South Africa : South African's must fill stadiums in 2009

By Michael Appel

Johannesburg - South African's must take it upon themselves to ensure every stadium during Confederations Cup match is packed to capacity, says Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Danny Jordaan.

Addressing media gathered for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup pre-draw media briefing on Friday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) highlighted that South Africans must fill the stadiums and embrace all the team players who have travelled to the continent, many for the first time.

"We must make sure we fill the stadiums and as the host nation embrace all teams. As the hosts we cannot embrace one or two teams but we have to embrace and support all teams," said Dr Jordaan.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said South Africa was six months away from hosting the Confederations Cup and 18 months from the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The draw for the Confederations Cup is et to take place during a live broadcast on Saturday at 5pm.

The draw will include reigning 2006 world champions Italy, host country South Africa, and continental champions Egypt, Iraq, Spain, the United States of America, Brazil and New Zealand.

"The draw will involve eight teams split into two groups. South Africa will fall into group A1 as they will play the opening match of the Confederations Cup at Ellis Park Stadium," Mr Valcke said.

Tickets for the tournament are scheduled to go on sale on 23 November, the day after the draw, and will be available on-line at fifa.com as well as all First National Bank (FNB) branches nationwide.

There are two types of tickets namely the individual match ticket and the venue specific ticket.

Category four tickets are reserved exclusively for South Africans and the US dollar exchange rate for the tickets was frozen at $1 to R7 by the LOC in order to benefit the South African poorest of the poor.

The cheapest category four tickets for group stages during the tournament will cost R70 or $10, while the cheapest category four tickets for the final will cost R210.

Miss South Africa Tansey Coetzee, who is among the eight contestants for the Miss World pageant, will assist with the draw on Saturday evening.

Ms Coetzee said: "Excitement is growing and all eyes will be on South Africa. I am confident the Confederations Cup will be a very successful event."

Chairman of the LOC Dr Irvin Khoza said over 17 000 volunteers had applied to work at the
"The majority of those who applied are unemployed professionals with a background in law and marketing and hopefully after the event they can be absorbed into the market.

"We have 10 volunteer interns working at the LOC at the moment who will leave with good experience," said the chairman. - BuaNews

Plan to upgrade Cape Town's council rental units

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town's R300 million plan to upgrade rental houses in Cape Town is off to a good start.

Over 7 700 flats in Manenberg, Scottsdene, Scottsville, Connaught, Uitsig, Woodlands, Heideveld, Hanover Park, Kewtown and Ottery have been earmarked for the first phase of the refurbishments.

The city's Manager of Existing Settlement, Grace Blouw said the refurbishment will take place according to the needs of each area, including general renovations to buildings, roofs and plumbing systems and the installation of new ceilings, floor coverings, cupboards and geysers where necessary.

"Fencing, refuse management, area lighting, greening of areas and recreational facilities will also receive attention," she said.

According to Mayoral Committee Member for Housing, Councillor Dan Plato the city's ageing housing stock has needed increasing maintenance in recent years.

"There is water penetration in walls and floors and plumbing and rainwater disposal systems no longer work properly," he said, adding that the programme was a catalyst to developing strong communities and improving the quality of life for the poor.

The project, which forms part of the national Community Residential Units (CRU) upgrade programme funded by the municipality's annual housing subsidy allocation, will address the major maintenance of the city's rental properties across the city.

Phase one of the project is scheduled for completion in June 2011.

Project steering committees are to be established in Connaught, Uitsig, Scottsdene, Scottsville, Hanover Park, Kewtown and The Range. Local Ward Councillors and representatives of beneficiaries will be expected to serve on these committees to ensure that community issues are addressed and community liaison officers are facilitating the process.

Meanwhile, project consultants are arranging structural assessments of the buildings, as well as surveys to determine the specific maintenance needs. Once this is completed, construction work is scheduled to start mid-2009.

"While work will be carried out with the minimum of inconvenience to tenants, some activities may require dwellings to be vacated," said Ms Blouw, adding that arrangements for alternative accommodation, storage of furniture and security will be provided and tenants with special needs will also receive attention.

She said all tenants will be fully consulted in order to identify the best approach

"No irregular rental increases are planned. However, the national policy stipulates that upgraded units cannot be sold afterwards. The city will also strictly apply its credit control policies. Tenants who cannot pay are urged to apply for a rebate under Council's housing indigent policy," says Blouw. - BuaNews