Voorsitter, die departement, saam met die Departement van Sport en Ontspanning, het groot werk wat voorl om van die Fifa- sokkerwreldbekertoernooi 'n groot sukses te maak. Die Minister en sy departement het alreeds sekere indrukwekkende suksesse behaal. Dit is ook bemoedigend om te verneem dat toerisme in Suid-Afrika gestyg het, terwyl dit wreldwyd gedaal het, veral gegewe die ekonomiese insinking wat nog steeds wreldwyd resoneer. Suid-Afrika, as 'n land van diversiteit met interessante kulture en sekerlik die mooiste natuurskoon in die wreld, het sekerlik ook hiertoe bygedra. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Adv A D ALBERTS: Chairperson, the department, in conjunction with the Department of Sport and Recreation, has a huge task ahead to make the Fifa World Cup a big success. The Minister and his department have already achieved some impressive successes. It is also encouraging to learn that tourism in South Africa has increased, whilst it has decreased globally, especially given the economic downturn that is still resonating throughout the world. South Africa, as a diverse country with interesting cultures and probably the finest natural beauty in the world, certainly also contributed to this.]
Unfortunately, despite certain achievements, the FF Plus also needs to point out the following aspects that deserve attention: Firstly, as pointed out by the FF Plus in the Sport and Recreation budget speech, the Department of Sport and Recreation and this department do not labour in isolation from other larger issues. The Minister will have to impress on his colleagues in the peace and security cluster, the extreme importance of creating a safer South Africa.
The last month has seen a spike in extremely violent crimes, many of which take on the nature of political acts of violence, bringing our country to the brink of devastating conflict, whether verbal via hate speech, or physical via weapons. You should not underestimate the extremely negative view the world currently has of South Africa, purely because we currently have very little peace and security. We really need to address this.
Secondly, with a view to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, certain arrangements between our country and Fifa have left many questions that deserve attention and answers. One, Match, the official Fifa hospitality arm, has turned South Africa into one of the most expensive travel destinations in the world. Their uncompetitive pricing has robbed South Africa of many tourists. Then they had the gall to dump hundreds of thousands of unsold tickets on our local market.
The question is, what type of misrepresentations were made by Match to secure such a monopoly, which they could not even utilise properly? Will government take them to task for their destructive behaviour, especially with regard to the local small-scale hospitality industry, and, if so, how will this be done?
Thirdly, if Fifa is not financially successful, will the taxpayer foot the bill in the end, with Mr Blatter walking away with an increased bank account?
Fourthly, Fifa, a global organisation that must surely understand cultural diversity, has done nothing to plant their operations in all 11 official languages. Instead, they have continued to perpetuate the hegemony of English, at the cost of our indigenous languages. Will the department ensure that diversity is respected by Fifa? I trust that the Minister will attend to these matters in an effective manner. Thank you.