World Cup Preview: Heather Martino w/ Jonathan Ledgard, Eastern Africa Correspondent for The Economist
South Africa’s place on the world stage, terrorism and the games
By: Heather Martino
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Brand new stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Table Mountain, Cape Town's most prominent landmark in distance.
As the 2010 World Cup approaches, all eyes will be on South Africa, prompting many to take a larger look at the country. On his recent trip to the United States, I spoke with Jonathan Ledgard, Eastern Africa Correspondent for The Economist, and discussed South Africa and the upcoming World Cup, as well as several of today’s most pressing issues facing the continent.
With The Economist boasting articles with titles such as “South Africans can be proud about hosting the World Cup. Less so about the state of their nation,” I expected Ledgard to be less than optimistic about the country’s progress in preparation for the upcoming games. On the contrary, when asked about the state of the country, Ledgard spoke about the beautiful landscape, comparing it to California, with a mix of the south side of Philadelphia. He said that South Africa has “invested a lot in branding, or rebranding the country, and not just from a tourist potential.” The country has made progress in terms of infrastructure, and is reaching out to England, China, and India for investment. When asked about the United States, Ledgard stated that the U.S. is a smaller market for South Africa, and that they were concentrating their efforts on the aforementioned countries. “In all fairness,” said Ledgard, “FIFA is very tough, but they are pretty happy with South Africa’s corporations.”
“There really is no world comparison to South Africa,” said Ledgard, and the media does not always do a good job of presenting an accurate portrayal of the country. Maybe “awakening” is too strong of a word, Ledgard agreed, but there is the position held by many that “if it’s African, it must be rubbish and not work, and it’s a little unfair.” Ledgard spoke with awe about the vast construction of tremendous stadiums, new underground railroad systems, and airports. “I feel that sometimes there is such negativity about South Africa, that whatever happens is held up to the highest account,” said Ledgard, as he compared it to Greece. “When Greece was running the Olympics they were far more in shambles, [but] people were not getting on Greece’s case the way they are on South Africa’s,” adding that being chosen to host the 2010 World Cup is a “real success for South Africa and a chance to reboot its image.”
While the new and refurbished stadiums in ten cities throughout South Africa look beautiful, there has been some concern over their use beyond the World Cup. I asked Ledgard about the cost of these stadiums, especially given that some schools were bulldozed to make room for a 46,000 seat stadium in Nelspruit. Far greater than the cost of building this stadium, which is estimated to be $137 million dollars, is the cost of sending youngsters to hot and airless classrooms to make room for their construction. When asked about this, Ledgard said that this is a “big problem for South Africa,” because they are “damned if they do and damned if they don’t.” By this, Ledgard meant that “if they don’t build world class stadiums- people will criticize them,” especially given that the World Cup is the largest sporting event next to the Olympics. However, while soccer, or football, is popular throughout the world, Ledgard pointed out that it is not the number one sport in South Africa. “Maybe [soccer] is a large event spectator wise, but rugby brings in the most money for South Africa”, said Ledgard.
Touching on the issue of whether or not the new stadiums will be used after the World Cup, Ledgard talked of how “a lot of stadiums are trying to get rugby clubs to move in there” but this is almost like “trying to get the Red Sox to move to a new stadium,” adding that it is highly unlikely that the stadiums will be used in the long run. However, Ledgard reassured me of the necessity of their construction, saying that the key issue is “turning South Africa to global volumes,” to make the economy “more like Australia or something like that.” He added “If the price is a few empty stadiums, I’m sure people will accept that.”
South Africa's fans are ready to watch the games, but will they be safe?
While the first match, set to take place in Johannesburg between South Africa and Mexico, is just a day away, I asked Ledgard about the safety and security of the fans. Given the stampede at a friendly preliminary match between Nigeria and North Korea last Sunday, that left at least eleven people injured, I asked if this was any indication of the police forces’ lack of control. To this, Ledgard said that “the government invested a huge amount of money in overhauling the police force, to make sure they are prepared.” While assuring that the police force is up to par to handle the crowd, Ledgard expressed some concern for South African Intelligence, which is likely ill-equipped to handle the threat of terrorists, especially given the large faction of Somalia al-Qaeda operatives in the region. “If it [a suicide bombing] happens during the World Cup, it will not be surprising to me,” said Ledgard, adding “I know from experience there’s nothing good enough to protect against that- anywhere in the world, and it is definitely a worry for South African intelligence to handle this threat.”
Building on this topic of safety and security, I asked Ledgard about the condition of hospitals in the event that some catastrophic event might occur. Ledgard assured me that the “hospital issue won’t be a problem,” as they are held to a really high standard. He stated that the hospitals- especially in Cape Town and Johannesburg- are very sophisticated, pointing out that “South Africa was the first country in the world to do heart transplants.”
Ledgard added that, when looking at South Africa, it is necessary to put it in some kind of context with the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. “Other African countries, like Nigeria and the Congo, will be looking on their television screens, and thinking my lord they [South Africa] have a real police force, electricity, sewer systems, and etc.” Despite all of the positive initiatives the chance to host the 2010 World Cup has brought for South Africa, Ledgard felt the biggest problem facing the country today is the issue of crime and HIV/AIDS. “Crime is appalling, and right behind it is HIV” said Ledgard, adding that these “two issues dominate the country and really need to be addressed.” However, Ledgard is optimistic of the positive effects of the World Cup, saying that it is a “step in the right direction for the country.” It will show that South Africa is “not a country that is collapsing, but a country that is very positive and trying to move toward a globalized economy and state its place in the world.” On a final note, Ledgard said that he is “much more positive that this is South Africa’s chance to shine, and I hope everything airs well.”
Only time will tell if the World Cup will help jump start South Africa’s economy, allowing for it to become a globalized nation. However, if hotel and ticket sales are any indication, the World Cup is promoting tourism and investment in the country. We can only hope that Ledgard’s fears regarding a terrorist attack will not materialize, and that South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup will be a bright light and a beaming example for the rest of the African continent.
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Fri, 11th Jun 2010 6:24 am
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