MYTHS, REALITY AND THE WORLD CUP

By Pravin Gordhan Reprint | | Print |

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PRETORIA, Aug 3 2010 (IPS) - What does the 2010 World Cup, recently concluded in South Africa, have in common with Nelson Mandela, ex-president of the country who on July 12 celebrated his ninety-second birthday, having selflessly dedicated 67 years to bringing about a free nation, and, since 1994, creating a better life for the majority of South Africans?

The life of Mandela and the hosting of the World Cup share a common thread: the destruction of old myths and the creation of new realities and possibilities.

A careful reading of Mandela’s life story shows him to be a destroyer of myths and a creator of new realities. When he was sent to jail 48 years ago, Mandela saw an opportunity to bring an end to apartheid through talks, which he initiated from the confines of his prison cell in 1985 by writing then-Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee.

Since his release from prison 20 years ago, Mandela has vanquished many more myths and created many more new realities and possibilities, including that of the World Cup. In essence, our hosting of the World Cup was, and has been, about creating new realities and destroying old myths and pessimism about South Africa and, indeed, the rest of Africa.

The euphoria we experienced during the World Cup isn’t going to last forever, but the momentum that it created, I believe, will last for many years to come. There was a big gap between the old myth of a backward continent where lions roamed freely and the reality of a country that is as capable as Germany in hosting a World Cup tournament.

Just to recap, it took six years of meticulous planning, commitment, and the use of appropriate delivery models to build the required infrastructure: from stadiums, rail, buses, and rapid-transport systems, the upgrading of existing airports, the construction of a new airport, the Gautrain, to improvements to our roads, freeways, and broadcast and telecommunication systems.

We had forecast that the World Cup would add 0.5 percentage points to annual growth this year. When we take account of the spending on stadiums and infrastructure since 2006, we find that the level of GDP is about one percent higher than it would have been otherwise.

The hosting of the World Cup had other benefits which are not easily quantifiable and will emerge over time. These include the boost to our national pride that comes with the realisation that “We can do it.” Now that the event is over, it is time look at the lessons learned and at our future infrastructure investments.

First, complex challenges should be broken down into a number of clearly-defined undertakings with budgets and cash flow. The complex World Cup project was divided into a mere 24 projects. This enabled all institutions involved to focus on what was required to deliver on time and ultimately ensure a successful event.

Second, using clearly-defined projects, we need to develop a “roles and responsibility matrix” that indicates which organisation does what work and by when. The roles and responsibility matrix apportioned accountability and responsibility in delivering the World Cup projects.

Third, the World Cup had a fixed deadline that all parties had to work towards and therefore an overall programme with individual project schedules, targets, and deadlines was prepared. This kept the overall project tight with little room for manoeuvre and missing deadlines.

These lessons will be taken forward in our public sector infrastructure programme, where USD 115 billion has been committed over the next three years. More than 45 percent of these funds are committed to the electricity, freight rail, and port sectors. Investing significant resources in these sectors will ensure security of supply of electricity, improved freight and shipping services, and therefore growth in our exports, specifically mining and the manufacturing base. The significant resources we committed before the World Cup to strengthen our regional and international integration by improving infrastructure at our air and land ports of entry and increasing the flow of visitors through our borders will stand the country in good stead by attracting investors and tourists.

But the most important legacy of the World Cup is the renewed confidence in us as a nation. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, wrote that confidence is made up of positive expectations for favourable outcomes. “Confidence influences the willingness to invest -to commit money, time, reputation, emotional energy, or other resources- or to withhold or hedge investment. This investment, or its absence, shapes the ability to perform. In that sense, confidence lies at the heart of civilisation.”

We took one big, bold step in 1994; we took another in 2010. The question for us as South Africans is when will we take the next big one?

It is big and bold steps that we, as a country, must take if we are to put an end to poverty and unemployment. Developing countries like South Africa have abundant, profitable investment opportunities for industrial development and projects that can improve the efficiency of their infrastructure. South Africa and the rest of Africa can be another source of global growth. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

(*) Pravin Gordhan is the Minister of Finance of South Africa. An activist during the struggle against apartheid, Gordhan was member of parliament from 1994 until 1998.