News
Mpuma community to benefit from 2010 venture
22 July - The construction of the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga is taking place on 118 hectares of land which has recently been restored to the Matsafeni community.
World Cup's green legacy for Joburg
22 July - More trees, clean rivers and green playing fields are some of the long-lasting benefits from the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ that Joburg’s residents will enjoy.
See you in 2010 Madiba: Fifa
21 July - Fifa President Sepp Blatter has promised to see former South African President Nelson Mandela at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™.
Eskom engages municipalities for 2010
18 July - An Eskom project team is working with the metro and municipal electricity departments to ensure the reliability of electricity supply to the stadiums, broadcasting centres, base camps and venues for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, the power utility said in its annual report released on Thursday.
Nelson Mandela - SA's 2010 envoy
18 July - "The world cup will help unify people, if there is one thing in this planet that has the power to bind people together it is soccer."
Gauteng ahead of schedule for 2010
17 July - Gauteng is ahead of schedule with the construction of all host stadia ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
Port Elizabeth to hold 2010 security exercise
16 July - The army, navy, police and airforce are set to descend on Port Elizabeth later in July to conduct a training exercise ahead of the 2010 World Cup, police said on Wednesday.
Durban's Moses Mabhida to be a year-round event
15 July - Durban has planned ahead to ensure that it's R2.6-billion Moses Mabhida Stadium is not only a single code sporting facility, but a sustainable, multi-function events theatre promising to attract people 365 days a year.
Volunteering open to all SA residents
15 July - The Local Organising Committee (LOC) says volunteering for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ is open to everyone who is a legal resident of South Africa.
World Cup readiness test for Mpumalanga
11 July -The Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup, which will see countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) battling it out, will also be a test for Mpumalanga’s preparations towards hosting the 2010 Fifa World™ Cup matches.
2010 final venue wows Fifa
11 July - Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke says he was very impressed with his first visit to the iconic Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
700 days left to 2010 Fifa World Cup in SA
10 July - With 700 days left to the kickoff of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be hosted in Africa for the first time, South Africa has made considerable strides to ensure that the World Cup will be a resounding success.
South Africans heed call for volunteers
10 July - The Local Organising Committee (LOC) have reported a resounding response to their call for South Africans to volunteer during the 2009 Confederations Cup™ to be held in South Africa.
19 March 2008
Power outages will not affect 2010 - Govt
Bathandwa Mbola
Pretoria - The Department of Minerals and Energy and Eskom have guaranteed an uninterrupted supply of electricity to key 2010 Fifa World Cup™ installations, according to a new state-of-readiness report.
According to a 2010 Mid-Term Government Report compiled by the 2010 Fifa World Cup Government Unit, South Africa will be able to host a successful world cup.
The report, which provides feedback from various government departments as part of implementing 2010 Fifa World Cup government guarantees and obligations, noted that Eskom has established a 2010 unit to attend to the needs of the Fifa operations.
“Eskom has subsequently guaranteed that there will be an uninterrupted power supply to all match venues during the tournament.”
It has also given an unambiguous assurance that the municipalities will be able to provide the necessary support to ensure that all the power supply requirements to successfully host the matches are met.
The assurance comes at a time when the country is faced with power supply shortages due to the increased demand for energy, owing to the high rate of growth and the continued reliance on coal as a primary source of energy.
The report mentions that apart from the immediate demand-side management programmes to reduce energy consumption in the immediate term, the various measures which will be taken over the next 18 months will show significant results by 2010.
Efficient lighting programmes, solar water heating programmes, smart metering, switching from using liquid petroleum gas as an energy source especially in cooking, and a number of other steps are all expected to result in considerable savings.
Government expects to meet the "real target" of between 2 000 and 3 500 Megawatts of electricity being saved by the time the world cup kicks off.
The state utility will increase power generation capacity thorough its investment strategy, and there will also be an investment in maintenance of existing infrastructure by local government.
The National Treasury has made an allocation of about R200-million to the department for the securing generators which are required by Fifa as primary source of power supply.
Other interventions include the establishment of the Electricity Supply Steering Committee to identify risks and recommend appropriate strategies.
“In addition, all matters of power supply will be prioritised in strategic 2010 fora, including the 2010 Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Technical Coordinating Committee and the Local Organising Committee.“
On safety and security, the report detailed a Safety and Security Plan.
This was compiled by the South African Police Services (SAPS) and submitted to the 2010 Inter-Ministerial Committee.
The plan entails working with international agencies to gather safety and security information with a focus on border security at ports of entry, including land, sea and air borders.
About 31 000 police officers are being trained for deployment for the world cup.
However, the report says the challenge in this area is to increase public confidence; locally and internationally and the reduction of the levels of contact crimes.
Regarding the provision of high quality medical and emergency services, the report indicates that a technical task team will be set up with representatives drawn from host cities, provinces, private health providers, professional organisations and the military medical services.
The group focus on various areas such as emergency medical service, communicable diseases, environmental health, port health in stadiums, provision of primary health care and the establishment of command and control points as well as ensuring that accurate information is communicated on matters of health.
“Furthermore, the accreditation of foreign health professionals and accompanying teams; licensing of medicines and equipment, control of communicable diseases and measures to monitor food integrity have been addressed,” the report read.
Source: BuaNews