South Africa Will Never Be the Same Again After 2010 World Cup

Online, June 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - JO'BURG - The World Cup should serve as a catalyst for further development in South Africa. Meaning that the country will never be the same again after the World Cup, President Jacob Zuma said.
In a speech at a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event in Johannesburg, the president affirmed that the event should help spur the country to the much-needed levels in areas such as job creation in the long run.
"South Africa will never be the same again after this 2010 World Cup, We view the tournament not as an end in itself, but as a catalyst for development whose benefits would be felt long after the final whistle." the President said
Zuma said South Africa hosting the World Cup - the first such event on African soil - demonstrated the strides the country had made since the advent of democracy in 1994.
He said the billions of rands that the government had invested in transportation, telecommunications infrastructure and stadiums made this World Cup "an important aspect of job creation".
The stadiums alone created 66 000 new construction jobs, generating R7.4 billion in income, with R2.2bn going to low-income households and therefore contributing to a reduction in poverty, he said.
He added that R1.3bn had been spent on safety and security, while more than R40bn had gone to public transport - from the upgrading of train stations, airports to the building up of a rapid transit system.
"We are proud of the fact that we have comfortably financed all of this investment out of current expenditure because of our fiscal prudence, as well as the high levels of tax compliance over the years."
The travel and tourism sector is one important area that South Africa envisions significant boost. During the period June 1 to June 13, more than 1 million travellers entered the country, Zuma said, citing data on arrivals.