Welcome and Opening Address

by Executive Mayor of Buffalo City - Councillor. Zintle Peter

Regent Hotel – 25 June 2008

Madame Programme Director, fellow Councillors, the Acting Municipal Manager Ms. Amanda Magwentshu, our esteemed partners and honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen I greet you all this morning and welcome you to this workshop.

First and foremost I want to welcome and acknowledge the presence of fellow Councillors who are serving on the Buffalo City Municipality’s 2010 Steering Committee. We have the Chairperson Councillor Dickson Matika, Councillor Bathini Blom, Councillor Thembisa July, Councillor Tobeka Mati and Councillor Kawulezile Pati.

Our objective for gathering here this morning is simple and unambiguous – we have to develop effective lobbying tactics and strategies to support our aspiration to be a team base camp and training venue for at least one team for both the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.

The Programme Director has already introduced our partners, supporters and stakeholders in this bid and I have noted strategic role players like Mr. Monwabisi Malotana from the KSD Municipality; Ms Gogo Manqoyi who is the Provincial 2010 Strategic Manager; Mr. Mzi Mgebisa from the SABC who is the official broadcaster of the 2010 Soccer World Cup; Mr. Eddie du Plooy the Chairman of SAFA Eastern Cape; and Mr. Johan Evertse who is a member of the Human Resources Management Board at Mercedes Benz South Africa.

But allow me to make special mention of Mr. Mark Anderson who is the coordinator of Buffalo City’s partnership with Milwaukee County. It is through Mark’s unselfish efforts that we have managed to secure the services of an internationally acclaimed lobbyist in the person of Mr. Bill Broydrick.

This in a way justifies our decision to establish working relations with Milwaukee and I hope that our critics are taking note of these positive developments. A special word of welcome then to Mr. Broydrick who will be our facilitator for this workshop.

My office has briefed me on your attributes and your successes Mr. Broydrick, and I was highly impressed. We look forward to tapping on your knowledge and sharing your experiences even beyond this workshop.

I have also noted the presence of the Honorary Consul for Italy based in East London Mrs. Marina Marchetti. Madame, it is really a great honour to have you gracing this important occasion in the history of Buffalo City. We welcome you with open arms.

Finally I want to officially acknowledge the presence amongst us of His Excellency the South African Ambassador Designate to Germany Mr. Eddie Funde.

Sir, I will not ask you whether you share our 2010 sentiments or not. Your mere presence here today says it all. It only remains for me to welcome you and thank you for the honour that you have bestowed on us and this programme by being part of this workshop.

You are welcome, Sir, to point out and correct diplomatic inconsistencies in what we will be planning to do. I am mindful of the fact that what we as Buffalo City Municipality do and say in the international arena has a direct impact on the image and credibility of South Africa as a global player. Welcome, Mr. Ambassador.

As I have already said, we are gathered here today to devise tactics and strategies on how to lobby for a non-host city status for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup.

For us to really appreciate the need for a lobbying strategy we have to redefine the 2010 world spectacle and reinterprete its significance as a vehicle of opportunities.

For most people 2010 is about soccer. It is about South Africa hosting the biggest soccer show in the world. It is about big names in soccer coming to South Africa to entertain soccer fanatics and enthusiasts.

It is a time of relaxation; meeting new faces and making new friends; sharing traditional diversities and getting to know some of the different and unique cultures of the world. In short, it is time of leisure and enjoyment. But to the developing world and developing regions like Buffalo City, 2010 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase one’s attributes, resources and facilities for the world to see and take note of.

It is a thirty-day window period to introduce oneself to the global village of trend-setters and opinion-makers; an occasion that is wholly conducive to marketing activity

But, and like all good things, the 2010 soccer world cup is a short-lived manifestation that will definitely not be repeated in our lifetime. It is a passing phase that beckons the serious and pioneering entrepreneur to exploit the situation for maximum benefit.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the attitude that we need to develop and display in our consideration of 2010. As a developing community we need to adopt a profit-orientated approach to the event and to ensure that we are well-placed to claim our share of the spoils. Yes we will make friends. We will learn about life in other parts of the world. But that should not be our primary concern otherwise we will live to regret the golden opportunities that we will miss.

Most importantly, we have to realise and acknowledge the fact that such opportunities will not fall from the sky but will come in the form of people – the people who will be coming to South Africa for the soccer world cup. This calls for efficient and effective lobbying; and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the primary reason for our assembly here this morning.

But before we say or do anything to attract the benefits of 2010 we have to engage in serious capacity introspection to establish exactly what it is that we are capable of. This in turn will enable us to be realistic about our expectations and to safely bypass unreasonable idealism and dangerous rhetoric.

We must avoid wasting our energies chasing after unrealistic targets, but leave no stone unturned in our endeavours to attract the attention of the world.

Our lobbying strategy should anchor on the need to attract benefits. This is what should inform our strategy and influence our tactics. We must be careful not to pursue the desires of wishful thinking but concentrate squarely on the need to augment and accelerate our ongoing human and infrastructural development programmes with much-needed international support and recognition.

Let us therefore engage in a healthy and outcomes-based debate on the best ways to lobby the global community of soccer bodies to show an interest in Buffalo City and the King Sabata Dalindyebo region, bearing in mind that our successes have to translate into material and other benefits for our respective communities.

With those few words I invite the experts and the knowledgeable to take the stage and lead the way. We will be listening attentively and will endeavour to be supportive and cooperative in the exercise.

Enkosi.

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