Thursday, May 27, 2004
South Africa says 2010 World Cup to boost jobs
Reuters Johannesburg, May 17
South Africa's hosting of the 2010 soccer World Cup will help the government create jobs in a country where one in three people are unemployed amid crushing poverty, a senior cabinet minister said on Monday.
The country on Saturday won the right to host the soccer show piece, the first to be held on the African continent.
"This announcement could not have come at a more appropriate time for South Africa," Transport Minister Jeff Radebe told Reuters in an interview. "The 2010 World Cup will boost not only infrastructure, but the economy of South Africa as a whole."
In its election campaign, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) promised to create one million jobs over the next five years through public works projects, focusing particularly on infrastructure development and maintenance.
Between 30 and 40 per cent of South Africa's economically active population is unemployed. Business leaders and the government last June pledged to halve the jobless rate by 2014.
The ANC's election manifesto, which won President Thabo Mbeki second five year term in office, pledged 100 billion rand ($14.87 billion) of infrastructure spending, but Radebe said this figure would have to be revised.
"We need to revise it now that we have the bid. The critical task now is to prioritise our activities to be in line with this win that we have scored," said Radebe.
South Africa will have to build three new stadiums and refurbish 10, which engineers estimate will cost 1.2 billion rand. The country's road and rail network will also be spruced up, while airports will be upgraded. Central to all these plans is the seven billion rand high speed train project, linking Johannesburg, the international airport and the capital Pretoria.
Two consortiums led by Canada's Bombardier Inc -- the world's third largest civil aircraft maker and the number one maker of passenger trains -- and French heavy engineering group Alstom, have been short-listed for the project.
The successful bidder is expected to be announced by September with construction work expected to start early 2005.
Radebe said the government was still doing an analysis of the bid's economic impact, but said the benefits were "massive".
He said the while the issue of funding was still to be discussed, the burden would not fall on the government alone.
"It's a collective effort...the national government, provincial and local authorities, but the government on its own will not succeed. That is why we are going to be entering into a people's contract with other stakeholders," said Radebe.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.