A healthy and vibrant academic debate was held to examine the legacy of Africa’s first World Cup on the opening day of the Department of Political and International Studies’ Annual Teach-in. The speaker, Mr Rich Mkondo, was instrumental in the irrefutable success of the event.
As Chief Communications Officer and Spokesperson for the Fifa World Cup Organising Committee, he guided the entire process of our acquisition and hosting of the momentous Final from the initial vision, through bidding and planning to the reality of that extraordinary month when South Africa was the world‘s axis.
Mkondo is a Rhodes alumnus whose distinguished career, which has taken him through the worlds of international journalism, marketing, communications and management, stands as proud testament to the quality of a Rhodes education, and to the University’s ability to produce effective leaders.
The discussant, Mr Niren Tolsi, also a graduate of Rhodes’ School of Journalism and Media Studies, is a journalist of exceptional knowledge and experience. Currently Chief Reporter at the Mail and Guardian and writer in charge of 2010 World Cup coverage, Tolsi shed light on this controversial topic from his uniquely knowledgeable perspective.
The radically different stances of these two contributors, along with their eloquence and precision with words, resulted in meaningful discourse on an important and topical issue.
Mkondo spoke positively about 2010’s legacy, mentioning infrastructure, employment, tourism and social cohesion. For six years South Africa toiled day and night to upgrade stadiums, airports and roads. Urban centres were revamped and public transport improved. Over 25 000 sustainable or permanent jobs were created (and another 20 000 temporary ones), and many of these were allocated to people who had never had jobs before.
South Africa’s status in international spheres of tourism and investment was significantly bolstered. Mkondo also cited national pride and the social cohesion, be it national, African or global, which were sparked by the Fifa event.
Tolsi countered this with a more pessimistic and, many would say, realistic analysis of 2010’s legacy. He uncovered some of the unsavoury histories which are often glossed over or ignored in mass media communications. Tolsi also cast a light on Nelspruit’s Mbombela stadium scandal which involved several assassinations as well as the eviction of learners from numerous schools.
While Tolsi agrees that certain inroads were made into infrastructural development, he reminds us that the projected costs for the event escalated wildly from R1 billion to a total of R16 billion, and that the construction sector is deemed one of the most corrupt. The issue of the new stadiums’ long-term viability was also handled negligently, and in some cases SAFA was not even consulted.
In Tolsi’s analysis, the so called ‘social cohesion’ merely consisted of the middle class emerging from their privatised worlds and joining the rest of the nation for 30 days. Furthermore the idea of World Cup-fuelled inclusive Africanism is laughable, considering that, during the event, rumours of xenophobic aggression led several families of Africans to flee the country in fear for their lives.
Mkondo’s retort was that the World Cup was never designed to “cure social ills”. It may, however, serve as a catalyst for development and economic upliftment. It was also a simple opportunity for the world to sit back and enjoy 30 days of the beautiful game.
Politics Annual Teach-In programme click here