Tweet
Jermaine Craig
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 405px; HEIGHT: 44px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 45px" align=middle>
</TD><TD class=caption style="WIDTH: 360px"> Jermaine Craig
<SPAN style="COLOR: #747474"> September 26 2006 at 02:19PM </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
It's not often that a politician uses the word "consciousness" these days. The black consciousness typified by the great Steve Biko still has resonance for South Africans, but for Jabu Moleketi it's "mass consciousness" that will be crucial over the next four years as the country prepares to host the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter turned up the heat on South Africa recently when he said of the country's 2010 World Cup organisers that "they have plans, money and decisions, (but) I have yet to see the pickaxes and spades needed to start the work".
Moleketi, the country's deputy finance minister and chairperson of government's 2010 technical committee, knows the pressures will be immense.
Refreshingly for a politician, however, he encourages public scrutiny and wants the South African public to keep up the pressure on the country's World Cup organisers.
'Show what Africans can do'
"For our 10 2010 venues, we have serious time limits... The graders and earthworks must begin (construction) by January 2007, otherwise we're in serious trouble. We need the 45 to 46 million South Africans and the media watching the timelines and putting on the pressure," Moleketi said in a recent interview.
For South Africa, successfully staging what will be by far the country's biggest undertaking is non-negotiable and Moleketi feels every South African has a role to play in ensuring the event's success.
"We need to create mass consciousness towards our hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup. We need barometers in the newspapers in terms of our readiness, so that each and every South African is conscious of that. We now know all the host cities and it will be important for citizens to be asking their mayors and their councillors at every meeting: 'What's happening and what are we doing about getting ourselves ready for the World Cup?' It ought to be every citizen's duty," said Moleketi.
In his 2006 budget speech, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel promised an R8,5-billion capital expenditure plan designed to ensure the country is ready for the world's football fans in four years' time.
R5-billion has been allocated for building and renovating the 10 World Cup stadiums, with R3-billion of that amount to be spent in the course of the next three years.
Moleketi, however, said the amount initially indicated is "not sufficient".
"(Next month's) medium-term expenditure framework is going to cover a period up until March 31, 2010, and all the major expenditure will happen in that period. There will be much, much more allocated. That begins to tell us that more detailed work has happened and we have a clearer understanding of the costs of the stadiums," Moleketi explained.
If one takes into account, for example, that the Cape Town municipality estimates that its Green Point stadium's construction costs alone will be R3,3-billion - and that the city is able to contribute just R400-million - it's clear the government will need to cough up more money.
Moleketi says the onus is on the municipalities to have the stadiums ready, but with such massive amounts of public money being spent, national treasury has a dedicated 2010 unit "to keep its eyes on the ball, monitor the movement of the money and to see whether we're getting value for money".
As things stand, the local councils have been in discussion with the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee's technical team to come up with the final figures for stadium costs.
Once that process is completed, national treasury will release the funds to ensure the construction phase
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 405px; HEIGHT: 44px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 45px" align=middle>
</TD><TD class=caption style="WIDTH: 360px"> Jermaine Craig <SPAN style="COLOR: #747474"> September 26 2006 at 02:19PM </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
It's not often that a politician uses the word "consciousness" these days. The black consciousness typified by the great Steve Biko still has resonance for South Africans, but for Jabu Moleketi it's "mass consciousness" that will be crucial over the next four years as the country prepares to host the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter turned up the heat on South Africa recently when he said of the country's 2010 World Cup organisers that "they have plans, money and decisions, (but) I have yet to see the pickaxes and spades needed to start the work".
Moleketi, the country's deputy finance minister and chairperson of government's 2010 technical committee, knows the pressures will be immense.
Refreshingly for a politician, however, he encourages public scrutiny and wants the South African public to keep up the pressure on the country's World Cup organisers.
'Show what Africans can do'
"For our 10 2010 venues, we have serious time limits... The graders and earthworks must begin (construction) by January 2007, otherwise we're in serious trouble. We need the 45 to 46 million South Africans and the media watching the timelines and putting on the pressure," Moleketi said in a recent interview.
For South Africa, successfully staging what will be by far the country's biggest undertaking is non-negotiable and Moleketi feels every South African has a role to play in ensuring the event's success.
"We need to create mass consciousness towards our hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup. We need barometers in the newspapers in terms of our readiness, so that each and every South African is conscious of that. We now know all the host cities and it will be important for citizens to be asking their mayors and their councillors at every meeting: 'What's happening and what are we doing about getting ourselves ready for the World Cup?' It ought to be every citizen's duty," said Moleketi.
In his 2006 budget speech, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel promised an R8,5-billion capital expenditure plan designed to ensure the country is ready for the world's football fans in four years' time.
R5-billion has been allocated for building and renovating the 10 World Cup stadiums, with R3-billion of that amount to be spent in the course of the next three years.
Moleketi, however, said the amount initially indicated is "not sufficient".
"(Next month's) medium-term expenditure framework is going to cover a period up until March 31, 2010, and all the major expenditure will happen in that period. There will be much, much more allocated. That begins to tell us that more detailed work has happened and we have a clearer understanding of the costs of the stadiums," Moleketi explained.
If one takes into account, for example, that the Cape Town municipality estimates that its Green Point stadium's construction costs alone will be R3,3-billion - and that the city is able to contribute just R400-million - it's clear the government will need to cough up more money.
Moleketi says the onus is on the municipalities to have the stadiums ready, but with such massive amounts of public money being spent, national treasury has a dedicated 2010 unit "to keep its eyes on the ball, monitor the movement of the money and to see whether we're getting value for money".
As things stand, the local councils have been in discussion with the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee's technical team to come up with the final figures for stadium costs.
Once that process is completed, national treasury will release the funds to ensure the construction phase