities as to the refinement of their five-year Integrated Development
Plans.
You
will also remember Honourable Chairpersons that we have recently provided an
IDP Credibility Framework that can be used by the provincial and national
spheres of government in support of the local sphere.
The
governance checklist further identifies the need for a budget review to
accommodate a municipality’s spending on 2010 projects. The dplg intends to provide
appropriate support in this regard, working together with National Treasury.
Other
aspects of governance support relate to the review and refinement of by-laws as
we seek to create an enabling regulatory environment for the hosting of the
2010 Soccer World Cup.
PROVISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE
AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEMS
The
provision of infrastructure, disaster management and institutional support
systems will in the normal course of municipal governance, these local
institutions have a constitutional mandate to work with the other spheres of
Government in providing economic and social infrastructure.
The
hosting of the World Cup in Cities implies that municipal infrastructure plans
and investment for the development of these municipalities must be
comprehensive and create programmes directed for the development of new
infrastructure, upgrading, rehabilitation as well as such public investments
having the potential of crowding in private sector investments.
Infrastructure and institutional support
Today, you will be
informed by individual Host Cities on the extent to which they have developed
preliminary designs, cost estimates and business cases associated with the
development and upgrading of new and existing stadia. These will be assessed by National Treasury and the Department
of Sport and Recreation with the support of the Development Bank of Southern
Africa (DBSA), for consideration in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(MTEF) process. This funding will
complement the current allocations that have been allocated to Host Cities
through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.
The DBSA has been
appointed by National Treasury to be a fund manager that will process
disbursements and observe both the Municipal and the Public Finance Management
Acts (MFMA and PFMA). This disbursement process has already started and we hope
that in the short to medium term all the financial implications for the South
African Government will be reasonably addressed. Further details in this regard will be pronounced through the
Ministry of Finance and in the context of the Medium Term Strategic and
Expenditure Frameworks (MTSF and MTEF).
In order to govern
the relationships between the DBSA and Host Cities, funding plan agreements
have been entered with all of the cities with the exception of the Royal
Bafokeng and FNB Stadia. A legal due
diligence process is currently being undertaken on all of the privately owned
stadia to assist in decision-making processes regarding the flow of funds to
these entities and other related matters.
Disaster and contingency planning
In preparation for
the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the support to Host Cities on Disaster Management
Systems cannot be over-emphasized. It
is our department’s view that as stakeholders engage in programmes directed at
the success of this event, South Africa must utilise and enforce existing
disaster management legislation.
Honourable
Chairpersons,
The aim of the
Disaster Management Act, which came into effect in 2004, is to ensure a uniform
approach to Disaster Risk Management within and across all three spheres of
Government. In addition to this Act,
the National Disaster Management Framework was published in 2005 to address the
need for consistency across multiple interest groups and provide a ‘coherent,
transparent and inclusive policy on disaster management appropriate for the
Republic as a whole’.
The Disaster
Management Act and Framework provides, for amongst other things, the
establishment of Disaster Management Centres, the completion of Risk
Assessments, the development of Disaster Management Plans and the upgrading of
Fire Brigade Services.
The totality of
this legislative and policy framework recognises the diversity of risks and
disasters that occur in Southern Africa, and gives priority to developmental
measures that reduce the vulnerability of disaster-prone areas, communities and
households. In keeping with
international best practice, the national disaster management framework places
explicit emphasis on disaster prevention and mitigation as the core principles
that should guide disaster risk management in South Africa.
In all, the role of
the dplg through the National Disaster Management Centre will primarily
be to provide support and co-ordinate mechanisms for the implementation of this
legislation as we prepare for high levels of alert during this very important
international event.
CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS
CO-ORDINATION AND INTEGRATION EFFORTS OF GOVERNMENT AS A WHOLE
The
organisational structure for the 2010 World Cup identifies the key stakeholders
in the implementation of this programme.
The political co-ordination takes place through the Inter-Ministerial
Committee for 2010 that is chaired by the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The supporting team is referred to as the
Technical Co-ordination Committee, and is chaired by the Deputy Minister for
Finance.
Honourable
Chairpersons,
In
addition to the Departments of Sport and Recreation, Finance and the dplg, there are a number of
policy and support programmes that will be offered by the various Sector
Departments that are located within the five Clusters of Government. These include the following:
(i)
International Relations: Foreign Affairs;
(ii)
Justice, Crime Prevention and Safety: SAPS, SANDF;
(iii)
Economic:
Transport, Communications, Trade and Industry;
(iv)
Social: DWAF, DEAT, Public Works, DME, Health
and Home Affairs; and
(v)
Governance and Administration: The Presidency, National Treasury, GCIS,
SALGA, Municipalities and dplg.
For example, the Department of Transport has
developed an extensive transport plan and a public transport fund has been
established in that Department to focus primarily on 2010 initiatives. Yesterday, this Department also tabled its
programme to promote environmentally friendly transportation systems during
this period leading to the World Cup.
Another example is that of the Government
Communication and Information System (GCIS), which is providing guidance on
communication efforts as reflected in the “National Communication Partnership
Conference” that, was held on 15 August 2006.
From a legislative point of view, the
Department of Sport and Recreation as well as National Treasury have led the
processes towards the finalisation of the Special Measures Bill as well as the
Financial Measures Legislative Programme.
Honourable Chairpersons,
I have referred to some of the key
stakeholders in government and the role of the dplg. For co-ordination purposes,
the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Mr F S Mufamadi, has recently
been appointed as a board member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC). The current interaction with Host Cities is
through what is commonly referred to as the Host Cities Forum. This Forum has been structured to provide
for a “government session” and an “organising committee session”.
The
purpose of this structuring is to enable detailed discussion within and between
the government and the greater organising committee sessions. In order to improve this co-ordination and
integration within Government, a resolution was adopted at the recent Host City
Forum Meeting that was held in Mangaung on 22 August 2006 that a secretariat
would be formed to support the government session in the future. This secretariat will include officials from
the Host Cities, the 2010 Unit, National Treasury and the dplg.
Progress reports
will also be submitted to Cabinet periodically through the Inter-Ministerial
Committee (IMC) and the Technical Committee.
Similar arrangements can be developed with regards to interactions with
the legislative arm of Government.
I
would like to emphasise that an important consideration in the co-ordination of
the 2010 Soccer World Cup activities within Government will be to limit the
number of meetings in order to enable municipalities and relevant stakeholders
to proceed with the business of implementation.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Honourable Chairpersons, the
current legislative framework and the supportive inter-governmental relations
environment are important foundations to the successful hosting of the 2010
Soccer World Cup by South Africa and our Continent.
We wish you fruitful deliberations.
I thank you.
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