Politics Make South Africans Doubt 2010

Damien Venuto

The year 2010 will see the world return to Africa for immense prestige and a little gold. There will be no colonial aspirations underpinning this voyage. This time Africa has invited the respective nations of the world to return to the continent once referred to by Joseph Conrad as the Heart of Darkness. But is Africa ready to host this tournament? More importantly, is South Africa capable of meeting the standards set by previous hosts?

In 1995 South Africa successfully hosted the Rugby Union World Cup. Images of Nelson Mandela (then President) wearing a South African Rugby jersey and lifting the trophy as South Africa won the final have been fixed in the mind of every rugby supporter. The following year South Africa hosted and won the African Cup of Nations. With these two tournaments acting as precedents there should be absolutely no concern or nervousness regarding the prospect of the FIFA World Cup taking place on South African soil in 2010. Precedents can however only give an account of history and current events have made clear a definite need for concern.

The initial jubilation associated with the prospect of an African host has been eroded and left rumours of the tournament, perhaps, being moved to a more capable nation. The slow development and organisation has caused more than the raising of a few eyebrows and the sting of these rumours was medicated with exorbitant promises of improvement. Just as the promises were starting to quieten the rumours, a fresh problem emerged, and South Africa was literally flung into darkness.

Eskom, the South African electricity supply commission, can no longer meet the electrical demands of the country. When the problem initially revealed itself, power failures which lasted in excess of three hours, became common. In order to mitigate the effects of power failures a system of load shedding has been adopted. In this system the power supply is cut during peak hours of electricity use. These power cuts last approximately two hours and are subject to a rotation policy.

It is not difficult to see the dire effect that this electrical problem could have on development. Perhaps Conrad invoked clairvoyance and wrote his book as a metaphorical precursor to the 2010 World Cup. As laughable as this might seem, the prospect of the lights going out during an international fixture is not humorous at all. In the face of growing criticism, promises have been made that the 2010 World Cup will not be affected by power failures. The only comprehensible solution would be the use of generators as a back up. It must however be remembered, that many stadiums are yet to be built and this solution thus seems somewhat anachronistic. Before backup plans can be initiated the actual stadium must firstly be built.

Even if divine intervention (what most South Africans are currently relying on) allows this problem to be resolved; it would be imprudent to relax prematurely. In 1995 and 1996 South Africa was governed by the awe-inspiring philanthropic leader Nelson Mandela. This great man admirably served his two terms and is no longer the President. The 2009 general election will see Thabo Mbeki’s (the current President) reign come to an end. He is most likely to be replaced by the controversial Jacob Zuma.

Zuma has been a media favourite since his 2004 corruption trial. The charges were initially dropped, but the advent of fresh evidence resulted in a retrial, which will take place in August this year. Zuma, who was also charged with rape in 2005, has no formal education. The prospect of Zuma as the next President has resulted in whispers proclaiming South Africa as the next Zimbabwe.

No leader wants to be the one who lost the World Cup for the country. The success of the World Cup is dependant on transparent and efficient governance. It is thus very disconcerting to think that many South Africans are relying on the 2010 World Cup to ensure good governance until the tournament. So, as South Africans anxiously sit in this heart of darkness, the predominant thought belongs to the 2009 elections, rather than the euphoria attributable to 2010.