The 2010 Local Organising Committee and the executive arm of the South African Local Government Association have come up with ways municipalities can be involved in the World Cup.

The chair of the South African Local Government Association, Amos Masondo, and the LOC's chief executive Danny Jordaan talk business

ALL municipalities, not just host cities, wanted to play a pivotal role in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the chair of the South African Local Government Association (Salga), Amos Masondo, told the Local Organising Committee (LOC) at a brief meeting the two groups held.

Although short, the meeting, held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Friday, 12 October, opened the way for further collaboration between Salga and the 2010 LOC.

Masondo, who is also the executive mayor of Johannesburg, said the objective behind the meeting with the LOC was for Salga to narrow down the role that all municipalities could play in making 2010 a success.

"As municipalities, we feel we can make a contribution to 2010, not just host cities," he said at the start of the meeting, which was attended by the LOC's chief executive Danny Jordaan, among others. "Salga, as the representative voice of local government in our country, needs to assist its member municipalities in organising an excellent 2010 FIFA World Cup™ that has lasting benefits for our people."

The local government association hopes to establish a closer working relationship between the two groups, with participation in the governing and other structures of the LOC, the crystallisation of legacy projects and issues related to how best municipalities, particularly non-hosting municipalities, can benefit from the World Cup.

Municipalities would also like to play a stronger role in the volunteer programme and the fan parks and public viewing areas, Masondo said. Salga would help municipalities to integrate the World Cup into their programmes and Integrated Development Plans.

Taking it further
Jordaan confirmed that the LOC was committed to finding ways in which there could be closer co-operation. "We agree, the only issue is where and how."

Jordaan felt it would not be viable to create more structures to enable this partnership, rather suggesting participation through two channels: that Salga appoint two representatives to the host city forum, which deals with the detail of hosting; or that it engages with the executive of the 2010 board through its three-monthly meetings, with Salga becoming "part of the agenda", he said.

Salga's chief executive officer, Xolile George, and Dennis Mumble, the competitions officer for the LOC, will attend to the finer details of establishing this participation process.

"This is the broad issue; the fan parks [and other issues mentioned] we can look at at a later stage," Jordaan said in closing.

The meeting coincided with Salga's national consultative workshop at the Sandton Convention Centre, attended by over 200 municipalities. The workshop took place over two days to discuss revising the white paper on local government, the proposed Regional Electricity Distributors Establishment Bill (REDS) and working towards a single public service in the country as proposed by the draft Public Administration Management Bill.

Salga is an agglomeration of all the municipalities across the country. It is made up of councillors from each municipality and is headed by a 10-member management committee. It is mandated by the Constitution to help the transformation of local government.

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