[I saw in The Daily Sun the other day that Mbeki says the World Cup Soccer in 2010 would be a HUGE SUCCESS. Actually, he said it would be the best world cup soccer EVER! Then the Govt went and decided to spend R15 billion on it! They’re pumping money into it big time!!! I bet they will overspend on it and much of the money will never be returned, but now Mbeki has to save face. But what’s the bet… that even with that… you will hear stories of corruption and other things? And let’s see if even R15 billion can save them?

Justice Malala, a black journalist who was asked by eTV, said that he hoped there would be enough SKILLS to do the job!

Remember, the ANC is in new territory here. Its not as simple as pouring petrol on someone and setting them on fire. The scum now actually have to BUILD something. So, keep watching this and the Gautrain to watch how the costs BALLOON as time goes by. Remember the Arms deal and how that ballooned and ballooned? Let’s see… maybe Mbeki will half bankrupt us just to show that we can do the World cup soccer! Too funny. If he wastes public money on that just to save image and face while the country goes to hell – who am I to complain?

Let’s talk crime in 2010: Will the ANC have achieved anything regarding crime? Frankly, I do not think so. I don’t think they can or they even care.

Maybe Mbeki’s saving grace will be that few people will bother to come here and most of them will remain at home and watch the world cup soccer from afar. Maybe… attendence will be so low that the S.African Govt will be paying for or opening up seats for the BLACK MASSES to watch the soccer?? (They have hinted at that). So maybe, in 2010, you’ll see stadiums filled with black S.Africans and few whites… it will be the 2010 BLACK WORLD CUP SOCCER!! Jan]

President Thabo Mbeki says South Africa will stage an “eminently successful” soccer World Cup in 2010.

But as Sky’s Africa news editor Dan Williams reports, not everyone share’s the President’s optimism. J, UK

Is SA Up To The Cup?
Updated: 18:22, Tuesday October 24, 2006

President Thabo Mbeki says South Africa will stage an “eminently successful” soccer World Cup in 2010 – which will defy scepticism about Africa’s ability to host the globe’s premier sporting event.

At a joint meeting of his government and world soccer governing body FIFA, he conceded a lot of work remained before the continent staged its first World Cup.

But as Sky’s Africa news editor Dan Williams reports, not everyone share’s the President’s optimism.

There are fears fans will be put off going to South Africa.

“Last night an electrical storm hit Johannesburg – not a problem you might think. Well think again. In a house surrounded by an 8ft electrical fence primed to give any potential intruder a sharp intake of volts, it’s a problem. A bright flash, a large crack and moments later all the lights are out. Plunged into darkness my wife scrambles to find candles only to realise we have forgotten to buy matches. The electric gate paralysed, the alarm system down – it dawns on us both that we are prisoners in our own home. But right now I don’t really want to be anywhere else.

We are approaching the holiday season here, a notorious time of year here that often sees the crime rate peak in South Africa. An accepted norm for those of us living here but now it is having international ramifications. The death of a one-year-old baby girl killed in a broad daylight shootout in Johannesburg city centre has gripped the nation. The papers are dominated by wave after wave of robberies in shopping malls and banks and there seems to be cash in transit heist daily.

A former rugby star was hijacked outside his house by three armed men. He wrestled the gun from one and shot him dead. He is undergoing trauma counselling but he is also on the verge of becoming a national hero.

Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki is confident country is ready for Cup Three South Africa academics have joined forces to release a paper concluding that if widespread perceptions about crime in South Africa are not urgently addressed there could be a disastrously low attendance at the 2010 World Cup. It is hoped that the 2010 world cup will result in tens of thousands of tourists converging on the rainbow nation and parting with their foreign currency – an essential boost for an emerging economy.

But it is clear the world governing football body is concerned. Urs Linsi, the FIFA secretary-general, said it would be an understatement to describe South Africa’s crime rate as a “challenge”.

Danny Jordaan, the South Africa chief executive of the organising committee, has hit back.

“There is no question that this country has the capability to safeguard every person that comes here for the World Cup,” he said.

“We will safeguard places where the players will stay, the routes, hotels. The country has demonstrated its ability to manage other World Cups with no incidence of crime,” he told a press conference.

The success of the fan zones in Germany meant that fans outside of the stadium were able to enjoy the atmosphere; unfortunately with the current climate in South Africa the worry is it will not be possible here.

Source: Sky New
URL: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-…br>
VERENA Replied:
Hi and thanks for your comments. I tend to agree with these sentiments…. I do not see it happening…