The authors of a leaflet distributed at a recent football tournament in an informal settlement in Soweto put forward a number of public concerns. Unfortunately the proposed discussion after the tournament did not take place due to rain, but there is plenty of food for thought:

“Ever since South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the ANC government has been feeding us promises and creating expectations about how good this is for the country, for the economy and for the workers and poor.

“We were told that it would create jobs, that the tourism it attracts would generate large amounts of money that could be invested in service delivery and development. Indeed, developments such as the Gautrain and Rea Vaya are largely in preparation for the World Cup.

“But who really stands to benefit, and to profit, from the World Cup and its associated developments? Who could afford the Gautrain from the airport to Sandton? And who would be travelling from the airport to Sandton anyway, the worker or the businessman and tourist?

“Now, with the World Cup just around the corner, we have to ask ourselves who is really benefiting from South Africa hosting the games. Millions and millions of Rands that could have gone into service delivery and development have been spent on soccer stadiums that will probably never be filled again after the World Cup. Even those workers that were fortunate enough to have a job preparing for the Cup are facing unemployment now that the stadiums are nearly completed, and even while they were working they were forced to go out on strike against low pay and poor conditions; against exploitation.

“Fifa, one of the richest corporations in the world, has banned informal traders from selling food and other produce anywhere near the stadiums, and only granted trading licenses to big companies such as Nandos and Steers. If the World Cup is really supposed to be for the people, and to alleviate poverty and create opportunities for the poor in South Africa, then why has the government not challenged this decision? Why is it not working to ensure that poor people from the communities surrounding the stadiums benefit by being able to trade at the stadiums?

a.. Why are the matches so expensive that we, who built the stadiums with our hands and paid for them with our taxes, cannot even afford one ticket?

b.. Why are South African taxes being used, it has been said, to accommodate Fifa officials in luxury hotels, while people live in shacks?

c.. Why has the government not worked more closely with and consulted working class and poor communities to see what we expect to gain from hosting the World Cup, and how the government can make this a reality?

d.. Will the jobs created to build 2010, and maybe the jobs that come after it, be secure jobs with a living wage? Or will they be short-term, low wage, dangerous work without benefits like medical aid?”

Related posts:

1. NO EXTRA GOVT CASH FOR GAUTRAIN
2. WORLD CUP COSTS – AND BENEFITS
3. MINISTER’S ADDRESS: GAUTRAIN
4. THE FM ON GAUTRAIN’S FUTURE