Good national governance is good for the World Cup

This last week South Africa witnessed the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as President of the Republic of South Africa and it was reassuring to hear him mentioning the high priority that the preparations and successful implementation of the 2010 World Cup will have in his administration. This is very important for the World Cup as political stability is essential for outsiders to be confident about coming to this wonderful event. On top of this the announcement of the cabinet was also important as these are the people that will drive the process.

First of all the new administration has ensured continuity with the re-appointment of Makhenkesi Stofile as Minister of Sport.

He is already familiar with details regarding the event and it would have been disruptive to appoint someone new to this position. Another key appointment as far as the World Cup is that of Public Works as this will be the ministry that will ensure that infrastructure such as stadia will be built on time and up to scratch. Geooff Doige was appointed to this portfolio by Kgalema Motlanthe in September last year and has retained it under Zuma.

This bodes well for our preparations as he is widely regarded as one who can smooth ruffled feathers, a quality that will be needed as the deadline for the tournament draws ever closer. Another Ministry that could have a big influence on the 2010 showpiece is the National Planning Commission that is being headed by Trevor Manuel. This portfolio is tasked with developing a national programme that guides the government and co-ordinates policy implementation.

This will be necessary to ensure that the World Cup takes place in an enabling environment. Obviously the Finance Ministry is important as it will be responsible for providing the budget for the World Cup as far as government expenditure is concerned. This ministry has been assigned to Pravin Gordhan who earned respect for turning around the once ailing South African Revenue Services department.

Since broadcasting is a very big part of the event the new Minister of Communications will also be very important. The job has been given to Siphiwe Nyanda, a surprise choice. He was previously deputy chief of the South African National Defence Force.

We hope he will deliver. Since we will have a lot of visitors to this country it is very important that crime levels are drastically reduced. Nathi Mthethwa is the new minister of Police and he has his work cut out due to our incredibly high crime levels. The last ministry I regard as key to our tournament is that of tourism due to the importance of the tournament on this sector.

Marthinus Van Schalkwyk is continuing in this role and it is important that he leverages on the tournament so that tourism is boosted beyond the tournament. Ultimately since every other member of cabinet will have a direct or indirect bearing on the tournament the new Ministry in the Presidency under Collins Chabane will be very important. This ministry is in charge of performance, monitoring, evaluation and administration. It will be responsible for cracking the whip on slackers, something we cannot afford with such a historical event. since this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event on this continent we hope the executive powers above lead us to the best World Cup in history.