2010 World Cup

By Ronald Mello

With the approaching 2010 World Cup, issues have arisen that have been unseen in other hosting countries of recent decades. This World Cup is the first to be held in an African country, making it both an opportunity and possible catastrophe. It is the 19th cup to take place with the first world cup being played in Urguay in 1930. Though to say the first world cup did not have its own fair share of problems would be an understatement, the differences from that world cup to this one are much more evident.

One of the biggest problems right now that has critics commentating is the removal of shack dwellers in the South African city of Durban. In response to their successful bid for the world cup in 2010, they have been doing numerous construction projects to get the city up to par with cities that have held the cup in the past. They are actively trying to improve the public transport infrastructure, build new stadiums for the many world cup games, and remove thousands of poor civilians whose homes are merely shacks which are an eye-sore for visiting tourists.

New legislation of the KwaZulu-Natal Elimination & Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Bill, whose aim is to eliminate “slums” in KwaZulu-Natal province, prevent new “slums” from developing, upgrade and control existing “slums,” monitor the performance of departments and municipalities in the elimination of “slums” and the prevention of new “slums” from developing.

It has also detailed plans to make sure that all of this really happens. The Bill, with information gathered from the government site dedicated to dealing with the housing of Durban and other South African cities, says that it aims to “improve the living conditions of communities,” but it has no detailed plans to make sure that this really happens. It is therefore clear that its real purpose is to get rid of “slums” rather than to improve the conditions in which people live.

The shack dwellers movement was actively fighting this bill in court. As of October 14th, 2009, the supreme court of South Africa ruled that the legislation was indeed unconstitutional. This is a great step forward for the group which now has the backing to fight those who are trying to kick them off the land.

The Abahlali baseMjondolo movement began in Durban, South Africa, in early 2005 and is the largest group of militant poor in South Africa today. Information gathered from their website at http://www.abahlali.org/ said that the group began with a blockade by Kennedy Road residents protesting against the proposed sale of a nearby piece of land which had been promised to them by the local council as a site for permanent housing. Since then, the movement has survived fires, attempted evictions of their members, destruction of shacks, hundreds of arrests and continuous harassment by the local municipal council and the police.

The Abahlali baseMjondolo group has gathered the attention and support of various Human rights organizations and foreign media. A Human Rights group out of California, the Grey Panthers, is actively protesting the removal of shack dwellers. A spokesperson for the group, contacted via email, went through a list of ideas to get the plight of the shack dweller out there to the media and world. He is one of the people putting together an online protest which people can sign to show their support against the government of South Africa.

Dr. Michael Sutcliffe, the Municipal manager of the South African city of Durban, is in charge of overseeing the events that are taking place before the 2010 world cup.

“We have done everything to ensure that all our own preparations for the event are part of a broader 2010 and beyond strategy,” said Sutcliffe. He says that the ongoing change in the city is not only for the World Cup, but to make the transition for Durban into a modern city.

“Overall, the preparations for 2010 are well on track and our iconic Moses Mabhida stadium will undoubtedly be a flagship for the event.”