MAYORAL DISCUSSION PAPER ON BUFFALO CITY & 2010 IN THE POST-GERMAN WORLD CUP ERA
Introduction
Africa has waited 100 years for Fifa to award the continent the Soccer World Cup to be played in South Africa in 2010.
Africa's time has now come for the world's largest sporting event which is projected to pump R42 billion into the South African economy, create 159 000 jobs and result in the biggest multi-billion rand post-democracy era infrastructure investment to welcome the possible 500 000 fans for the approximately 64 matches to be played over a month.
More than a billion pairs of eyes watched in awe the successful tournament beamed from Germany onto television sets around the world.
The World Cup gives exposure and marketing opportunities money cannot buy. The Italian President summed up the benefits of the exposure for the winning team: It was an advertisement for Italy seen by more than a billion people.
The eyes of the world are now trained on South Africa where the event has already secured the highest revenue to FIFA of more than R20 billion in commercial programmes of which some R210 million has come from South Africa as of the end of July 2006.
The organizational capacity to create a safe and secure enabling environment to stage the tournament is unprecedented but the international soccer world is confident, together with the South Africa's leaders such as President Thabo Mbeki, that the country will rise to the occasion.
Institutional framework & a renewed City perspective:
The Eastern Cape and Buffalo City as its most important secondary city is part of the world's soccer frenzied vision for 2010 even though it is not among the nine host cities like provincial flagship Nelson Mandela Metro which is building a stadium that will seat 50 000.
It is grossly incorrect to believe that there is nothing in the World Cup for Buffalo City as the possibility of attracting a team to make the City its base or training camp, to attract a number of visitors, and to exploit the massive infrastructure roll out at international, national, provincial and local level is a distinct possibility.
Buffalo City is a provincially marked base or training city depending on the City's own efforts to market and strategically place itself as a suitable destination for these distinct possibilities.
The City is not on its own in its efforts. The regional institutional framework enables the City to feed into the provincial structures: the politically-led Government Social Cluster and the administrative Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC).
The City's 2010 Committee is being led on behalf of the Executive Mayor by Councillor Mhleli Matika who will be assisted by two political leaders still to be appointed with technical and administrative support from the six municipal directors and their relevant staff.
A dedicated strategic 2010 manager is about to be appointed who will coordinate and administratively run the committee to position the City to exploit development opportunities available through participation.
It is also incorrect to believe that it is too late to prepare the City for its role. Overseas experience indicates that South Africa is ahead of the game in preparations and one of the German base camps, Wurzburg near Stuttgart, only got Fifa's blessing to host a team six months before the 2006 tournament.
Context of City's revived efforts and the & German experience
The renewed strategy driven by the revived Buffalo City 2010 Committee has been formulated by the Executive Mayor following her trip to Germany from 1st July 2006 to 13th July 2006 as part of the Eastern Cape Premier's delegation to honour twinning obligations with Lower Saxony.
The delegation also participated in marketing the diversity of the Eastern Cape during the highly successful Cologne art and craft festival under the branded marketing strapline: "Africa is Calling".
The week-long festival attended by thousands of visitors featured some 120 South African artists who also participated in the official Fifa handover to South Africa.
An investment and networking conference followed where nine participating cities, as well as other South African delegations, were afforded an opportunity to participate.
The Executive Mayor, accompanied by Councillor Matika and the Director in her Office, Matthew Moonieya, participated in the high-powered marketing and investment conference where City pamphlets dedicated to 2010 were distributed.
Brief interactions between the Executive Mayor and Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairperson Irvin Khoza and CEO Danny Jordaan as well as soccer Ambassador Lucas Radebe also took place at the conference where Buffalo City was praised for showing commitment to enabling the country to make 2010 a success.
During the interactions it was emphasised that Buffalo City as the country's seventh largest city cannot be left out of the tournament because of 2004-2005 institutional hiccups that dislocated and retarded the City's earlier 2010 efforts.
All agreed to help the City and are scheduled to be invited soon after the Eastern Cape Government's 2010 summit in Port Elizabeth on 4th August 2006 which is being organized by the Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC).
These efforts will form the basis of consolidating the City's efforts in conjunction with all stakeholders.
The renewed thrust to reinvent the City as a base or training camp is buttressed by past experience from the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 World Cricket Cup together with several other world events in other codes. It is acknowledged that the scale of the Fifa event is unprecedented.
It is strongly advocated that if the City gets rid of negativity and small-time thinking as well as narrow-cast approaches based on political expediency, Buffalo City CAN derive maximum benefits.
Timeframes:
The renewed strategy does not necessarily have to reinvent the wheel. Some work had been done as shown by the following table.
The old timeframe:
| 19th October 2004 | City Council resolution to form a Steering Committee |
| 28th October 2004 | Appointment of 10-person Steering Committee comprising three councilors and seven officials |
| 20th October 2004 | Cabinet resolution on Provincial Coordinating Committee and start of BC interaction with Committee |
| 28th February 2005 | Presentation by Leiden delegation representatives on Fifa-sanctioned stadium |
| 10th March 2005 | Launch of BC 2010 Fifa World Cup Committee |
| 2nd March 2005 | Visioning exercise for City with key business roleplayers, Bush Bucks and BC Committee |
| 4th April 2005 | Broader visioning exercise with numerous stakeholders and a mandate to formulate plans for the building of a 40 000-seater stadium |
| 14th June 2005 | Stakeholders meeting to consolidate visioning and consider immediate action on stadium
|
| 30th June 2005 | Launch on a Technical Committee to consider audit of BC infrastructure, problems with the Absa Stadium seating capacity for immediate professional matches and consider further the question of a stadium site |
| 7th July 2005 | Technical Committee further audit and identification of sites |
| 12th July 2005 | Consideration by the political leadership of the offer by Dutch company Ballast Nedam to make presentation on multi-purpose stadium to a high-powered investment community on 18th July 2005 |
| 13th July 2005 | Preparations for investment presentation |
| 15th July 2005 | Presentation to PCC on state of readiness |
| 26th July 2005 | Progress report to Council on Committee progress and request for funding |
A new 2006 timeframe is needed with dates still to be verified:
| July 2006 | PCC meeting and reinstituted BC delegation led by Clr Matika |
| July 2006 | Appointment of Strategic Manager as well as two 2010 political leaders |
| August 2006 | Meeting of the 2010 BC World Cup Committee |
| 4th August 2006 | EC Government Summit on 2010 in Port Elizabeth |
| August 2006 | Stakeholder meeting with Khoza, Jordaan and Radebe |
| August 2006 | BC 2010 World Cup Committee meets to decide possible stadium venue |
| August 2006 | Tenders decided for revitalization of venue |
| September 2006 | Launch of fortnightly meetings of BC Committee to discuss ongoing projects and receive progress reports on venue and various organizational aspects |
| 30th September 2006 | Stakeholder meeting launch and dates set for follow-up meetings for consistent report-backs. |
The intense two-month programme is to make up for lost time and is based on some of the German experience of visits to cities which have taken different routes within the Fifa rules to underline its involvements in the World Cup.
Examples from the German experience:
The City of Bonn was privileged to have its accommodating the Japanese side largely through the efforts of a well-linked an influential student who insisted that his country make Bonn the home base for their national side.
A morning-long discussion with the official central to the Wurzburg bid showed that the City in the Stuttgart area took an entirely different route driven by the Lord Mayor of Wurzburg in conjunction with business and other political leaders. The main strategy was that Wurzburg is a fairly small city (half the population of BC) but wanted to accommodate one of the teams. It had to offer a Fifa-sanctioned training venue and there was considerable local debate on whether the nearly R100 000 required for the lawn would be money well spent and whether other facilities (medical, hotel accommodation and other logistic infrastructure) would be adequate.
There is a DVD available as well as other printed material available to the BC Committee to see how Wurzburg overcame these challenges and how the driven Lord Mayor has been vindicated by the cost benefit analysis of the value to the City.
Of particular note in the Wurzburg experience is the united vision between business and the political leadership of the value to be derived from the World Cup. There were specific demands on the hotel accommodation. It had to be four-star standard and the accommodation had to be ring-fenced for the duration of the tournament. The hotel had to apply to Fifa to be an accommodation venue and had to undergo stringent investigations.
However, there is a united voice in Wurzburg now which says it was well worth it.
It is one of the experiences BC needs to study and contacts have been established. The nearby Stuttgart City is also helpful, being one of the richest investment areas in Europe. The delegation met with the State government's equivalent Economic Affairs and Tourism for talks on the kind of investment BC needs and arrangements have been made to provide them with specific projects. The meeting was also attended by the German-SA Chamber where valuable contacts were also established.
A Provincial report-back expected to be tabled by the Premier at Cabinet this week (July 24 to July 28 2006) contains in-depth further information and should be read in conjunction with this discussion paper. It includes broader issues for host City such as a visit to the venue where the final match was played as well as in-depth discussions with other key roleplayers where valuable lessons have been learnt.
President Thabo Mbeki as well as Premier Nosimo Balindlela have also opened the way for the country and the Province respectively to get assistance from the German roleplayers. Fifa's assistance through Irvin Khoza and Danny Jordaan are also available and it is up to individual cities to exploit the offers.
Buffalo City needs to unpack its requirements based on the status quo and to look at project management assistance to roll out the required logistical infrastructure (transport, stadiums, communications, accommodation, tourism and safety and security).
Existing and new funding sources are crucial but in-depth sectorised investigations and proposals should be undertaken.
Funding Sources:
BC must provide seed funding. An amount of R300 000 had been set aside but a further R750 000 had to be earmarked from the Restructuring Grant and the BC Committee will have to look into the matter at its first meetings.
Funding through inter-governmental relations with National and Provincial Government must be pursued as has been done by Buffalo City with the R3 billion set aside by the Department of Transport to upgrade infrastructure in the sector for 2010.
Applications must be made to the IDC following a $50 million loan from the African Development Bank to start boosting urban infrastructure ahead of 2010.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has done an audit of municipal infrastructure ahead of the 2010 World Cup and suitable business plans for infrastructure must be presented to them for assistance.
Transport:
Buffalo City is linked by road, rail, air and sea and a holistic innovative manner at looking at all funding possibilities with national, provincial and the parastatals, especially Trasnnets.
The funds from the Department of Transport in contributing toward a public transport upgrading project that will include the construction and provision of pedestrian and other non-motorised routes that can link infrastructure for 2010.
The planners are building on the approved Public Transport Framework Plan that is the City's vision for a future public transport system for 2020.
This future strategic public transport network is a transformed rail-based system with trunk buses on high and low orders routes and supported by taxi feeder services.
In-depth technical planning is underway with the first phase completed by February 2005.
A cash squeeze has been problematic in proceeding and a World Cup Priority Statement had been submitted to DoT with a comprehensive outline of the implementation of the City's Integrated Public Transport System. Such funding can enable the City to be transport-compliant for 2010 and serves as an example of what can be done.
Massive work is underway for investment in the port as well as the upgrading of the rail link to Gauteng which will have enormous economic development implications for the City.
The R108 million Umtata-Amabele line has opened the corridor between the East London port and Umtata in line with national governments commitment to reverse the non-viable status of the line.
The corridor is important for the lucrative forestry industry and can accommodate downstream value add. The line will also ease traffic on the roads and can have implications for 2010 and the BC links to Umtata which is building a stadium for the event.
An enormous amount of work has to be done on Buffalo City's connectivity across all forms of transport to enable the City to exploit 2010.
Tourism
BC tourism product for 2010 should build on the USAID R3 million Master Tourism Plan (MTP) completed in 2003 to make the City a preferred destination and to grab the City's share of the projected 500 000 visitors.
The leisure industry in the City and surrounds must be able to capitalize on its competitive edge with diversity, cultural capital and history being draw cards. International research shows these are priorities for overseas visitors beyond the soccer-loving pursuits of 2010.
Tourism products must be aligned to these demands and public-private partnerships in upgrades must be pursued to boost attractions, activities, facilities and services.
The Tourism Masterplan has identified KWT-Bisho corridor; N6 to Macleantown; Mdantsane; Nahoon-Bonza Bay for development with the main beachfront development on the Esplanade and Signal Hill (site for a five-star hotel) being driven by the newly-established Buffalo City Development Agency which has three pilot sites which must be marketed aggressively.
Work is underway for an international standard R1,6 billion golf estate on the periphery of Gonubie which will easily complete the need for a 2010 host venue to boast two-five star hotels.
Bed capacity in the City will be enlarged considerably by the hotel as well as 800 chalet units on the 427ha site if the Environmental Impact Assessment is successful.
The City's bed capacity currently stands at over 5 000 beds ranging from hotels, chalets, holiday flats, hostels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts and camping facilities.
There are surrounding resorts within a 90-minute drive which increases the beds by nearly 2 000.
Highlights of tourism product include: sports facilities, beaches, restaurants. Game parks (Mpongo and Inkwenkwezi), Steve Biko home, art gallery, Khaya Labantu, theatre, jazz café.
Stadium:
It is inconceivable that the concept of a legacy stadium should be left out in the wake of considerable roll out of facilities throughout the country.
The City had had a democratically-based mandate to go for a 40 000-seater stadium, a mandate that had been endorsed by the top leadership. Avenues had been mined to seek assistance, including the funding and technical expertise and advice.
Efforts must be renewed even if the stadium cannot be completed for 2010. A final decision for stadiums will only be taken in 2008.
Several sites for a stadium had been considered which were well serviced by transport routes but the City's link with a Dutch company via the twinning agreement with the City of Leiden, had grabbed the attention.
The Dutch company, Ballast Nedam, had a top flight presentation which had changed the mindset on stadiums from stand alone under utilized venues to multi-functional integrated institutional and business venues virtually used 24-hours a day. It had brought the concept in reach financially through economies of scale and partnerships as demonstrated by the company which had been involved in 30 Fifa-compliant stadiums in different parts of the world.
The company had agreed to send representatives to do another presentation to a broader audience. The Industrial Development Corporation that has a special 2010 fund had shown interest in seeing the presentation together with others in the investor of community.
These and other efforts will all have to be renewed by the revived committee which will now concentrate on a practice pitch according to Fifa standards which only requires 12 000 seats.
These is no reason why the Committee cannot think bigger on either a greenfield project or revamping existing facilities such as Jan Smuts, Absa Stadium, Mercedes Benz Park, Mdantsane Stadium, Amalinda Stadium or the Bisho Stadium.
Buffalo City is mindful of the fact that Fifa is trying to scale down the number of venues but a final decision will according to certain information will only be taken in June 2008.
A stadium, according to some technical advice, can be built in two years to the Fifa specifications on size and other requirements such as capacity, distance from airport, accessibility, match operation offices, dressing rooms and drug testing facilities as well as accommodation for 5 000 to 8 000 media representatives.
There is an enormous amount of work for the BC Committee to undertake and links must be taken up with the enormous amount of networking done during the visit to Germany.
Safety & Security
Buffalo City must put emphasis on tried and tested integrated security plans which worked well for the 1985 World Cup Rugby and the 2003 World Cup Cricket.
The Public Safety Directorate with its history of involvement in world class events should help co-ordinate this effort with a host of other partners.
The Directorate should take a take a lead in drawing up a security plan for 2010 and co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the plan with all the participating partners through Joint Operational Command as it has done in the past.
Partcipating security services include SAPS, Defence Force, Traffic Departments (regional and local) Fire Department and various private security companies that will:
- ensure a safe environment for officials, players and spectators;
- guarantee a secure and people-friendly atmosphere;
- ensure 24-hour top quality services for the 30-day duration of the events.
The Security Plan must include non-stop travel routes colour coded maps and rapid medical care with a tried and tested Disaster Management Plan. The security plan must include:
- special escorts for official buses and VIPs;
- operational manuals include site maps and coded routes for each event;
- confidential alternate routes for players, officials and VIPs;
- close liaison with the stadium management and security; and
- segregation of accredited officials, media, VIPs and public.
The plan is worked on continually with updating of technology that ensures good crowd management and personal safety.
These are some of the essential lessons from the German trip and the security arrangements were a marvel to listen to during the tour of the stadium where the final was played.
Police in Germany were everywhere but they maintained a low profile and information obtained revealed they had what came to be known as a "hooligan data base". It dealt with known trouble makers from the participating nations.
The stadium and more than 50 built in cameras in the roof which could hone in on any trouble spot and identify culprits. The stadium had 2 000 private security officers in the stadium over and above the police.
All these efforts were undertaken according to Fifa specifications. It must also be remembered that Germany does not have a high crime rate.
Officials revealed that there was only one incident at the stadium where the final was played when a person ran onto the field. The stadium accommodates 74 288 people and of the more than 2 000 people who attempted to take firecrackers into the stadium for the final, only two slipped through the security net.
The delegation met some of the South African security officials monitoring the situation for the country so that some of the strategies can be implemented in South Africa.
Conclusion:
The following must be reiterated:
The World Cup is not only a soccer extravaganza but a much-needed development opportunity.
Buffalo City cannot afford to miss out on the estimated R21,5 billion to be pumped into the country's GDP and the 159 000 jobs to be created before and during the event.
There is a lot of work to be done if the City is in a position to exploit the opportunities. A stadium as well as other capacity building programmes to make the City Fifa and Safa compliant with tourism, transport and safety and security.
The new BC Committee must formulate policies, establish a multi-disciplinary team to drive the process and to integrate socio-economic and political issues into a 2010 investment programme.
Zintle Peter
EXECTUIVE MAYOR
July 2006.
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