Friday, January 22, 2010
South Africans to be removed from the road to the World Cup
South African officials are under more pressure in relation to the World Cup and this time it is not due to secruity fears or unfinished stadiums.
Like so many historic world sporting events the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been connected with injustice and accusations of cruelty and neglect to the poulation of the host nation. Similarly to the plight of Zaire nationals who were placed in cells under the ring during the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ and the local Chinese population who had their movements and access during the 2008 Olympic games heavily restricted to create the image of a perfect society to the worlds eye. It would appear that South Africa is no different, with reports of South Africans being evicted by the government in attempt to ‘beautify the city’ of Durban. The accusations relate to the 14th May 2009, when Durban-based shack-dwellers took the KwaZulu-Natal government to court over their controversial ‘Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Act’ which was designed to eliminate the slums in South Africa and move homeless shackdwellers to transit camps before the start of the 2010 World Cup. Their campaign against this act has gained support from the international media who have attempted to bring focus to the case. There is a larger controversy regarding the South African Governments N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town.
The project plans to move 20,000 residents from the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement whch is situated along the busy N2 Freeway and construct rental flats and bond houses in the settlements place, again with the time scale coinciding with the 2010 World Cup. The plan is to move the previous residents impoverished Delft township which lies on the outskirts of Cape Town and out of sight from the N2 Freeway which many fans, media and teams may use en route to games. Consecutive protests by poor communities have taken place, with protestors demanding access to basic services, jobs, adequate housing and the democratisation of service delivery as they believe that public funds are being misused for the World Cup, building stadiums and upgrading airports rather than being used on services for the public.