Speech by Executive Mayor Sindisile Maclean at the 2004 SA Games Launch at City Hall, 24 November 2003.

Acknowledgements

It is an honour to welcome you all to this important auction where we go into top gear for the SA Games which we will host from 22 March 2004.

I am sure the top of the agenda is our state of readiness of this important occasion and our ability to create the passion required to make this a success.

Ladies and gentlemen, passion is the buzzword for mega sporting occasions and if there is one thing I know we are capable of doing is injecting that passion which is to vital to making it all a success.

I believe tonight sees the moment when we inject that passion which will take our sportspeople beyond the beyond in their preparations and also take the organisers into a sphere where they will drive the processes to make this event a lifetime experience for all.

I believe an integral part of the passion injection is forcing the media agenda with the SA Games and I am happy Buffalo City has the capacity to that in conjunction the SA Sport Commission. We are media-wise to the stories that are created and have been created that we are no where near being ready for this mammoth event.

Let me dispel such fears. The authorities have gone on tours to check the facilities and I want to congratulate the Chairperson of SA GAMES 2004, Ms Sindiswa Gomba, and the Project Manager, Mr Makanda, for this state of readiness. The four convenors also need to be thanked: they are Mrs V Mafu, Mr A Kika, Deputy Mayor Des Halley and Mr Owen Becker. They have all reported a state of readiness necessary to drive the processes that will ensure success.

Buffalo City is not new to hosting major world events. We were involved with the Cricket World Cup and we have given our full support to the 2010 soccer bid.

I thus have full support in our people under the full guidance by the Sports Commission and Cde Nosimo Balindlela's Department of Sport Art and Culture.

I am also fully apprised of the sound safety and security plan as well as disaster management plan, not because I am pessimistic, but because I believe the state of readiness in such organisation aspects is a clear indicator of how well prepared we are.

We are thus looking forward to the opening gala event on March 22 as well as the closing ceremony at the ABSA Stadium on 28th March 2004.

I have also visited some of the venues for the games such as ABSA, Sisa Dukashe, Joan Harrison Pool, Selborne Tennis Club and the Xerox Park Hockey Astroturf.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to thank the authorities for placing so much trust in us to host these Games. It means a lot to our City and to our Province as well as it people because we believe this type of marketing of our City as well as the influx of people lends itself to good local economic development.

I don't have to tell you about the meaning of such an influx of people, It is not the billions they talk about in world events like soccer and World Cup rugby. But it is nevertheless a means toward generating a boost to the local commercial and trading scene, not to speak the volumes that will be recorded into the leisure industry.

We are indeed grateful for the opportunity -- like we did during the World Cup Cricket when our city featured on the television screened to about one billion people -- that we will again be a household name as we proceed through these Games.

I do not want to hold you in suspense for too long because I now everybody is waiting for the unveiling of the logo

Let me thus conclude by welcoming you all to this launch and I know there will be time tonight when we will raise our glasses to this success of this important event.

I thank you

Sindisile Maclean
EXECUTIVE MAYOR

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