National Assembly - 24 August 2010
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 __
ProceedingS of national assembly
____
The House met at 14:04.
The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
Recognition of delegation from Japan
The SPEAKER: Hon members, I wish to recognise the presence in the gallery of a delegation from Japan consisting of Ms T Matsumoto, MP, the Chairperson of the Rules and Administration committee and the delegation of the National Diet of Japan. The delegation is accompanied by His Excellency Mr T Ozawa, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of South Africa. [Applause.] Your Excellencies, we extend a warm welcome to you.
NOTICES OF MOTION Mrs S V KALYAN: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates South Africa’s negotiating position on climate change in preparation for the Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010.
Mr G R MORGAN: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House –
1) debates the killing of wildlife by poachers both in government
protected areas and on private land; and
2) comes up with solutions as to how to significantly reduce this
poaching.
Dr S M VAN DYK: Agb Speaker, ek gee kennis dat ek by die volgende sitting van die Huis namens die DA sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis ’n debat voer oor Eskom se vermoë om ’n spesiale lae elektrisiteitstarief vir boere te beding tot voordeel van volhoubare landbouproduksie in Suid-Afrika. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr S M VAN DYK: Hon Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates Eskom’s capacity to negotiate a reduced electricity tariff for farmers specifically to achieve sustainable agricultural production in South Africa.]
Mr N SINGH: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House –
1) debates the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers to
South Africa 150 years ago on 16 November 1860; and
2) acknowledges their contribution to the country and the role
government would play in marking this milestone.
Mr B A RADEBE: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates the measures that were undertaken to support and grow effective small business entrepreneurship as a means to address unemployment.
Mr M S F DE FREITAS: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates the reasons for the suspension of certain rail services throughout the country and what solutions can be identified to solve this.
Ms N A MNISI: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates reversing the legacy of apartheid spatial planning through enhanced integrated transport and human settlement systems.
Mr Z S MAKHUBELE: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates how to gear Adult Basic Education and Training so as to ensure that it responds better to the skills demand.
Ms M C DUBE: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates mechanisms to prevent police killings.
Mr M JOHNSON: Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House debates about finding ways to stabilise food prices in order to protect food security and combat hunger.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MR LAWRENCE DE JAGER FOR SAVING SEVEN CHILDREN FROM FIRE
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House –
1) congratulates Mr Lawrence de Jager for his act of bravery in
successfully saving seven young children from burning in the fire
that engulfed a house in Steeledale, south of Johannesburg, on
Wednesday, 18 August 2010;
2) notes that Mr De Jager battled the flames in order to save the
young children using only a handheld fire-extinguisher and a garden
hosepipe; and
3) praises Mr De Jager for his selfless, heroic conduct and his sense
of value of human life.
Agreed to.
MEMBERS OF PUBLIC ASSISTING AT PUBLIC HOSPITALS DURING PUBLIC SERVICE
SECTOR STRIKE
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that over the course of the past week thousands of South Africans have turned out at hospitals in Gauteng to assist in caring for patients who have been left unattended during the Public Service sector strike which commenced last week;
(2) acknowledges that without this volunteer assistance the hospitals would have been forced to close down, with potentially catastrophic results for the 90 babies who had been abandoned by nurses at hospitals throughout the province;
(3) recognises that throughout the country members of the public have heeded the call for assistance in the health care sector and have turned out at these institutions in vast numbers to help care for the sick and perform essential tasks, including washing bed linen and cleaning these institutions; and
(4) expresses its gratitude to all members of the public for the selfless and essential contribution they have made to these institutions and to their country.
Agreed to.
Welcoming of legal aid Advice Line focusing on civil rights matters
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House –
1) welcomes the Legal Aid Advice Line initiative of establishing a
call centre that will focus on civil rights matters;
2) notes that the aim of the legal Aid Advice Line is to assist poor
South Africans with immediate legal advice, and that people earning
less than R5 000 a month are eligible for assistance;
(3) further notes that the Legal Aid Advice Line will not only give legal advice to clients but, on certain occasions, will link clients to lawyers who will take up their cases; and
(4) congratulates Legal Aid for availing legal services to poor communities as this initiative will hasten the process of the realisation of equality before the law.
Agreed to.
SENTENCING OF KENYAN FOR ATTEMPTING TO SELL ALBINO MAN
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House –
1) welcomes the sentencing of a Kenyan man, Nathan Mutei, to 17 years
in jail for trying to sell an albino man to witch doctors in
Tanzania on Thursday, 19 August 2010;
(2) notes the unwarranted and gruesome killing of 53 albinos since 2007, their body parts having been sold for witchcraft purposes;
(3) condemns the stereotypes regarding albinos’ body parts as good medicine; and
(4) calls on the government of Tanzania to be harsher on people guilty of this practice so that the punishment they receive should act as a deterrent to others who are engaged in this barbaric act.
Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Speaker, we have a problem. We did indicate to the ANC that we were unhappy with the motion because we believe that it needs to be broadened to the extent that it includes all body parts, not just those of albinos, but of people in general. This is very limiting in structure, and we would prefer to see that the whole motion is put again at a later stage, indicating clearly the point that we have raised. We have put this to the ANC already.
The SPEAKER: Hon member, apparently there was a discussion on it.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we are not aware of that objection, but we are prepared to take a fresh look at that.
CITY OF CAPE TOWN CEMETERY BYLAWS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms N P KHUNOU (ANC): Speaker, the DA-led City Of Cape Town’s proposed bylaws restricting certain cultural practices in the city’s cemeteries should be condemned in the strongest terms.
If enacted, the bylaws will, amongst other things, result in family members of a deceased person being barred from attending the burial of their loved ones, as only a small number of people will be allowed to enter the cemetery at any given time.
Furthermore, only vehicles which meet the ridiculous standards set by the city will be allowed to transport corpses. This is not only a violation of people’s rights to exercise their cultural beliefs; it deprives them of their right to bury their loved ones with dignity. One does not have to be a legal expert to realise that these racist bylaws are aimed at nothing more than punishing those groups residing in the city who have persistently rejected the politics of the DA.
The bylaws, which were clearly inspired by apartheid’s segregation laws, where only the interest and traditions of a particular racial group were elevated, whilst those of other groups were brutally suppressed, should not be allowed to see the light of day in any part of the country, including in those few areas controlled by the DA. The ANC, as it has done with other similar racist laws in the past, will use every available platform to challenge the DA’s racist laws.
Furthermore, we call upon residents of the City of Cape Town to stand up and defend their hard-won freedom. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Ms N P KHUNOU: They should refuse to be used as guinea pigs in the DA’s experimentation with racist ideas. [Applause.]
HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WORKING DURING PUBLIC SERVICE STRIKE
(Member’s Statement)
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Speaker, the DA wishes to thank all those workers, especially those performing essential services, who have, despite their grievances and the intimidation by other workers, stayed at their posts during the current strike. The DA calls on those departments under whom essential workers fall to take appropriate action against those who have not only contravened the law by continuing to strike, but who have also placed the lives and welfare of South Africans at risk as a result.
The right to strike is one of the most essential rights in our labour legislation and is fully supported by the DA. Equally important is the right of those people who wish to work to do so if they so choose without fear of intimidation from unions or their members.
The current strike chaos points to a dual failure by the ANC government, firstly in its mismanagement of Public Sector labour relations, and secondly in its poor contingency planning for a strike that has been looming for a considerable period of time. It is essential that this administration proactively seeks solutions to the problems caused by the strike and ensures that the necessary actions are taken against those who have continued to strike illegally, intimidating other workers and/or damaging state property. Thank you. [Applause.]
BREACH OF SECURITY AT NELSON MANDELA’S HOUSE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M S SHILOWA (Cope): Speaker, the revelation by Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi that the Houghton home of former President Nelson Mandela was bugged comes as devastating news. The fact that this was done by whomsoever, in spite of Mr Mandela receiving VIP protection, indicates the brashness and brazenness within certain structures of the state.
For us as ordinary South Africans, the question arises: if former President Mandela’s house can be bugged, who else is also being illegally bugged and how extensively and routinely is this being done? That this is unconstitutional and an unwarranted encroachment on the privacy of individuals must set the alarm bells ringing. What other revelations are in store for us on this intrusion into privacy?
Under the envisaged Protection of Information Bill, such information would be classified and the shenanigans of state agencies would be concealed from public view. Our constitutional rights would therefore be rendered meaningless. It is obvious that any state that uses illegal measures to perpetrate a crime would classify the information as being sensitive or state information, and therefore the routine violation of the Constitution will go unchallenged.
While the government is arguing that it wants to protect state information in a way that should not infringe unduly on personal rights and liberties, everyone knows that in its operation the very opposite may prevail. Trying to get access to information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act is hard enough; with the new measures even greater secrecy will prevail.
We call on the government to come clean on this matter and take the country into its confidence as to why Madiba’s residence was bugged, who actually bugged it, who gave permission and for what end. Thank you. [Applause.]
ELECTION OF MMAMOLOKO KUBAYI AS DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE ANC YOUTH LEAGUE
(Member’s Statement)
Ms S T NDABENI (ANC): The ANC congratulates Mmamoloko Kubayi, a Member of Parliament, on being elected as a deputy secretary of the ANC Youth League at the Gauteng Provincial Conference which was held over the past weekend of 15 August. [Applause.]
This is a show of confidence, trust and commitment to the cause of the struggle, led by the ANC, which has led the people of Gauteng to elect this comrade to serve on the ANC Youth League’s provincial structures. As the ANC, we believe that with her experience of service to the struggle for the attainment of a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society, this comrade will discharge her responsibilities to her newly elected position with humility, courage and dedication. [Applause.]
CALL TO DECLARE TEACHING AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE IN RESPONSE TO TEACHERS’ STRIKE
(Member’s Statement) Ms S P LEBENYA-NTANZI (IFP): Speaker, the IFP supports the right of workers to strike as it is an essential part of any democracy. In fact, it was us in the IFP who organised and established the first veritable black union to protect workers’ rights during apartheid. [Interjections.]
We did it simply because we have always empathised with the plight of our workers and their families. We all know that there are good teachers living on paltry salaries. We know there are dedicated nurses with families, struggling to make ends meet while caring for our families every day. Every man and woman of conscience must draw a line where they will stop to have their own needs met. It seems that for many in this particular strike, there is no such line, or it extends far beyond the bounds of what is rational, moral and humane.
The IFP is extremely concerned about this strike and the long-term effects it will have on the future of our children. Across our country, as I stand here, many pupils have not been to school in weeks. Our school children are particularly vulnerable at this time for two reasons: firstly, the upcoming matric examinations are around the corner and, secondly, with the unusual long holiday of five weeks to accommodate the World Cup, virtually all teaching has come to a standstill.
This spelt disaster for all upcoming school examinations. Therefore, the IFP urgently calls on government to declare teaching an essential service without any further delay. As South Africans, we want to hold this government and the President accountable for his commitment to making education one of the central priorities of this government. I thank you. [Applause.]
CRACKDOWN ON SUSPICIOUS HOUSING CONTRACTORS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr J M MATSHOBA (ANC): The ANC-led government is committed to accelerate the delivery of housing within the context of sustainable human settlements, to provide housing within human settlements, to provide quality housing that will turn houses into assets, to create a single, efficient, formal housing market, and to abolish apartheid spatial planning, thereby restructuring and integrating human settlements.
Therefore, we welcome the Department of Human Settlements’ crackdown on dodgy housing contractors. The department has drawn up a shortlist of 20 problematic housing projects, with a total value of R2 billion, which are currently under investigation. The probes are being conducted by the National Audit Task Team, appointed by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale in November 2009, and headed by the Special Investigating Unit, SIU. The SIU’s mandate to investigate corruption in the housing delivery process was recently extended by President Jacob Zuma, enabling Minister Sexwale’s task team to continue with its work.
The SIU visited all nine provinces to get an understanding of processes and to obtain a high-level overview of all projects on the Department of Human Settlements’ database. Initially, the top ten dodgy contractors in each province were identified. Further investigation narrowed these down to a national list of 20, with a total value of R2 billion.
The SIU has been asked to investigate a number of complaints which have been raised about the National Home Builders’ Registration Council, which provides a quality-control function to housing contractors. We urge all departments to follow suit and root out corruption. [Applause.]
POOR WORKING CONDITIONS IN GAME LODGES BORDERING KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
(Member’s Statement)
Mr N T GODI (APC): Mr Speaker, the APC has been receiving a stream of complaints from workers employed in game lodges, particularly those bordering the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga. Game lodges are an important part of the hospitality industry which serves an increasing number of people, both South African and tourists. The APC is concerned that employment conditions and practices pertaining to the African workers are far from ideal. Workers complain of pre-1994 attitudes and treatment by the employers, blatant discrimination, paternalistic attitudes, low wages, unpaid overtime, unfair dismissal and racist promotion practices.
The APC would like to call on the Department of Labour to send inspectors to these lodges to ascertain their levels of compliance with relevant legislation. The APC condemns all racist practices and calls on the hospitality industry, especially game lodges, to desist from treating their employees like serfs. The APC has every intention of helping to expose those game lodges that ill-treat our people. We intend to help mobilise these workers so that they can realise the full benefits and protection of our country’s laws. The APC believes there should be no let-up in the fight against exploitation and starvation wages. I thank you.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING INTO AND IN SOUTH AFRICA
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs C N Z ZIKALALA (IFP): Speaker, whilst the IFP welcomes the recent statement by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel, that South Africa will soon introduce legislation to fight human trafficking, the IFP believes that soon is not soon enough. We have heard countless harrowing stories of women and children who are brought to South Africa, then sold and transported across the country just to be treated like slaves and forced into prostitution. The few women who are lucky to have escaped have told horrific stories about being locked in their rooms, beaten and, in some instances, having had their identity documents taken from them.
Furthermore, they were forced to take drugs, all their earnings were taken from them, and they were given little to eat other than rice. It is clear that within our borders, human trafficking has become a thriving business for some of the most ruthless criminals who abuse women and deny them their basic human rights.
During this Women’s Month, let us recommit ourselves as Members of Parliament to women’s rights and to ending the suffering of abused women and children. The IFP believes that the legislation before the parliamentary portfolio committee that deals specifically with this issue must be expedited. Our women and children depend on us for their protection. I thank you.
ONLINE VERIFICATION SYSTEM TO COMBAT IDENTITY DOCUMENT FRAUD
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs T M A GASEBONWE (ANC): Speaker, the ANC welcomes the announcement by the Department of Home Affairs that they are working on rolling out an online identity document verification system that is expected to cut down on identity document, ID, fraud in the country. The project will give the South African Social Security Agency, banks, insurers, and retailers, among others, real-time access to the Home Affairs National Identification System, Hanis, in order to verify the identities of current and prospective clients.
Hanis stores South African citizens’ ID numbers, fingerprints and photos. Accessing Hanis will enable these sectors to conduct on-the-spot verification of the fingerprints of clients against the information stored in Hanis. This new system will be up and running before the end of 2010 and will make it difficult for people who are in possession of fraudulent IDs to use them. The department signed a memorandum of understanding with the SA Banking Risk Information Centre in March. This comes in the light of escalating ID fraud.
The ANC-led government is committed to streamlining the administration of Home Affairs to ensure that our people can safely use their IDs to access social services. Thank you.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION’S REPORT ON MR MOSANA,CEO OF EAST LONDON HOSPITAL COMPLEX
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M WATERS (DA): Speaker, two and half years after my initial request and after an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, I have finally received a report from the Public Service Commission about an investigation into the chief executive officer of the East London Hospital Complex, Mr Mosana.
All the most relevant parts of the report had been blacked out. This is a tactic reminiscent of the apartheid era. The censored sections of those most relevant to the DA’s complaint relates to the actual qualifications of Mr Mosana as well as the other 11 shortlisted candidates. The apartheid- style censorship makes it impossible for the public to compare the qualifications of the candidates to that of the job advertised.
The chief executive officer’s position requires, amongst other things, a recognised postgraduate qualification in financial management or in the economics field. To our knowledge, Mr Mosana, at the time of his appointment, was in possession of a Master’s degree in Politics and only had experience as an ANC councillor in the Buffalo City Council, hardly fit for the purpose.
South Africa is currently in the grip of a sustained assault on the constitutional principles of freedom of expression and transparency, most notably in the form of the Protection of Information Bill. This saga demonstrates that both these principles had been under threat for some time preceding the Bill’s formation. All this Bill has done is to give a formal shape to the ANC’s long-standing aversion to oversight and accountability. I thank you.
VIOLENT INCIDENTS DURING PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS’ STRIKE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr D A KGANARE (Cope): Speaker, the Public Service strike has now dragged on for seven days. Poor people in need of urgent and critical care are in distress. Government and the unions involved ought to have negotiated an agreement on the minimum service levels upfront. That they did not do so reflects the failure of leadership from both within government and the unions.
While Cope reiterates the absolute right of workers to withhold their labour peacefully, we unequivocally condemn all incidences of violence, thuggery and destruction of property. This is totally unwarranted and is a transgression of the law.
During the struggle for freedom, there were many strikes and stay-aways. During this time, it was always made clear that nurses and doctors would not be interfered with. What is happening now is completely unacceptable. The longer the present strike continues, the more it will degenerate into violence. Therefore, it is imperative for the government and the unions to speedily resolve the impasse. It is also a matter of fundamental importance that government negotiate with the unions in utmost good faith. The accusation that government is misleading the public is startling to say the least. The Public Service Association is arguing that employees who qualify for progression increments are entitled to receive it, regardless of any increase across the board. They do not see this as an addition to the pay offer.
Cope lays the full blame of the present strike at the door of President Zuma, Minister Baloyi and Mr Vavi. During the 2007 public sector strike, they suggested that the fiscus had adequate funds to meet increases and that they do not understand why government was not paying the increases demanded by workers. Now workers are expecting delivery on these promises. They sowed the wind and now they are reaping the whirlwind. Unfortunately, the arrogant and unfortunate statements made by Minister Baloyi are not contributing to the resolution of the problem.
As we wait for leaders to lead, we are deeply indebted to the volunteers … [Time expired.]
RAPE AND MURDER OF WOMEN AND YOUNG GIRLS
(Member’s Statement)
Nksk B N DLULANE (ANC): Somlomo, singumbutho we-ANC sivakalisa uvelwano sikwakhwankqisiwe zizihelegu zokubulawa koomama ngale nyanga yethu singamanina. Kwiveki ephelileyo umakoti ophantsi koMasipala waseNyandeni, kummandla we-O R Tambo, udlwengulwe waxatyelwa ngesinkempe ebeyokutheza ngaso, kwaye uyangcwatywa kulo Mgqibelo.
Akubanga ntsuku zingaphi, umakhulu oneminyaka engama-85 uxatyelwe wabulawa ngesinkempe kunye nabazulukwana bakhe abane, abaneminyaka eli-17, 10, 9 kunye noneminyaka emi-5, ngokulandelelana kwabo. Singoomama asinakho ukunyamezela ukuthi gqolo kwezihange zibulala ngonyhamnyeko oomama nabantwana. Sithi huntshu kwabakwantsasana ngokunqakula le migegemba etyholwa ngezi zenzo zaseNgqeleni. Mabenze kanjalo naphaya kumakoti waseLibode eNyandeni; bazingelwe de babanjwe. Abantu mabasebenzisane nomthetho.
Kwizizalwane sithi: “Masilaleni ngenxeba”. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa member’s statement follows.)
[Mrs B N DLULANE (ANC): Chairperson, as the ANC we are shocked by such cruel conduct as the killing of women during the month we are celebrating women. Last week, a newly-wed woman in Nyandeni Municipality, under the O R Tambo District Municipality, was raped and brutally murdered with her axe, which she was going to use to chop wood; she will be buried this Saturday.
A few days after that incident, an 85-year-old woman and her four grandchildren, aged 17, 10, 9 and 5 were murdered with an axe. As women we cannot tolerate the inhumane slaughtering of women and children by criminals. We congratulate the policemen for their work that led to the arrest of those criminals who are also suspects in the Ngqeleni murder case. They must do likewise even to those who murdered the Nyandeni newly- wed woman; they must be hunted until they are arrested. People must co- operate with the law.
We express our sincere condolences to the relatives. [Applause.]]
MORATORIUM ON RECRUITMENT OF POLICE RESERVISTS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms D KOHLER-BARNARD (DA): Speaker, on Thursday 10 December 2009, the Minister of Police released a media statement informing people that the moratorium on the recruitment of reservists had been lifted. He responded to a DA parliamentary question, saying that the lifting of this moratorium would allow people who wished to volunteer their services to assist the police in the fight against crime to do so, as long as they met certain criteria laid down by the department.
However, it seems as if the Minister’s decision has been overruled by his very own Secretariat. Minister, wherever you are, are you aware that a meeting was held in Pretoria, on 23 February this year, between the Head of the Civilian Secretariat of Police Ms Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane and Brigadier Kennedy? They decided that, despite the answer given in Parliament and the subsequent media statement by the Minister, a decision has been taken by visible policing and personnel that recruiting and even reinstatement of ex-members will remain on hold.
So, Minister, who do we believe? Should we believe your answer to a parliamentary question and your media statement or the Secretariat who decided that there will be no lifting of the moratorium until such time as determined by the head of that body? Which is this House to believe? Are they supposed to believe that you have answered the question in that manner while well aware of the fact that the moratorium had not been lifted at all, or that you were unaware that these entities felt that they had the right to overrule your decision?
The DA would like this matter to be cleared up once and for all. Do you or do you not stand by your statement of 10 December that the moratorium has been lifted? If you do, why does the Secretariat feel it has the right to reverse your decision? If not, could you explain to this House why it is that your answer had been reversed without your knowledge? [Applause.]
WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms M L DUNJWA (ANC): The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, acknowledged the country’s leading female scientists through the Annual Women in Science Awards on 13 August 2010. The 2010 Annual Women in Science Awards are part of the department’s effort to increase the number of women as female scientists and researchers in the country.
The awards have also been created to increase women’s access to research professions and to profile successful scientists and researchers as role models for young women and girls. The ANC supports this initiative and encourages the enrolment of girl-children in schools, especially the recruitment of women from poor backgrounds into science.
On its part, the ANC government will continue to improve the quality of schooling, particularly in maths, science and technology, and language development. [Applause.]
The SPEAKER: The ID did not make use of its opportunity to make a statement. Does any member of the ANC wish to take up that slot?
STATE VISIT TO LESOTHO
(Member’s Statement)
Ms K R MAGAU (ANC): President Jacob Zuma has recently concluded a state visit to Lesotho by signing several agreements with the landlocked country. During his two-day visit, an agreement on grants from the African Renaissance Fund for the implementation of the advanced infrastructure component of the Metolong Dam and the water supply programme was signed.
Other agreements included a memorandum of understanding on economic co- operation, a memorandum of understanding concerning co-operation in the legal field and a declaration of intent on phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister in a joint communiqué assured President Zuma of Lesotho’s unwavering support for South Africa’s candidature for the nonpermanent seat in the United Nations’ Security Council for the 2011-12 term. He also congratulated South Africa for hosting a successful Fifa World Cup. I thank you. [Applause.]
HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WORKING DURING PUBLIC SERVICE STRIKE
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Speaker and hon members of the House, I wish to respond on the issue of government not having contingency plans for the strike. Obviously, when an event like this takes place, we start pointing fingers, and the truth might also be lost and replaced by fiction.
I want to clarify a few factors. Firstly, the doctors, being represented by the South African Medical Association, never took a decision to go on strike. They are still not on strike. There is no doctor in the Republic of South Africa who is on strike in any of our hospitals. That is the truth. All doctors are at work.
Secondly, this was a legal strike, protected by the labour laws under the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which members are aware of. Thirdly, as far as nurses are concerned, no nursing union informed us formally that they were going on strike. Indeed, while lots of nurses are staying away, they informed us that they were dragged out. We saw some of them being openly dragged out of their workplaces.
Therefore, for this reason, we did put contingency plans in place. We did foresee that there was going to be a strike. Let me confess, what we did not foresee was the sheer brutality and the inhumanity that has been displayed. I agree, I would never have planned or thought that at any day in our lives as South Africans I would see people going into theatres and dragging out people when somebody is undergoing an operation. I never planned for that, because I never dreamed about it.
Strikes and uprisings existed before in this country from time immemorial. We were all there during the Soweto Uprisings. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
VIOLENT INCIDENTS DURING PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS’ STRIKE
AND
POOR WORKING CONDITIONS IN GAME LODGES BORDERING KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
(Minister’s Response)
UMPHATHISWA WEZABASEBENZI: Somlomo, ukusukela kwintetho kaMphathiswa wezeMpilo, eyona nto emayicace mhlophe kukuba ubundlobongela, ukoyikisa nokuqweqwediswa kwabantu akuvumelekanga. Abo benza oko bonyelisa idabi labasebenzi. Siyabacela ukuba bazikhwebule kule mikhwa nakule mikhuba. Iinkokeli zabasebenzi mazazi ukuba ingxubakaxaka efana nale isonjululwa kuphela eqongeni lothethathethwano. Ukukhwaza nokwenza amanyala namanyundululu akuzuyisombulula ingxaki abajongene nayo abasebenzi.
Kananjalo, ukuthwaxa nokuthuka uMongameli uZuma akusayi kuyisombulula le ngxaki. Nabo ke balapha kule Ndlu yasePalamente abathi,“Zuma, Zuma” amaxesha ngamaxesha abancedi nganto. Umntwana wabantu kufanel’ uba uyaziluma nalapho akhoyo ngalo mzuzu.
Ndiyavumelana nawe mntwana kaGodi ukuba abahloli mabaye kwezi ndawo zingcungcuthekisa abasebenzi. Ndicela ke ungemki apha ungandinikanga amagama ezi ndawo zishishina ngokuqeshisa ngendawo yokulala nokuchitha ikhefu ukwenzela ukuba sizigqogqe, ngoba bonke abaqeshi abangcungcuthekisa abasebenzi bamele ukuba nabo bangonwabi. Ayilolizwe nje elithengisa iibhanana eli, lilizwe labantu. Lilizwe lethu eli kwaye siyalithanda. Asinandawo iyenye esiza kuya kuyo; siphelele apha eMzantsi Afrika. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa Minister’s response follows.)
[The MINISTER OF LABOUR: Chairperson, referring to the speech by the Minister of Health, the only thing that must be made clear is that crime, the terrorising and hijacking of people, is not acceptable. Those who are doing that are demeaning the workers’ struggle. We ask them to abstain from that behaviour. Shop stewards must know that problems like these are only solved through negotiations. To make a noise and do horrifying things is not going to solve the problem which the workers are faced with.
Therefore, to badmouth President Zuma and to swear at him will not solve the problem. And those who are here in this august House who are calling out, “Zuma, Zuma” all the time are of no help. I think the President is not happy where he is at this present moment.
I agree with you, Mr Godi, that inspectors must visit those places where workers are being ill-treated. I ask you not to leave before giving me a list of the bed and breakfast places and hotels so that we can investigate them, because all employers who are ill-treating their employees must also be prosecuted. This is our country and not a banana republic. This country belongs to the people. This is our country and we love it. We have nowhere else to go; South Africa is all that we have. [Applause.]]
TAXATION LAWS AMENDMENT BILL
(Introduction)
The MINISTER OF FINANCE: Mr Speaker, fellow Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and hon members, I have pleasure in presenting the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill of 2010. This Bill represents the annual revisions to the existing tax legislation. As required by the Constitution, two Bills are required for tax legislation. The first Bill is the money Bill, which contains changes to total tax liabilities as a result of changes to tax rates and/or the tax bases. The second Bill covers other tax matters, mainly relating to tax administration.
Let me ponder or reflect upon our current economic environment for a moment. Taxation in the South African economy is crucial to our fiscal sovereignty and our ability to fund government expenditure through tax revenue. However, the recession over the last two years has resulted in a massive drop in revenue last year of almost R68,9 billion, which was less that what we had budgeted for. This resulted in the tax on gross domestic product, GDP, ratio dropping from almost 27% to about 24,4%. It is still going to take us another three to five years – let me repeat that it is going to take us another three to five years to recover to the tax GDP ratio of 28% that we had enjoyed in 2007-2008.
The GDP figures released today indicate a growth of 3,2%, and the leading indicators released by the Reserve Bank also indicate, regrettably, an uncertain economic climate ahead of us. However, let’s be positive and hope that the prediction that our economy will still grow by 3% for the remainder of this year, for the year as a whole, happens to be true.
The Bills give effect to the tax proposals announced in February when we presented the 2010 Budget. After an intensive consultation process, including taking public comments on an initial draft set of Bills as well as hearings in Parliament, many of the initial proposals have been amended, and we have responded to the submissions that have been made to us. This, Mr Speaker, demonstrates the power of Parliament and of public participation to amend money Bills such as these tax Bills. It is also a process where we demonstrate the extent to which we listen to the concerns of stakeholders and accommodate such concerns to the extent that they are legitimate. Of course, if we took all of the concerns into account, we wouldn’t have much tax to collect. Not too many people are listening, so you can’t even respond to that. It wouldn’t be fair. But you are not listening either. Given the complexity of tax legislation, the National Treasury and Sars also published a detailed explanatory memorandum to explain the Bill. This assists greatly, as the Bills are largely amendments to existing Acts of Parliament, which are fairly complex, such as the Income Tax Act, Value- Added Tax Act and the Customs and Excise Act.
The proposed Bills provide personal income tax relief for individuals, which you have already had in your pockets - and other South Africans have had it as well - and closed various tax loopholes so as to ensure an equitable tax system. Both tax Bills contain a mixture of limited tax relief measures needed to overcome commercial blockages and anti-avoidance measures needed to protect the tax base. You might be interested to know that the closing of tax loopholes has now become an international concern and something that we also will focus on much more seriously in South Africa.
Severance packages paid by employers, and this is the first of the changes that we have in this Bill, will receive the R300 000 exemption, and preferential rates tables that currently are available for lump sum retirement savings payments. These lump sum savings payouts will also be available for severance packages. In other words, severance packages and retirement savings payouts will be treated on the same basis. This is fairly important given our current environment where almost a million people have lost their jobs. This measure will assist those receiving severance packages from employers. A number of other measures are intended to provide relief for various forms of lump sum pension payouts so that taxpayers can more readily access their full retirement savings after retirement.
However, the tax system fortunately is not designed to comfort those who seek to exploit loopholes, no matter how well- entrenched those loopholes have become. In this vein, practices continue to exist that seek to provide certain employees with salary packages containing undue tax advantages. These undue tax advantages leave a select group of employees with a lower tax burden than members of the general public who receive their salaries in cash.
These Bills aim to provide a more equitable tax treatment for those benefiting from employer-provided motor vehicles. While the current tax rules correctly treat this free use of a motor vehicle as a taxable fringe benefit, the proposed amendment increases the tax charge to reflect fully the value of the economic benefit received by the employee.
The second major change refers to South Africa as a regional gateway to sub- Saharan Africa. South Africa is an ideal location for multinationals to base their regional operations for investments into sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa offers world-class financial services, regulatory architecture and infrastructure as well. We have a modern economy, wonderful weather and other natural attractions that make South Africa a desirable location for foreign expatriates seeking assignments on a long-term basis. Certain domestic tax anomalies, the exchange control regime and fierce competition from certain low-tax countries remain stumbling blocks to South Africa taking full advantage of the opportunities that are available. To remedy this situation, the proposed amendments remove various tax hurdles that a multinational company would face if it bases its regional headquarters in South Africa. We are also revising exchange controls to support such initiatives.
Another important area of innovation relates to the growing use of Islamic financing, which contains certain prohibitions in respect of finance. This includes prohibitions against interest, immoral substances and lack of transparency in respect of investment. The tax system’s lack of recognition of Islamic finance is an issue, as it focuses mainly on traditional forms of finance. The proposed amendments will level the playing field in respect of certain Islamic financial products when undertaking savings and investments and when attempting to access bank finance.
The third area refers to cross-border issues. To attract foreign investment into our country, we exempt foreign investors based in South Africa from tax on interest received or accrued from their operations outside of our borders. It now appears that this particular exemption for cross-border interest is far wider than the global practice. More specifically, the current exemption covers nearly all forms of interest, except if the foreign investor has substantial presence within South Africa. As a result, billions of rands are flowing out of South Africa without any tax being paid on them.
The proposed amendment will close this gap by narrowing the cross-border interest exemption, mainly to mobile international capital, such as listed government and corporate bonds, given the sensitivity of these global bonds. Most other forms of cross-border interest payments will become subject to a 10% withholding charge. Unfortunately, this amendment will be delayed until 2013, because this shift in taxation of cross-border interest will require the renegotiation of certain tax treaties and the implementation of an administrative mechanism to allow for a withholding regime.
The next area is the carbon dioxide emissions tax. I suggest that all of you listen carefully to this, particularly when you are going to buy your new car. The proposed carbon dioxide vehicle emissions tax forms part of this year’s tax proposals, although it is not included in the Bills tabled today. This tax will be imposed in terms of amended schedules and rules to the Customs and Excise Act. As with other tax proposals, we have consulted with relevant stakeholders, including the industry itself. After some initial misunderstanding, I’ve met with the largest motor car industry chief executive officers last week and confirmed that the carbon dioxide vehicle emissions tax on passenger vehicles will proceed as scheduled on 1 September 2010. [Interjections.] Mr M J ELLIS: What size car do you drive?
The MINISTER OF FINANCE: That you’ll know later, Mike. However, I have also taken into account some concerns of the industry, and agreed that the tax on double cabs will be delayed slightly, coming into effect on an agreed date in a few months’ time. It is the intention that this tax will be extended to all other light commercial vehicles at a later date. I should add that we have a complete and comprehensive approach to the environmental taxes. Work in this area began in 2003, including a paper on environmental fiscal reform published in 2006, and the discussion paper on carbon taxes that will be published shortly.
Though not implemented this year, we are considering the implementation of a carbon dioxide vehicle emissions tax on all cars - new and old. This will be implemented by reviewing our approach to vehicle license fees, which are implemented by provinces. As we improve our public transport, we could also impose higher fuel levies and demand better quality of fuel than we have in South Africa at present. All in all, there is a place for all of these mechanisms if we want to reduce the emission of green house gases and ensure that we leave our children with a better legacy when it comes to air quality and reducing the risks of climate change.
The next area is the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Act, which came into effect for the first time on 1 March 2010. The South African mineral and petroleum royalty system imposes a royalty charge on a gross basis with the rate increasing or decreasing depending on company profitability. This varying rate allows for South Africa, as a whole, to enjoy relatively higher yields during the boom years while providing partial relief during lean years.
Some key anomalies that were identified during the past few months have been remedied. These include the introduction of roll-over relief, which is intended for the many smaller mining operations that can roll the royalty over to other parties. These are the parties who will refine and otherwise upgrade the minerals. In addition, the minimum specified first saleable condition for certain minerals has been adjusted. These revised minimum conditions relate to iron, ore, coal, vanadium and sand aggregates.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Deputy Minister of Finance, who is listening very carefully, Mr Nene, the National Treasury and Sars officials for drafting the Bill, members of the public for their comments on the Bills, and the Standing Committee on Finance under the leadership of Mr Mufamadi for the sterling work that they have done in shaping the Bill as we have it today.
Last but not least, Sars is extremely gratified with the response of taxpayers in filing their tax returns for 2010. So, thanks to all of you as well. To date, 1,3 million returns have been filed compared to only 950 000 returns for the same period last year. This is an increase of 32% year on year. Ninety eight percent of the returns have come in electronically, which means we deal with very little paper now. That is a huge advance for South Africans. Both Tax Bills, Mr Speaker, strike a careful balance between tax relief and the broadening of the tax base.
I hereby table the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2010 and the Voluntary Disclosure Programme and Second Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2010 for the Assembly’s consideration. Thank you. [Applause.]
The SPEAKER: The Taxation Laws Amendment Bill will be referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and report.
CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF PROTOCOL AMENDING THE
CONVENTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE
PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND
CAPITAL GAINS, WITH PROTOCOL
CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF PROTOCOL AMENDING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA AND THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME
There was no debate.
Protocol amending the Convention between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of Ireland for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains, with protocol approved.
Protocol amending the Convention between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income approved.
The House adjourned at 14:59. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST 2010
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
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Introduction of Bills 1) The Minister of Home Affairs
a) Local Government: Municipal Electoral Amendment Bill [B 27 – 2010] (National Assembly – proposed sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice of its introduction published in Government Gazette No 33478 of 20 August 2010.] Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160. In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three parliamentary working days.
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Speaker and the Chairperson
a) Report of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public
Office Bearers for 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
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Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Republic of South Africa and The Government of Ireland, dated 04 August 2010
The Standing Committee on Finance, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Protocol amending the convention between the Republic of South Africa and The Government of Ireland for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains, with protocol, recommends that the House, in terms of section 231 (2) of the Constitution, approve the said Protocol.
Report to be considered.
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Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Republic of South Africa and The Kingdom of Sweden, dated 04 August 2010.
The Standing Committee on Finance, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Protocol amending the convention between the Republic of South Africa and The Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, recommends that the House, in terms of section 231 (2) of the Constitution, approve the said Protocol.
Report to be considered.
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Report of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism on Tourism, Sport and Mega-Events Summit, dated 1 June 2010
The Portfolio Committee on Tourism, having been invited and participated in the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)/South Africa International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega-Events held in Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, from 24-26 February 2010, reports as follows:
- BACKGROUND TO THE SUMMIT
With a new year unfolding and economic recovery underway across the globe, the UNWTO/South Africa International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega Events, aimed to bring together leaders of global tourism communities to explore the impact on Sport and Mega Events on tourism. Conscious of the vital role of tourism in supporting resilience, stimulus and transformation to a green economy, the UNWTO introduced a ’Roadmap for Recovery’ which identifies the nexus between the travel and tourism sectors, which can more effectively contribute to international and national actions in interconnected areas.
Globally, sport and mega-events play a powerful role in stimulating the tourism economy. The year 2010 will be no exception, seeing major sport and cultural events hosted around the world. This will begin with the 2010 Winter Olympics in February in Canada, and mega-events will occur in each and every month of 2010 in different global locations, showcasing sporting, cultural and economic excellence and opportunity.
Moreover, it is increasingly apparent that these events will not only have to respond to the changing global sustainability norms and development imperatives, but can themselves be powerful communicators and drivers of change.
The world’s leading experts, industry leaders and tourism ministers who attended the inaugural International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega- Events intensified the emphasis on the global need for tourism sector success to boost global economies.
DELEGATION: A multi-party delegation was led by the Committee Chairperson; Mr D.M Gumede (ANC) included Ms X.C Makasi (ANC) and Mr G.R Krumbock (DA). Support staff included: Mr J. Boltina (Committee Secretary and Ms J. Ntuli Researcher).
The UNWTO/South Africa International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega- events was officially opened by the President of the Republic of South Africa on Thursday, 25 February 2010.
1.1 Mr Jocob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa
The President welcomed participants to South Africa in what he called a “seminal year for the country and tourism sector in particular” as the 2010 hosts of the greatest soccer spectacle on earth, the FIFA World Cup. The president stressed that, as global economic confidence is slowly built up again and spreads across the globe, the time has come for nations to reconstruct, rebuild and reignite their economies and travel and tourism sectors.
South Africa’s 2010 vision was to build more than stadia, roads and airports, but also to build the nation’s legacy as champions. South Africans realised that they are not only working towards 30 days of football, but are in fact building the country.
The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa, and the sector holds huge potential for job creation, and as both driver and beneficiary of large-scale infrastructure investment. Tourism’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow meaningfully in the next five years. However, to unlock potential of tourism as a sector, South Africa will need to build on its existing successes, whilst exploring new frontiers for growth and development.
The importance of mega-events to the South African nation extends far beyond the events alone, in that they offer the opportunity to work together to strengthen the country’s tourism industry, economy, employment capacity and skilled workforce, appeal to investors and of course, global image and identity.
These events aid the country in its pursuit of excellence, and its drive to become an ever stronger nation.
1.2 Mr Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the UNWTO
The contribution of the tourism sector is its ability to tackle two challenges facing the global community, namely supporting the recovery of the world economy, and the greening of tourism in order to pursue a more balanced, sustainable and fair growth.
Noting that global challenges, such as the economic crisis, climate change and poverty alleviation, require global solutions, the Secretary General expressed his conviction that tourism can play a much more important part in addressing these challenges, as outlined in the UNWTO Roadmap for Recovery and its agenda for boosting tourism’s contribution to global economic resilience, stimulus and transformation to the green economy.
The UNWTO would continue to remind the world that travel and tourism mean exports, infrastructure development, investment, but particularly jobs. In this regard, the international community must do everything possible to galvanise job creation within the tourism sector. Tourism and the contribution of sports and mega-events enhances economic development, which have benefits such as the national image, new infrastructure, urban regeneration and development, a more responsive trained skilled workforce, and tourism positioning.
One of the major challenges is to ensure that mega-events have a legacy strategy, and are part of a nation’s long-term development plan. The important social and human ’legacies’ that are being deliberately built into mega-events, which go beyond economic benefits and challenges, are becoming critical components of any successful bid, including regional integration, community building and sustainability.
1.3 Mr Mathinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Tourism
New opportunities were emerging in the arena of sports tourism and mega- events, and such events are powerful vehicles for economic growth as well as the travel and tourism sector development.
Among the benefits, the Minister highlighted increased foreign arrivals and yield, stimulated investment and trade, accelerated employment and skills development, flattening of the seasonality curve, increased destination competitiveness, and building of the destination brand.
Despite all of the excitement attached to sports tourism and mega-events, these are certainly not risk-free, and successfully securing and executing sports tourism and mega-events does not guarantee a successful impact. Costs can outweigh the benefits, and these costs can range from empty stadia and displaced tourists, to angry locals questioning the rationale behind investing in broadcasting centres instead of education or health care facilities, and massive debt left behind after the crowds of spectators have returned home.
The Minister challenged the leaders of the global travel and tourism community to create a framework for sports tourism and mega-events that will empower and encourage every nation, regardless of size, to rigorously, yet responsibly harness the opportunities presented by these events.
The Minister expressed the hope that delegates will leave the summit with a clear vision of how to attract and utilise such events to build tourism and travel sectors worldwide, and nurse the fragile global economy back to full strength.
- SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
Mega-events are critically positioned in marketing, decision-making and strategy development of tourism destinations. The value of a mega-event id determined by the success of the event in its own right, in terms of what the event does for the host country or city and whether the host location is left better off after the event than before. Looking back at past events, it is clear that successful events and strategies varied according to the set of circumstances that influence the host’s unique development goals. It becomes evident that the local organising committee of a mega-event and its supporting network are indeed challenged to realise a net benefit for the social, economic, natural and cultural dimensions of the host country.
The colloquium on mega-events examined the dimensions of hosting and managing mega-events. Participants benefited from the experiences of international and South African organisers and researchers who have lived the conceptual and practical realities of mega-events.
This report thus outlines the main ideas, points and issues that surfaced during the proceedings and is structured according to each session of the programme that was followed. A detailed summary of each presentation will be presented and the key issues/concerns will be summarised at the end of each session as well as in the conclusions at the end of the report. The report was compiled through a combination of abstracts, notes taken during the colloquium, author presentations and recordings.
SESSION 1: IMPACT OF MEGA-EVENTS ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
2.1 Opening remarks by moderators
Ms Aneme Malan and Professor Daneel van Lill outlined the theme of the colloquium by highlighting the fact that mega-events require long-term planning in order to achieve the grand vision’ for the event as well as ’grand picture’, that is, legacy and beyond. They also acknowledged that mega-events of the calibre of the FIFA World Cup, present substantial opportunity cost to any nation, city or region wanting to host it. In light of this, Prof. van Lill proposed the key question which the colloquium sought to answer: What should a developing country like South Africa account for in the mega- events arena in making it more sustainable? This question set the tone for a very enlightening colloquium.
2.2 Tourism, Sport and Mega-Events Sustainability: Contributing to the Roadmap for Recovery
Presenters highlighted that mega-events can provide much needed benefits to local areas and especially to small business operations. However, they don’t always necessarily deliver on the promises that are made in the initial bidding and planning phases. These mega sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup can essentially underpin tourism for a destination in three very critical areas, namely sport, culture and business tourism. They may also create links internationally that could initiate future opportunities.
Events of this nature have been around since 776 BC since the first Olympic Games and are traditionally seen to be the domain of developed countries. However, the role of developing nations has begun to emerge. The range of associated impacts, whether it be positive or negative needs to be properly managed so as to avoid the ’spaceship’ analysis, leaving behind ‘burnt’ ground. Mega-events are often criticised for low level employment, high levels of post-event debt, brand tarnishment, etc. Thus, it is critical to plan for and manage these effects so as to yield the most positive possible outcome. It is important to note that the impacts associated with such events are beyond merely economic as social and environmental impacts are very often overlooked.
In making these events a reality through the planning process, a community- based long term approach to planning should be used as there is a need to plan beyond the actual event. The mega-event should be seen as a milestone and not an end goal in themselves. However, realistic goals should be set from the word go and it is important to ask the right contextual questions, such as: ‘Is it right for us?’, ‘Is the time right?’ and ‘Are we setting ourselves up for failure?’
There are various other considerations that host countries need to ‘sleep on’ in weighing the pros and cons prior to bidding with the intention of winning. These include the costs and funding of the event itself, the potential to create expertise and build capacity (but will small business suffer in the process?), how the community will be engaged in the process in the long term, the extent of technological accessibility, sourcing sponsorship, the enormous cost of ensuring safety and security, the role of the media in portraying the intended/required image, sustainability and climate change implications, and the creation of a legacy which often gets lost in the process. Evaluation before, during and after the event is critical to tracking developments towards a legacy that can sustain the associated benefits of Mega-events. A knowledge portal of Mega-events is suggested as a key link to accessing lessons learned from other nations and should be administered by a mega organisation such as the UNWTO.
Many host destinations are simply not sufficiently strategic in their approaches to planning such an event, leaving the external event promoters/owners with significant leverage and influence. If host countries are to maximise the benefits, a shift away from a narrow and short term marketing vision to a more long term vision, is essential.
2.3 South Africa’s National Tourism: Imperatives to manage tourism beyond 2010
Ms Gillian Saunders indicated that currently, the hype around the FIFA 2010 World Cup is centred around focusing on a strategy for post 2010. The event itself needs to form part of the ‘bigger picture’. In contextualising the event itself, there are a number of impacts that can be highlighted. Foreign tourism will expect to receive an estimated 487 000 visitors to the event, equating to 5.2% more tourists in 2010 from a projected base of 10.7 million tourists. This volume would induce an estimated R8.5 billion in foreign spending. It is important to note however, that South Africa already receives on average 965 000 foreign visitors (of which 250 000 are air arrivals) monthly. Judging from the existing base, it is expected that South Africa would ideally be able to cope with the surplus volumes. In terms of domestic tourism, there is an expected 1 million spectators with 1.5 to 1.7 million tickets sold to locals (1.26 million in Germany, 2006) and an estimated 115 000 domestic tourists. All this economic activity opens up opportunities for various tourism and related enterprises such as the accommodation sector, airlines, transport hire, travel agents and booking services, retail, the hospitality sector, foreign exchange, and a variety of attractions, entertainment, and the industry suppliers.
Despite these significant changes and opportunities, the issue of a tourism legacy lingers and needs to be addressed. If properly planned, such an event could leave the destination better known and understood both internationally and domestically. The opportunity could also leave the destination with larger and better transportation fleets, better tourism information provision, improved destination management, improved support services and supply chains, increased accommodation stock, and induce national pride while creating a better service ethic. This mega-event also presents a crucial marketing opportunity.
An expected 26 million cumulative TV viewers, 18 850 media representatives, and 350 000 to 480 000 visitors provide an enormous opportunity for exposure to profile and reposition South Africa globally. This is not excluding the various news broadcasts, documentaries, and social networking which contain content regarding South Africa and/or the event before, during and possibly after. On the National Brands Index for instance, South Africa (ranked 37 in 2008) has more room to move up than its predecessor, Germany (ranked 1 in 2008). Therefore, the exposure is critical. The exposure is also an opportunity to grow existing tourism sectors as well as attract new markets.
In managing tourism beyond 2010, the South African National Department of Tourism is currently revising its National Tourism Strategy that aims to inspire and accelerate the responsible growth of tourism. Some of the strategy highlights includes a new set of strategic thrusts such as the development of new markets and specific attention to growing business tourism and events. A bold action plan includes the revision of South African Tourism’s mandate to include the development and attraction of new markets. Support for future events is evident in the planning of a potential national convention and events bureau responsible for the development and marketing of business tourism and events through the coordination and support of bids. An investigation into the establishment of a bidding fund to encourage and support future events of national importance is also a planned bold move.
2.4 South Africa’s image amongst African fans and factors that will influence their participation during the 2010 FIFA World Cup: The Case of Cameroon
Mr Maloney Tichaawa and Professor Kamilla presented research findings in the case of Cameroon. Most research being conducted on the FIFA 2010 World Cup is focused around economic impacts and political economy, with limited focus on social impacts and little to no research on African fans. The event has been positioned as an ’African event’ but many African fans have been excluded from research or the event itself. The latter is due to a variety of reasons such as limited funds, access to information and ticketing, as well as travel constraints. The objective of this study was to determine the profile of African fans, in particular those in Cameroon who intended to attend the event, and their current perceptions of South Africa’s image as well as to ascertain the factors that will influence Cameroonian fan participation at the event. The target population included soccer fans (n=780) and other football stakeholders in Cameroon, particularly in the study areas of Buea and Limbe (English speaking areas).
In terms of the demographics of the sample population, the majority of fans were aged between 21-30 (52.1%) and 31-40 (23.6%), made up of 77.6% male fans. A large percentage (40.5%) of which, earn an average monthly income of less than R1000.00 monthly followed by 36.2% earning between R1001.00 and R4000.00 monthly. Employment amongst the fans was relatively positive in the sense that 38.2% and 32.7% were engaged in full-time employment and some self-employed, respectively. Of those fans (n=273) that indicated that they would attend the 2010 event, 80.6% were male, and were on average 31 years old in full-time or self-employment, and earned an average monthly income of R3201.75. Only 4.53% of the respondents indicated that they had previously travelled to a FIFA World Cup tournament.
With five other African qualifying nations (excluding South Africa), ticket sales to these nations are alarmingly low. The respondents (n=320) that indicated that they would not attend the event did so because they would not be able to afford to purchase tickets (35.3%), travel costs would be too high (34.1%), were not interested in soccer (13.8%), or prefer to watch it on TV (11.6%). Xenophobia (2.2%) and crime (0.3%) featured very low on the factors influencing their non-attendance.
An overwhelming majority (90%) of the respondents indicated that they support South Africa as the host nation. Respondents also indicated that they perceived South Africa to be a country with excellent stadiums (33.26%), being the most developed country on the continent (20.8%), having a high rate of HIV/AIDS (16.9%), being a driver of the African Renaissance (11.81%), and having an underperforming national soccer team (8.9%). Once again, xenophobia and crime featured very low at 1.3% and 3.6% respectively. Almost 40% of fans said they would attend the event, reflecting a significant increase in potential Cameroonian fan participation in the event when compared to previous attendance. Although the media tends to focus on factors such as xenophobia and crime, the cost and inaccessibility to tickets as well as high travel costs seem to be more restricting factors. Accessibility to ticketing processes, especially online applications and payments made it very difficult for African fans to increase their representation. As a host country, South Africa receives generally positive perceptions from the rest of the continent. It is recommended that organisers should consider travel and cost constraints to African fans and adopt appropriate strategies to increase their representation. In this sense, it is also recommended that organising committee and FIFA should ensure the management and provision of adequate pragmatic –based information to media as a means to boost the country’s image abroad.
- SESSION 2A: LEGACY OF MEGA-EVENTS
3.1 Small-scale sport tourism as a sustainable legacy of mega-events: A key component of a successful national sport tourism strategy
Professors Heather Gibson, Kiki Kaplanidou and Brijesh Thapa reflected on the topic. The shortcomings of economic expectations have raised a lot of questions around the notions of legacy, sustainability and strategic leveraging. Researchers now suggest that mega events should be leveraged over both the short and the long term. The focus thus needs to shift beyond just mega events but towards a wider range of sport tourism participation opportunities that can be found in smaller-scale events. This study uses data collected from five youth sport events organised by a local US sports commission over 18 months to show that such events have a significant contribution to increasing tourist numbers to communities during low seasons, create social capital from volunteer opportunities and the use of existing infrastructure, and decreasing environmental impacts. The accumulation of associated benefits from small-scale sport events provides important leveraging opportunities for tourism in local communities similar to those brought about by mega events. However, there is a need for the efficient and effective utilisation of existing infrastructure or those left behind by mega events, the passing of skills and image of a community for the development of sport tourism. Youth sport events have been identified as important ways to attract, maintain and engage a sport tourist market. Youth sport events tend to attract larger travel parties due to parents and other family members accompanying the participants. They therefore have a greater impact with regards to overnight stay and spending.
The purpose of this study was to examine spectator behaviours of five small youth sport events hosted by a local sports commission over a two year period. The aim was to profile the average spectator at each of these events, as well as collect data on the length of stay, room night, expenditure patterns, overall direct spend for each event, any other activities that spectators took part in, primary motivations for attending these events and to determine the event evaluation related characteristics. Intercept surveys were used between January 2008 and August 2009 and sampled five small-scale sport events, namely: Soccer (n =476), Softball (n = 199), Swimming (n =230), Track & Field (n = 125), and ESynchro Swimming (n=179). Questionnaires consisted of fixed choice and open-ended items. A data analysis to determine frequencies was done.
Participants of these events were mostly girls aged between 6 and 19 years, with the exception of the swimming event that had a participant of 22 years. The events ranged between 3 and 7 days long. The spectators were also largely female and were mostly aged in the mid 40s. Their income mostly ranged above US$80 000 a year and were relatively well educated, with a majority white population representation with the exception of the majority African American population at the Track and Field event. The average length of stay ranged between 3 and 7 days and overnight stays far outnumbered day visits. Hotels and motels were the popular choices for accommodation. Total expenditure ranged from approximately US$110 to US$230 per day trip and between approximately US$450 and US$830. Motivations mostly revolved around supporting their children who were competing. Other activities included traditional activities of dining, shopping, VFR and attending university sport events. The overall revisit intention was relatively high. Other data provided by Gainesville Sport Commission shows more social aspects that are associated with these events, particularly with volunteers who could potentially be a selling point for attracting more events in the future.
Overall, the positive benefits are largely economic, although many social benefits derived from sport events of this scale are also evident. The events provide business for the local community. The support data from the sports commission highlights the social opportunities for local residents as volunteers. The use of existing infrastructure could lower the environmental, social and economic costs of future events. Mega events could thus pave the way for small-scale events, leaving behind a strong legacy of a strong community image, increased capacity and improved infrastructure. Thus, community resources could be a strong point in attracting future events and making them more sustainable.
- The potential contribution of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to climate change: An exploratory study among tourism industry stakeholders in the Tshwane Metropole of South Africa
Professor Ernie Heath and Ms Ilana Otto indicated that climate change has become a global agenda and mega events are now looked at to take cognisance of the reality of challenges of this phenomenon. As such, extensive emphasis has been placed on the environmental sustainability of such events with a call for the development and implementation of environmental management guidelines. This study explores the potential impact of mega events on climate change, with particular reference to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with a number of stakeholders in the Tshwane Metropole. Stakeholders included the public and private tourism sector, tourism experts, environmental experts, and the Tshwane Municipality’s 2010 Organising Committee.
In terms of climate change, the study found that the main contributing factors were CO² emissions within the tourism industry, ignorance of the tourism industry and the production of goods and services. The 2010 World Cup presented areas of concern regarding transportation (geographic layout of the event, increased air travel, and the lack of safe public transportation resulting in higher emissions), construction an infrastructure (concentrated pockets of CO² emissions) and the escalating tourism activities (greater sphere of tourism industry operators).
There seemed to be a higher level of consciousness when daily operations were linked to a mega event such as the 2010 world cup. Impacts need to be considered in a more holistic manner when looking for solutions. There is therefore a need for an umbrella strategy for the development, implementation and sustaining of environmental strategies, plans and guidelines that need to be filtered through the tourism value chain. Communication and understanding of the responsibilities of stakeholders as well as a move toward more coordinated efforts, was also viewed as critically important.
Since the study, a carbon footprint calculation of the 2010 world cup was conducted but still excluded aspects such as restaurants, activities and attractions, and retail shopping as was the case with the calculations for the 2006 world cup. The umbrella strategy has been addressed and covers six key areas but only addresses the areas that account for about 9% of the possible carbon footprint of the 2010 world cup. According to this plan, it is now the responsibility of each host city to develop and implement their own green goal plan and ensure that it is communicated to all their stakeholders. The Tshwane Metropole already has a 2010 environmental management plan that was launched in 2007. Their Green Goal Plan was launched on 24 February 2010 and includes an awareness and marketing campaign for minimising waste, promoting recycling and improving energy and waste efficiency.
The study only focused on the Tshwane Metropole as one of the host cities. If the true environmental impacts are to be known, an investigation within the broader context of South Africa would have to be done, taking into consideration all contributions and sectors. The greening of a mega event doesn’t just happen during the event and at the sporting facilities. For true sustainability, organisers will have to develop and implement environmental plans and strategies well in advance. By incorporating and adopting the concepts of the Green Police, organisers will be able to address environmental impacts holistically, engaging all stakeholders and especially the local communities, ensuring that there is a true culture of sustainability within these cities.
- The contribution of cultural and heritage tourism within the context of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Ms Tania Steyn and Professor Ernie Heath said Culture and Heritage form an eminent part of any mega event, especially a soccer world cup. However, many organisers do not look at culture and heritage in a strategic and systematic manner. Lack of information has limited destinations from leveraging the culture and heritage tourism opportunities presented by such events. This study set out to explore the potential contributions of cultural and heritage tourism within the context of a mega event. It also examines best practice mega event case studies.
Closing and opening ceremonies are possibly the biggest opportunities to broaden and enhance the actual event offering. Culture and heritage are important contributors to these ceremonies which can be highly lucrative and symbolic. They provide an opportunity to showcase a country’s identity and to celebrate other cultures too. The ceremonies at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney produced what spectators felt was a very ‘heartfelt’ demonstration that really captured the spirit of Australia. The performance of the song ‘Barcelona’ at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona also created a specific and very heartfelt image. They also require substantial financial investment, such as in the case of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia where they totalled $50 million. The role of formal cultural programmes is often more associated with the Olympic Games but have provided a good example of the integration of culture, heritage and sports. Initiatives such as cultural Olympiads, festivals, and gastronomic feasts have been successful in a number of mega events. Even the fan parks experiences provide an excellent opportunity to showcase culture and also include women such as in the case of the 2006 German soccer world cup.
Opportunities to project images about the host destination can also add value to the marketing thrust of the destination. The role of non- accredited media centres has also become more important. Whilst accredited media usually focus on reporting on the games and the actual event, non- accredited media provide the opportunity to showcase other aspects of the destination’s culture and heritage. There is also the challenge of strategically including the event into the overall destination mix, whereby strict itineraries for instance, often inhibit visitors from exploring different aspects of the destinations. This was the case with the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.
A host community that is excited about the event and is positive about tourism could enhance the tourist experience and contribute to the competitiveness of the destination. The 1995 Rugby World Cup is one of the best examples of this and 2010 could present the same opportunity. Such events could also contribute to the creation of cultural and heritage tourism business and entrepreneurial opportunities. It is however important to manage expectations and ensure that local businesses can provide what is needed. The 2007 Cricket World Cup for instance had a strong focus on community development and on product development. In contributing to city regeneration, Barcelona is possibly one the most cited examples and in South Africa, the question of whether city clean-ups are only temporary remains in the air.
There are also several critical success factors that need to be taken into account by all stakeholders. The public sector needs to provide support in creating a strong sense of leadership and a shared vision. An enabling environment and access to information and funding is also important, as well as the development of a legacy strategy. The private sector needs to create appropriate and innovative tourist experiences, as well as create a strong service culture through training. Communities also need to get involved and reflect cultural expressions that are real and true. The youth have also been identified as a critical part of the process. The media needs to be a key strategic partner in sharing positive stories that link culture and heritage to the sport event. In doing so, sustainable legacies can be created for the host destination.
- Trampled by the gold rush: Managing the downside of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Ms Jacqueline Asheeke, Chairperson of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations argued that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is going to be a landmark event for the African continent, and above all is a chance for Africa to earn respect in the international arena. The world cup fever is definitely rising with the expectation of the average man on the street being exceptionally high. Namibia faces a critical situation whereby the world cup will occur exactly at their peak season that runs from June through to August. Their challenge is to make the most of the ‘gold dust’ that is left behind from the ‘gold bars’ that South Africa will enjoy. Therefore, Namibia needs to find its own way to benefit from the ‘gold rush’ which such an event presents.
In 2007, the Namibian Cabinet approved a committee to work on getting ideas about what Namibia could do about the world cup for its own tourism industry. Namibia is a small country, spanning roughly 845 000km and being home to roughly 2 million people. Tourism is the country’s third biggest income earner with the travel and tourism economy accounting for 3.6 billion Namibian Dollars and was projected to jump to an estimated 7.11 billion in 2007. A total of 928 912 tourist arrivals occurred in 2007, which is a substantial number for a small population. The fourth quarter of 2008 was a wake-up call for the global economy and Namibia saw its tourists’ arrivals dip below the 900 000 mark. Occupancy rates in 2009 were also predicted to drop between -2% to -5% where visitors were booking much later than usual. Hunters and air charters, and SMMEs took the biggest hit.
One of the biggest concerns about the world cup for Namibia is that of the availability and cost of air tickets for its usual high spending overseas tourists who make up roughly 27% of air arrivals. Air Namibia brings in roughly 36% of these air arrivals and have realised the need to accommodate this problem. Without these higher spending tourists, Namibia’s 71 000 direct and indirect tourism jobs are in severe danger. Tour operators cannot get bookings and people are starting to book elsewhere. There is also a concern about the damaging effects to the 47% return rate that Namibia currently enjoys, which may cut into future repeat visitors.
However, there is a silver lining. Marketing campaigns are under way to attract tourists shortly after the peak season to come to Namibia from August to October through creative packaging and pricing. Overall, there is a massive opportunity for Africa to reverse the many negative images that are portrayed in the international media. Namibia is also looking to attract key media through targeted media invitations to develop more long term relationships. Displaced South Africans will also be targeted. These strategies all form part of the strategy to survive the gold rush, while at least making something of the gold dust that is left in the wind.
- Identifying and putting measures in place to improve tourism from opportunities presented by hosting an international mega-event: A provincial government approach
Ms Modjadji Seabi said provincial governments are key role players to ensure that opportunities from mega events are leveraged. The opportunities include: building a strong labour pool and to address the issue of safety and security as critical to ensure a positive legacy. This paper looked at the key measures that needed to be put in place in order to improve tourism from the opportunities presented by hosting an international mega event. Mega events have thus emerged as strong global drivers of human development. South Africa already has good policies in place at both the national and provincial levels. Provincial government levels can also support initiatives that the country or province hopes to work on or achieve. Gauteng, for instance is South Africa’s number one tourism performer with the highest share of tourists arrivals and tourist expenditure received.
The South African National Tourism Strategy is currently being revised but the trouble with such broad strategies is that they often do not accommodate the specific needs of individual provinces. Thus, there is a need for a more focused strategy at each provincial level. Safety and security, and human resource development are key drivers of a destination’s sustainability. Safety and security, for instance can in fact be a driver of a destination’s image creation and perception. Skills within the tourism industry are usually focused on the traditional mainstream tourism activity (i.e. hospitality and accommodation).
The issue of safety and security during the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been addressed by promises of an increased police force and the collaboration of the South African military service. However, what is the long term plan once the event is done? The 2008 unemployment rate figures indicated a 23% unemployment rate, with Gauteng being almost the same as the national average at 22%. There is a clear skills gap that needs to be addressed.
Competitive index figures show that South Africa is ranked 60 overall out of 130 countries. They are also ranked 123 overall in terms of safety and security, as well as in human resource development at 118 out of the 130 countries. There is clearly a lot of room for improvement. Tourist arrivals are also a concern where the 2006 world cup in Germany saw an increase in tourist arrivals of 1 million, but what will be the situation in South Africa?
There are a few cases where the issue of safety and security was addressed by the introduction of a tourism police force. Perhaps this could address some of the job creation issues as well as safety and security issues for South Africa.
The overall impact is that there will be job creation if provinces and countries plan and strategically manage the mega event as well as beyond the event. An improvement on safety and security would improve the competitiveness of the destination.
- SESSION 2B: SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF MEGA-EVENTS
4.1 World Cup 2010, branding, bonding and bridging: Internal and external perceptions of South Africa
Professor Norbert Kersting from the Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch presented a paper on the topic. The paper argued that Mega sport events have many key functions and impacts. Building a national identity is one such key function which can effectively bridge old social milieus and bonds within social groups. Germany and South Africa present interesting cases in that their national identities provide very sensitive research fields due to their respective political histories. In Germany for instance, the 1936 Olympic Games was misused for propaganda by the Nazi regimes. In post apartheid South Africa, a ‘rainbow nation’ image highlighted a strong heterogeneity and was strengthened by the 1995 Rugby World Cup victory and the subsequent African Cup of Nations. The 2010 FIFA World Cup provides South Africa with the opportunity to redefine the current national brand as well as to showcase their industrial capacity, infrastructure and attractiveness as a tourism destination, and polish its position and role in Africa. The internal bonding and bridging of social milieus is probably the most unequal society in the world, is very much connected to the branding opportunities provided by such events.
The Anholt National Brand Index revealed that 93% of Germans believe that Germany had a ‘better image’ after the 2006 World Cup. Germany was seen as a high-tech nation but not as a tourist destination prior to the event. Safety concerns were misconceptions and misrepresented. Social marketing campaigns were then put in place to change this image. South Africa on the other hand, lags behind in its image. It is not seen as a high-tech country and a lot of bad news is distributed by the media, painting a negative picture even though Africans are generally perceived as friendly, open and with high levels of solidarity. The knowledge about South Africa is high in countries such as Australia, the UK and New Zealand due to relationships through other sports (e.g. cricket and rugby), as well as historical ties. However, there is potential to create and strengthen other connections while improving the country’s image.
National identity is seen as a kind of ‘in group’ solidarity which is related to ‘out group’ hostility. In building a national identity, the idea is to develop civic pride as a kind of benign patriotism. National identity is also based on interpersonal trust, where bonding in South Africa within social groups is quite strong but the bridging between social groups is very weak. The previous government under Thabo Mbeki had advocated the bridging between social groups with a focus on bridging across Africa as a way to achieve and African Renaissance or capture the spirit of Africa. Various indicators of national identity provide a feel as to where national pride comes from among the population. In South Africa, this pride is built especially on achievement in sport (44%), its history (38%), and achievement in arts and culture (29%), among others. The issue of the May 2008 xenophobic violence, however, has resulted in some concern about safety and security of foreigners. Although the perception might not be as bad as expected at present due to possible ‘window dressing’ in light of the event, it is an internal problem nevertheless and needs to be addressed accordingly.
Social marketing campaigns proved to be beneficial for Germany where they encourage investing and research in Germany, as well as collaborations with FIFA to promote fair play. Through the use of viewing areas or fan areas, Germany was able to demonstrate a socially cohesive nation, as well as being friendly and open as a nation. In South Africa, the ‘spirit of Africa’ campaigns have reached millions of viewers across the globe, creating a feel for an African event. Anti-racism campaigns throughout the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and other sports also form part of the social campaigns promoting social cohesion. The public viewing areas in 2010 also provide South Africa with the opportunity to engage with tourists and can demonstrate a peaceful and multicultural society through bridging the social milieus.
National re-branding and social cohesion (bonding and bridging) should thus be the main goals for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. There will be little relative attendance from overseas fans but there will be extensive media coverage to showcase an ’African’ World Cup. Patriotism campaigns should transcend values through team spirit, inclusion, etc. Thus, the event will essentially provide South Africa an opportunity to create a new narrative of a multicultural society with a focus on bridging and bonding.
4.2 Resident’s perceptions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup: A case study of a suburb in Cape Town
Professor Kamilla Swart and Mr Dion Chain also presented case study results which indicated that sport tourism events are increasingly being included in national development and tourism strategies. However, the major focus has been on economic impacts and infrastructure while little attention has been paid to the social and cultural impacts. Research on the perceptions of residents has been very limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate resident’s level of awareness and perceptions of, and attitudes towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the Green Point Stadium (now referred to as the Cape Town Stadium) location. The secondary objectives were to establish if stakeholders are communicating regularly and effectively with residents and explore resident’s levels of support for the event.
The study targeted the population of residents living within 1km of the stadium. The respondents totalled 344. The research was conducted by interviewers’ using questionnaires based on a spatially stratified random sampling method between June and July 2009. In terms of the respondent demographic profile, 54.7% were male, 53.0% were white, 26.7% African and ages ranged between 19 and 85 years with an average age of 40.7 years. The respondents were fairly educated, with 67.1% holding a post-school qualification, earning an average income of R10 092.00 and being self- employed (15.4%), retired (13.1%), or as administrators/managers (12.8%).
An overwhelming majority (99.4%) indicated knowledge of the forthcoming event. All the respondents were aware of the local competition stadium. However, awareness of the local training stadium was very low, with only 39.5% indicating awareness of the stadium. Support for the event was relatively positive with 50.9% indicating an intention to attend the event, 87.2% indicating that they would follow the event on TV, and 60.8% indicating an intention to make use of the public viewing areas and a willingness to pay an average of R67.00 for entry to the facility.
There was a 59.9% agreement among residents that stakeholders were effectively communicating with them and the need to use a multi-media approach to the communication was also highlighted. Although there was initial opposition from residents with regards to the stadium, 75% were in agreement with the location of the Cape Town stadium. There was an overall positive response about the economic benefits, social impacts and perceptions on infrastructure developments, as well as the management of the event. However, there were concerns among residents, especially with regards to crime, safety and security, inadequate transport infrastructure, and the very high cost/affordability of the event.
It was clear that there are high levels of awareness around the event and the competition venue but very little towards the training venue. There are high expectations for the economic benefits and social impacts of the event, with the primary concerns of crime, safety and affordability. There is a need for increased community participation and involvement in the planning and management of the event and venue. Longitudinal research is also recommended to evaluate any changes in the perceptions and attitudes of residents in future.
4.3 The FIFA World Cups potential to induce civic pride and integration
Professor Wolfgang Maening’s (Department of Business and Economics at Hamburg University, Germany) paper investigates if a nation’s contingent value of hosting a mega-event depends on past experience with implied benefits. Data from ex-ante and ex-post queries were used and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was used to address this question. The study also looked at how collective experience could accelerate the convergence between the two parts of Germany (west and east). Relatively novel econometric methodologies (contingent valuation method – counterfactual scenarios) were used.
Civic awareness has been said to justify government subsidies as valuable civic returns. Recent studies on civic awareness focus on voter turnout among other elements of election procedures as a good proxy or variable to measure civic activity or awareness. However, this is not necessarily a well suited measure as German history indicates that voter turnout was already relatively high during the 1930s and was actually relatively higher than in the last recent years. Civic awareness also requires some element of experience but there is concern as to how this can be measured. Age and individual histories aren’t really good proxies in this regard either. What really matters though is the value of government services and the awareness around this. In this sense, the key question is ‘can individuals effectively assess and correctly interpret this value?’ If this is possible, then an increase in civic awareness could intensify political competition.
Integration in this paper refers to the integration of the two parts of Germany. A study on the preferences of pro-state provision of services indicated that the two parts held profoundly different views. However, the impact of singular events such as hosting the FIFA World Cup and the introduction of the Euro for instance may actually serve to accelerate the convergence between the two parts as opposed to a linear trajectory.
When asked about their willingness to pay for the World Cup to remain in Germany by using counterfactual statements, less than 20% of respondents had a positive willingness to pay (WTP) prior to the event. This matched the existing pessimistic attitude towards the World Cup that was fuelled by fears of bird flu, Neo-Nazi habitats and ‘no-go’ areas that were being discussed. Thus, there wasn’t as much positive hype or excitement around the event as is currently evident in South Africa. The average WTP was €4.26 per person, the average WTP of individuals with a positive WTP was €22.9 per person. The aggregated WTP over the German population as a whole (82 million) indicated a WTP of €351.5 million. After the cup, the aggregated WTP jumped up to €830.8 million but the individuals who already had a positive WTP did not change much which means that the jump in aggregate WTP came from the respondents that did not have a positive WTP prior to the event. The latter respondents largely came from East Germany so they could not assess it prior to the cup because they did not have the experience of hosting such an event. High levels of education also allowed people to anticipate the value of hosting the event.
Significant marginal effects also influenced individual’s WTP such as ‘sheepskin’ effects of one additional year of school and one additional year spent as an adult in the old communist system, for instance. These marginal effects showed a positive change in WTP. Thus, mega sport events are experience goods with associated civic returns and a positive attitude towards the good, as well as age and other ‘sheepskin’ effects also influence the support for such an event. The paper therefore found that civic pride induced by such a collective experience can significantly accelerate the convergence of East German preferences to those of the western counterparts.
4.4 Mainstreaming children’s rights and child protection within mega- event discourse and practice
Ms Jennifer Seif and Ms Kate Finlay shared their thoughts on the topic. Focus on the triple bottom line effects of mega events have largely been swayed towards economic aspects with particular emphasis on public and private sector investment, job creation and the growth of future tourist arrivals. However, this uneven focus has been called into question, especially by environmentalists. The social effects and risks, however, especially with regards to vulnerable members of society, namely women and children, have largely been ignored. This paper set out to explore these social risks, using the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a case study.
The social impacts of mega events as commonly known have both negative and positive aspects. On the one hand, tourism and these mega events can result in a new social infrastructure, the protection of cultural heritage, the development of skills and capacity, improve cross-cultural understanding and increase the self-esteem of hosts. However, on the other h hand, they can also result in increased inequality, the commoditisation of culture, sexual exploitation, ‘child sex tourism’, and child labour.
Children are one of the most vulnerable sectors of society and their rights are both protected and violated by tourism development. The opportunity for child exploitation also presents itself in the tourism industry. The risks to children are also aggravated by issues related to poverty and inequality and HIV/AIDS. Studies in this sense have traditionally focused on commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). The tourism industry is not responsible itself for child exploitation but does acknowledge that it could potentially provide an enabling environment by its very nature (i.e. travel and the movement of children, etc) and would like to be part of the solution. ECPAT has recognised South Africa as an emerging child sex tourism hotspot, which is concerning.
Given this issue, the global tourism industry has responded by focusing on prevention through industry training, raising awareness, and public campaigning. The UNWTO has set up a task force on the protection of children. Voluntary instruments have also been implemented such as the Code of Conduct (a.k.a ‘The Code’) which has been signed by 1000 companies in the last ten years. There have also been other actions in destinations such as campaigns and national call centres. The trend in the last couple of years has been better cooperation between law enforcement agencies globally.
Germany is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children for the purposes of sexual as well as non-sexual exploitation. Prior to the 2006 World Cup, studies predicted that over 40 000 women would be trafficked into Germany for sex work. Thus, German law enforcement authorities, together with government, international organisations, and NGOs developed specialised strategies to prevent and investigate human trafficking during the event. Such initiatives included the participation of soccer stars in campaigns, the joint team UNICEF initiative, and the Red Card to Child Labour, among others. An impact study by the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) found that the estimated 40 000 women expected to be trafficked was unfounded and that an increase in human trafficking did not occur. Early planning was clearly effective. There were however, recommendations that a better coordinated effort be put in place with one comprehensive campaign that would be aimed at different target groups and could thus be more effective and sustainable.
In South Africa, human trafficking is both a national and trans-national problem and hotspots include Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Port Elizabeth. The country has been placed on the ’Tier 2 Watch List’ by the US Department of Trafficking in Persons. The reality is that in South Africa, an estimated 400 000 children are involved in child labour, there are an estimated 30 000 child prostitutes and 10 000 street children. Risk factors for child sex tourism during the 2010 FIFA World Cup include: poverty and expectation of economic gain, increased demand for child labour, increased demand for sexual services, increase in organised crime, increased consumption of alcohol, closing of schools, and the relaxing of border control. The South African Department for Social Development therefore put measures in place for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup such as the provision of call centres and social workers on call, as well as places of safety and child friendly zones at fan parks. However, these measures are largely focused on stadia, effectively not addressing many other risk areas.
International attention can therefore boost local efforts and put a spotlight on social issues. There is a strong need for the inclusion of the protection of children in mega event legacies and can be done through better coordination, higher awareness levels, improved institutional capacity and sustainable prevention mechanisms, particularly in developing countries.
4.5 Mega-events sustainability: Youth Development and social cohesion
Mr Mthobisi Mkhize, Chief Executive Officer: Umvithi Youth Development Consultants posed the question on the accommodation of the youth in the process of planning? This is a key question to answer as the development of the youth could potentially contribute to the sustainable legacy of mega events. This is especially so in rural and disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Such development programmes and initiatives could positively affect social cohesion among these communities, while creating awareness and encouraging community involvement. Ongoing youth development projects and partnership campaigns could assist in the development of ’Ubuntu’ or unity of the community, as well as being tools for poverty alleviation.
Umvithi Youth Development consultants believe that a potential state of social cohesion in South Africa is still being challenged by ignorance and loss of cultural values and as a result of the introduction of practices such as information technology, and unequal means of living. In this sense, the youth are seen as an offspring of a developing and growing nation, without which there would be no future. However, the youth need to feel a sense of pride and ownership of their cultural values so as to see a need to hold on to them for the future.
Strategies and approaches need to be designed in order to restore the lost values among the youth and need to be common to all means of tourism development. This commonality will unite all youth, despite their background or environment. Arts, culture and humanity have been identified as three key aspects in highlighting this commonality while embracing differences. These aspects need to be introduced from infancy and be woven into our daily practices in order to instil a sense of pride and guide a nation into the future.
- SESSION 3A: MEGA-EVENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT
5.1 The comprehensive economic impact assessment of mega-events
Professors Maening, Tilley and Baade argued in their joint paper that when preparing to host a mega event such as the likes of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, promoters ensure all parties involved are aware of the numerous benefits that hosting such an event could bring to the host nation. However, calculations that have been done to support these benefits very often overstate the positive and often don’t accommodate for undesired effects. New studies have emerged that take into account wider socio- economic effects of these mega events so as to account for their impact on a country’s whole economy. These studies go beyond traditional indicators, tourist arrival figures, lengths of stay and expenditure to also look at the impact of displacement and crowding-out effects. There is a need to combine these studies into one useful methodology for policymakers. This paper looks into key findings and methodologies of these studies as a unique framework for tracking larger tangible and intangible impacts in light of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.. The proposed goal is to ultimately develop a model to be used as a more accurate tool for decision makers and planners of mega events.
Economists are constantly trying to improve the methods they use to measure how such events impact the economies of nations. Analyses are usually down through either a prospective analysis or a retrospective analysis. Both analyses have their own associated limitations. Prospective analysis is essentially a prediction of the impact of an event. This is hazardous as there is no good model for predicting or understanding how urban economies work. There is also no such model to analyse mega events, which is probably due to their relatively small impact in comparison to the large and diverse urban economies in which they take place. The task for the economist then is to find the proverbial ‘needle in the haystack’. Part of the problem of prospective analyses is that the models used to calculate these impacts are somewhat primitive and lack depth. Gross spending analysis thus limits this problem even further. Net spending analysis is recommended in order to take into account not only the additional spending that occurs but also the spending that is replaced. These first round errors are then compounded when a multiplier is fixed to the first round impacts which results in estimates that are far off the mark. Some of these first round problems include spending of non-residents, spending of residents, opportunity costs, infrastructure costs, financial inflows and outflows, and contingent valuation (i.e. psychic changes such as quality of life).
Retrospective analyses refer to ‘after-the-fact’ impact analyses. Once again, mega events are small relative to the economy so teasing out what it really is that was impacted by the event becomes complicated. Another problem is that statistical significance or confidence intervals discussions aren’t effectively communicated when deciding on how much government spends on such events. The specification of dependent variables is a tough task and needs to be better specified.
When considering strategies for reasonable estimates of economic impact, one of the most important initial steps is to reduce the size of the ‘haystack’. Tax data on smaller areas in this regard is particularly useful in working with a smaller ‘haystack’ and allowing the identification of some issues that would otherwise not be possible. However, impacts may well be beyond the traditional economic impact indicators that economists look for and the importance of contingent valuation is growing.
A key challenge for economic policymakers and planners is to translate the academic work of economists into useful policy making to maximise the benefits of these events. In South Africa, it would be important to probe and explore the impact on the whole country and not just the immediate tourism sector as there is a big question about ‘who gets what’ in terms of what these mega events are actually doing for South Africans at large. Both direct and indirect country-wide impacts are also important for these evaluations. The intangible and ‘feel good’ aspects of such assessments are often not accounted for but form part of a more holistic evaluation. All these aspects would then need to be combined toward a holistic national strategy for mega events.
The proposed study based on this body of theory would thus take a look at 2010 FIFA World Cup™ data on five of the provinces that are directly involved in the events, including host cities and non-host cities. The legacy of past events hosted in South Africa would also then paint a bigger picture as to how these events were run and the impact that they had. The study will have eleven variables, which looks at:
• Tourist arrivals, stays and expenditures.
• Hotel occupancy (predicted vs. actual).
• Aggregate consumer spending (taxable sales).
• Changes in consumer spending (displacement).
• Geographical spread of tourist.
• GDP, GGP and income generated for host cities (legacy growth).
• Employment (short and long term).
• Costs of living and property prices.
• Curio sector.
• Public expenditures and opportunity costs.
• The intangibles or ‘feel good’ aspects.
5.2 Impact of mega-events on visitor arrivals
Mr Johan Fourie and Ms Maria Santana-Gallego explained that the literature around mega events points out the growing appeal of hosting mega events due to their perception as a truly global experience and their potential to provide lucrative opportunities for countries. However, scholarly interest since the 1990s has been less enthusiastic about the possible returns for countries where ex-ante and post analyses indicate an overoptimistic prediction of these benefits. If countries don’t actually benefit as predicted or expected, why do they still bid to host these events? There is a growing body of literature that indicates countries bidding for the purpose of the ‘feel good factors’ or accredibility for international trade. Many countries have actually benefited significantly from merely bidding without having to carry the immense financial costs of hosting the event. Mega events nevertheless, present a very rare opportunity for many host cities and although the associated benefits may seem lucrative, the fact that countries even decide to bid for them indicates that the net benefits by far outweigh the costs.
This study uses a standard gravity model of bilateral tourism flows between 134 countries from 1995 to 2006 in order to measure one of the most direct benefits derived from such events, the increase in tourist arrivals to the host country. Predictions and expectations that such an event will increase tourist arrivals are put into question by a growing body of literature which points out the need for a careful look into possibilities of tourist displacement. Such displacement refers to ‘regular’ tourists that change their behaviour during a mega event by changing their trips to either a different location or time, which may effectively result in a net tourism gain or net loss. The results of the study suggest that the net gain (size of displacement) is dependent on the type of mega event (not necessarily size), the participating countries, the host countries level of development, and a number of event specific factors.
Mega events that were included in the analysis included the Summer Olympic Games (SOG - 1996, 2000, 2004), Winter Olympic Games (WOG - 1998, 2002, 2006), FIFA World Cup (FWC - 1998, 2002, 2006), Rugby World Cup (RWC - 1995, 1999, 2003), Cricket World Cup (CWC - 1996, 1999, 2003), and the British Lions Tour (Lions - 1997, 2001, 2005). The baseline estimates for the effect of mega events on tourist arrivals showed an overall increase of 8% in tourism. However, there were many variations both between the mega event categories and within them. The SOG increased tourism by 15%, the FWC by 10%, the CWC by 14%, and the Lions tour by 15%. The WOG and the RWC however, indicated a decrease in tourism by 5% and 9% respectively. The decrease caused by the RWC was due to data problems for the 1995 RWC. Even variations within the categories varied where the SOG for instance, indicated a decrease in tourism for the 2004 games in Athens of 30% in the same year of the event, which could be detrimental to a country’s tourism earnings and the industry as a whole.
The effect of participating and non-participating countries also showed significant differences. Where participating countries increased tourism to the host country by 24% on average, there was no significant difference by non-participating countries. Thus, it is important to think about the nature of the event and which countries it is likely to attract to the host nation prior to bidding for the event. This could present an opportunity to grow existing markets and be exposed to new potential future markets. The question of significant impact as a mega event bid winner or loser showed strange results where there was very little significant statistical variation and needs to be looked at in greater detail. The difference between tourist arrival impacts from mega sporting events and other mega events (i.e. trade fairs, international summits and UNWTO meetings, etc) indicated that the 2002 WSSD (World Summit of Sustainable Development) for instance showed a 10% increase and UNWTO meetings showed a 28% increase.
Mega events by and large increase tourism but there is still little evidence of the effects of displacement or crowding out of ‘regular’ tourists. There are also large differences between these mega events which depend on the country’s size, the size of the event, timing, and the participating countries. There is also some evidence that mega events act as a signal for some countries and that non-sport mega events may actually have a similar impact to sport mega events.
5.3 Impact assessment as a critical ingredient of sustainable tourism events: The case of KwaZulu-Natal
Mr James Seymour and Mr Wayne Tifflin shared their research results in the case of KwaZulu-Natal
Mega events form a key part of the whole concept of a destination, as well as its management and competitiveness. Such events present the opportunity for innovation in competitive strategies and can ultimately contribute to the success and sustainability of a destination. The useful insights and indicators provided by impact assessments are critical to the management and sustainability of these events and their host destinations. The destination management organisation of the province of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, Tourism KwaZulu Natal (TKZN), conducts regular annual impact assessments for a variety of tourism-related mega events that are hosted by the province. These impact assessments determine the return on investments and provide input to guarantee continued investment and ensure the sustainability of such events. This paper provided an overview of the adopted methodologies in these assessments and how their results are interpreted and practically applied, with particular focus on the example of the Comrades Marathon. TKZN has a dedicated tourism research unit where research is done in-house with a team of part-time interviewers, trained by the TKZN researchers. A standardised questionnaire is used to test for tourism behaviour before, during and after the events. Aspects which are tested for include expenditure patterns and the perceptions of such events. Sample sizes are carefully selected to ensure results lie within the 95% confidence level and are spread as randomly as possible and conducted systematically on an hourly basis across the entire event. Appropriate statistical significance tests and other key statistical calculations such as taking the standard error of the mean in the case of expenditure data are applied to the captured data to ensure that it is appropriately analysed. The core insights that result from these studies provide the basis for recommendations which are put forward to the organisers of the event that has been investigated. Such assessments can empower organisers to make decisions to improve the nature of their events. The impact assessments of each of the province’s major annual events are done on an annual basis to ensure that the province has tracking data for the measurement of the development of such events.
The Comrades Marathon is one of the oldest and largest ultra marathons in South Africa and the world. It covers a distance of approximately 90km began in 1921. This year, the 85th running of the marathon will see a total of 20 000 runners where only a mere 34 runners ran the first marathon in
- TKZN’s objectives for the study were to ultimately improve the profile of the Comrade’s brand, increase the number of domestic visitors from outside of KwaZulu-Natal, increase the number of international visitors, increase visitor spend, and increase their length of stay. The questionnaires therefore set out to distinguish between visitors and locals, and to determine where the respondents stayed while attending the event, how many people were in the respondent’s immediate group, their primary reason for attendance, how they travelled to the event, what influenced their decisions to attend, whether they had attended previously and if they would attend again, to obtain their profile and spend information, as well as to determine brand recognition.
A sustained level of participation is a key factor in the sustainability of the event. Sustained and even increasing levels of participation is also healthy from a tourism perspective. The year 2000 saw 23961 runners and this gave an indication of the potential number of domestic visitors that could be attracted by the event. The domestic participant numbers in 2005, however, were far below the 2000 figure and marketing campaigns were launched to encourage participants to attend the event and to stay longer to see other parts of the province. Central Gauteng has also emerged as an important source of participants, which is important for future domestic tourism. All of the provinces, with the exception of the North West Cape have shown a decrease in participation in 2009 when compared to 2005. All this data assists in planning strategies to increase the number of participants in the race. Milestones in the event’s history can also be used as part of the marketing strategy to attract more runners to the event.
A need was identified to internationalise the profile of the event. The event was then marketed at international events such as the New York, São Paulo and Bombay marathons. The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) also has ambassadors in 9 countries, namely USA, India, Australia, Canada, France, Brazil, Japan, Germany and Scandinavia. Promotion of the event in Kenya also has to be done. The results of these campaigns indicated an increase of international runners of 79% in 2008 and a further 11% in 2009. This drive to increase exposure internationally to increase international participation has ultimately benefited both the race and tourism.
The economic impact of the Comrades Marathon is only one among other considerations such as social, cultural, physical, psychological, tourism and commercial and political impacts. However, economic impact forms an important part of informing DMO, organiser and investor decisions with regards to supporting such events. The average total spend by participants and spectators is one aspect that could be useful in this regard whereby a fluctuation in average spend could indicate some area of concern or possibly an opportunity for improvement. Direct and indirect spend could also provide valuable insight, which was the case of the Comrades Marathon.
It is clear that event organisers and DMOs can mutually benefit from such assessments in working towards more sustainable events. The Comrades Marathon is an example of how these assessments can be done and applied successfully. These assessments also need to be collaborated in order to feed into bigger, perhaps even national studies.
5.4 Unpacking the benefits of mega-events to small business
Ms Adrienne Harris looked at the role and benefits of mega events on small businesses. Small businesses do not currently benefit from such events. The 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the 2003 Cricket World Cup, for instance had no real impact on small businesses. Accommodation was snatched up by bigger suppliers, little to no tour packages were sold and foreign visitors opted for international brands. Therefore, these small establishments need an opportunity to play in the same arena as their larger counterparts. This could be done by linking them to official websites of these events so as to increase their share of visitor spend.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ has created much buzz around opportunities for small business. These include promotions and co-promotions with sponsors, product licensing for merchandising and the provision of services, etc. However, this has not been the case in reality. A tour operator for instance, has to pay US$35 000 up front just to register with MATCH, which is often an impossible task for small businesses. The Cape Minstrels who run their annual festival in Cape Town and have done so for about 100 years, have been kicked out of their training stadium at a loss of R200 000 because they might damage the pitch.
There has been a half-hearted attempt to do something about the issue of accommodation from small businesses. There was an agreement between MATCH and the Minister of Tourism and the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP) was also involved in signing up small accommodation businesses. Even sponsorship for the improvement of grading has been implemented. However, many of these businesses required substantial upgrades and are now left with enormous loans to pay. MATCH has also already given back rooms and the small businesses were the first to go. Even, Zakumi, the mascot is being produced in China. The production of the mascot could have provided the opportunity to small enterprises and could have also been part of government poverty alleviation initiatives.
Thus, there are very limited benefits to small businesses. There is still the possibility of sub-contracting from large operators for tour guides and transport providers for instance. There are also opportunities for food and beverage outlets but not within the exclusion zones around stadia. There will also be limited craft and curio opportunities. Indirect benefits include improved infrastructure and increased money flows into the economy.
The question raised, why should we even care about small businesses? In South Africa, they account for approximately half the formal jobs in the private sector where more than 95% of all tourism businesses are SMMEs (Small Medium and Micro Enterprises). They contribute about 37% to the GDP and are ideal for the upliftment of the historically disadvantaged. And why do small businesses not benefit? Essentially big events are big business. There is no capacity to organise a number of small units to unite to benefit from such events. There is also concern over the quantity, quality and reliability of the products and services produced by small businesses. Research conducted by TEP indicates that 84% of SMMEs can in fact provide services for 2010 but approximately 50% of the potentials need help to get there.
The ultimate question is ‘should small businesses benefit from mega events or should they rather concentrate on more suitable events such as festivals?’ And if so, who should play the coordinating role? The creation of a small business support unit to liaise between local organising committees and small businesses is suggested here. Such a unit could collectively harness the offerings of small businesses so as to benefit from such mega events, while meeting the requirements of organisers. There is thus a need for focused strategy and extensive research into the matter. Perhaps even a unified approach to bidding where small businesses are included in the process would be beneficial to all.
- SESSION 3B: MEGA-EVENT CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
6.1 International athletes as tourists: Consumer behaviours by participants of the 2007 and 2009 World Universiade Games
Mr Serkan Berber, Lecturer: Anadolu University in Turkey noted that few studies on mega events have focused on the “second tier” international sport events in order to understand participant consumption patterns and impacts. This study examines the World Universiade Summer Games in two different countries, Belgrade, Serbia and Bangkok, Thailand. The Universiade is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events. In 2009, 8 600 athletes from 128 countries participated in its 25th anniversary. A profile of the participants of the 2007 and 2009 games was generated to reveal and compare their consumer behaviours over time and in the host cities. A total of 441 surveys were completed by participants on-site at the 2007 games in Bangkok, and 227 in 2009 at the Belgrade games.
The 2007 and 2009 participants were statistically similar in profile, whereby the average age was 27.5 years in 2007 and 26.81 years in 2009, with approximately 60% males and 40% females. The length of stay was 12 nights in 2007 and 13 nights in 2009. The travel party included on average 3.75 other persons travelling in the travel party at the Bangkok games, and 2.2 persons in the Belgrade games. Approximately, 69% of respondents were athletes, with the rest being made up of coaches (10%), officials (12%), medical personnel (4%), and others (5%). In terms of race, the participants were made up of 68% Whites, followed by Asian (12%), Black (11%), Latino (6%) and Indian (3%).
On average, participants spent €801.33 in Bangkok and €815.60 in Belgrade during the Universiades, primarily for event tickets, shopping, transportation, and other goods and services. Most lodging costs were covered by the event organizstion, national or sport federations and were not a major expenditure to participants. In terms of perceptions, 51% of participants would visit Bangkok in the future, 39.8% were unsure, and 9% would not visit again. Approximately 87% of participants would recommend visiting Bangkok to their friends, 13% would not. In 2009, less than half the subjects (49.8%) indicated that they would return to Belgrade as visitors, 5.9% would not return and 44.3% were unsure.
This study offers a glimpse at Universiade participants and their consumer behaviours. Most participants had positive perceptions of Bangkok as a host city. It was also noted that university students are not high-value sport tourists in terms of direct spend. It is suggested that researchers conduct such studies of recurring events in order to determine similarities and differences in sport participant characteristics across time and culture.
6.2 Host challenges in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Dr Nerine Bresler and Mr Adre Mynhardt from the School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg shared their views on the host challenges in preparation for the tournament. Research around mega events has largely been centred on economic impacts, event benefactors, and themes around economic development, destination images and building national pride. The visitor experience however has largely been neglected. This study set out to identify challenges that South Africa faces before the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The research was conducted at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup™ by structured interviews with a sample of spectators, the integration of a variety of complementary studies and the contextualisation of international literature.
One of the biggest challenges facing South Africa is the task of delivering the desired experience. This involves a balance between the interests of divergent stakeholders. These interests include that of the event owner/promoter who provides the event as entertainment for a profit. South Africa wants to ultimately raise its profile to become a world class destination, the tourist enterprises who provide products and services at a profit and create the image for future visitation and investment, and lastly the visitor and/or spectator who creates the excitement at the event as well as the experience and future recommendations. There is also an associated risk of disappointing the visitor and incurring costs that do not contribute to growth, as well as the possibility of not reducing the legacy of Afro-pessimism.
Interest in the event and the intention to attend are generally governed by three push factors, two mediating factors and two desired outcomes. Push factors include demographics (i.e. age, education, income, gender, etc), fan motives (aesthetics, vicarious achievement, arousal and support for the national team as well as an interest in players) and travel motives (escape, socialization, learning about the host country, etc). Mediating factors include attraction to the event due to actual interest in the event, and the constraints such as risk (e.g. safety and security issues) and financial implications (price of tickets and travel, etc). The two outcomes include the desire to attend (which may not result in actual attendance due to novelty seeking), and the feasibility of attending.
Respondents (n=205) were interviewed at the stadiums prior to the semi- finals. The overwhelming majority of respondents were male (85%), and were on average aged between 26 and 35 years (43.5%). South Africans made up 18.4% of the respondents. Overall, 93.9% believed that South Africa could successfully host the 2010 world cup and 90.1% believed the matches were well organised. Perceptions were generally very positive, especially with regards to the emotional and cognitive aspects of their experience.
Negative perceptions did not indicate any new concerns but did echo the critical concerns that have been floating in the media: crime rate, the quality and efficiency of public transport, the nuisance caused by smoking in the stands and the Vuvuzelas, inadequate support for the event (empty stand and lack of volunteers), and value for money.
It is clear that there is tremendous support and belief that South Africa can in fact host this event successfully. However, it must get the basics right in order to build a lasting legacy. Benefits need to be spread geographically and branding needs to extend far beyond just the event. Enterprises should ensure that they keep their base customers happy so as to ensure long term loyalty and not to fall into the trap of a short term fix at the expense of the customer base. The ultimate winners will be those with revenue management skills.
6.3 The sport tourism legacy of mega-events: From Beijing 2008 to South Africa 2010
Mr Brendon Knott, Prof Kamilla Swart, Prof Douglas Turco and Urmilla Bob were of the view that the increased attraction to the hosting of mega events has largely been due to their potential as valuable promotion tools. Sports fans and consumers are the pivotal force behind the leveraging of such events but little research has been done on them. In South Africa, the government recognises the sport tourism’s potential to contribute substantially to the economy. The notion of legacy is now no longer a desired outcome but an absolutely essential priority. The key objective of this study was to understand the mega event sport tourist, but more specifically to assess tourist perceptions of China as host of the 2008 Olympic Games, and their awareness, perceptions of and intent to travel to South Africa in 2010. Primary data was collected at the Beijing Olympic Games with specific focus on football fans. 291 surveys were collected over three days.
The findings indicate that the spectators were mainly from the USA (16%), Germany (13%) and the UK (12%). Activities included traditional tourist activities such as visiting Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall, as well as general shopping. There was a relative balance in the perceptions of China where 11% felt that there were many people and felt crowded, 9% indicated that there were strict government controls visible in place, 8% acknowledged that they had a strong cultural heritage and history, and 6% considered it a developing nation. The perceptions on the event itself were generally positive where security, accommodation, transport and service were all seen in a good light. Although the environment received an above average perception, it was relatively low when compared to other perceptions. This echoed the climate change concerns that were raised leading up to the event.
In terms of awareness of South Africa, 58% of respondents knew that South Africa would be hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The main perceptions of South Africa were balanced between perceptions of its natural beauty, beaches and mountains, and more negative aspects such as crime, violence and danger. There was a relatively high intention to travel to South Africa at 30%, while 29% said they were unsure. This opens up opportunities to turn those ‘not so sure’ responses into a clear ‘yes’ response. The length of stay ranged from 7 to 14 days and the preferred base was Cape Town.
Overall, there is reasonable awareness of South Africa as a host for the world cup and intention to travel to the country. Similar nationalities of sport tourists could provide some insight to key markets. However, there are negative perceptions such as crime that need to be addressed. There is little that is known about South Africa and thus 2010 presents an opportunity for nation or city branding. Marketing activities thus need to be improved to convert the ‘unsure’ tourist. The value of international academic collaborations is also noted in the effort to coordinate and align research efforts.
- SESSION 4: SETTING THE TONE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT ON TOURISM, SPORT AND MEGA-EVENTS
The role of mega-events in city development: What have we learned?
Mr Greg Clark argued in his paper that global events can accelerate the development of fast growing economies. They are an investment catalyst, and provide the opportunity for repositioning a destination. They can also present the opportunity to align a city or country’s image, brand and identity with that of the event itself. Thus, competition among world class cities and large emerging economies has become fierce. However, not all bids are properly thought out. Such events should be a means to accelerate the implementation of already existing strategies better and should thus form part of the natural development cycle. Global events should therefore be ‘picked’ carefully in order to fit into an already existing strategy.
Every global event focuses on two tasks simultaneously. Firstly, it is the precise purpose of the event, i.e. hosting a number of sporting teams or athletes for a competition, and secondly it has a secondary or parallel purpose or task which is the benefit of the event itself that a host city or nation wants to get out of it. These two ideas are occasionally in tension. On the one hand, it may be so hard to get the transport, infrastructure, stadiums, and airports ready that no time, resources and thinking space goes on the second task. It is clear from the literature that those places that have benefited more than others have been the ones that have managed the first task sufficiently well or sufficiently discretely and so have been able to allocate sufficient attention, time, resources, intuition and leadership into the second task as well. Thus, there is a real tension about into which of these tasks resources will flow to.
Some places have really understood that at least the portions of the benefits come from just bidding. There are various places that are bidding with no intention of winning. Instead they are bidding well enough to look good, to do some infrastructure planning, do some land use assembly, re- branding, create media presence, etc. It has become somewhat of a cheaper way to benefit from just simply bidding for international events.
Time scale and life cycle dynamics are very important. The time scale and lifecycle at which certain benefits occur are completely different from the time scale and the life cycle in which the event is hosted. Most of the economic benefits of hosting an event of this kind happen in the latter part of the business cycle or even in the next business cycle. Much of the infrastructure benefits, the land use or investment benefits happen early for the public sector and very often happen much later for the private sector. Social benefits happen through the inter-generational dynamics and not immediately.
The role of cities within public finance systems within nations is particularly important. At its simplest, we are living in an age where cities find themselves increasingly wanting to raise their rate of investment in their schools, housing, infrastructure, business districts, roads, universities, etc because they see cities as units of international competition. The best way to be competitive is to invest more in the quality of their productive platform. At the same time, national governments are trying to participate in all sorts of agreed multi lateral fiscal restraints and there is a tension between what cities sees as the path to success and what nations are agreeing to the path to inter- governmental collaboration success. This has given rise to a permanent investment gap. Cities try clever ways of breaching this gap where hosting mega events is one of the ways to do this because in a brief moment of time in the otherwise complex fiscal calculus, cities become a priority for national investment. Another reason why cities want to host mega events is due to the perceived failure of other policies such as urban regeneration initiatives, or regional economic development initiatives, or labour market interventions, etc where people are looking for a different kind of ‘medicine’.
So how can cities maximise the positive benefits of hosting local events? The following are crucial areas of consideration:
• Pick the right event – think about the breadth of the legacy.
• Be bold – being imaginative.
• Get the leadership right.
• Bid well and with ingenuity.
• Have a Plan B – having strategies for both winning and losing bids so
as to move forward either way.
• Accelerate existing plans and priorities.
• Integrate efforts – well integrated in development, planning, branding
and marketing.
• Make the legacy and benefits come first – guiding driver of all
decisions.
• Manage the legacy as a separate project – to avoid being distracted by
the event.
• Make a habit of being a host – hosting more events that can increase
capacity and add to the cumulative benefits.
Global events thus present an opportunity to boost city developments through increased promotional efforts and the leveraging of national resources. However, the tensions that provide different dimensions and complexities to the process need to be carefully considered.
- Conclusion
The colloquium featured some of the most distinguished scholars in the realm of mega events and tourism who each provided insights into a range of critical dimensions of hosting such events. The most recurring and strongest theme was that of legacy. Below are some of the key points that surfaced:
• There was a strong focus on having the right practitioners with the
right practitioner focus. The capacity-building of present and future
local leaders and planners is often ignored. Instead, structural
issues are often paid more attention.
• Global events should be part of a natural development cycle as opposed
to an unrealistic ‘dream’ to solve a country or city’s problems
through hosting a mega-event.
• Bidding with no intention to win has actually proven to be more
fruitful to many countries and also opening up opportunities to be
‘placed on the map’.
• The intended legacy cannot be forgotten along the way. Despite all the
hype around Mega-events, countries still need to focus on what is
going to be left behind for its residents after the event and what can
be built on what has been gained for the future. (such as good
infrastructure, affordable housing, schools, etc).
• There needs to be a movement away from just the traditional economic
focus on mega-events as more attention needs to be paid to a more
holistic view that includes environmental and social aspects for a
potential legacy.
• A good neighbour policy for the inclusion of the rest of the continent
or immediate neighbouring countries is something that has been
neglected.
• Marginalised populations have been largely ignored in mega event
research agendas and the plans for hosting such events.
• Social networks provide another world of opportunity for countries
even beyond mega events and need to be explored.
• The role and power of mega event owners and promoters has also been
put into question as the developing world sets out to host its firs
FIFA World Cup™, which will provide developing countries like South
Africa to have a shot at the global arena.
• The youth play a key role in the sustainability of legacies left
behind by mega events. Even youth tourism has proved to be a viable
option for contributing to longer sport tourism strategies.
- Closing remarks by Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation
The Deputy Minister said that the summit was not an end in itself, but a milestone for South Africa and for the international community. All the high quality inputs that were received, the presentations, the papers submitted, and the discussions on the floor will now inform a number of concrete outcomes. These concrete ‘next steps’ include, amongst others, the following:
One: The National Department of Tourism will compile a technical project report that collates all these source materials and expert contributions into one volume, and by way of a summary, lifts out the key themes and issues to be addressed. Two: The valuable best practice and knowledge shared will feed directly into the 5-Year Strategic Framework for the tourism sector that the Minister of Tourism will be publishing in a few weeks.
Three: These proceedings will also underpin the important sports tourism strategy currently being finalised by the National Departments of Sport and Tourism, with the support of SA Tourism.
Four: The UNWTO will intensify its focus on sport, tourism and mega-events as a tool for development, and would suggest that they consider various proposals as part of a work stream that could include greening guidelines for mega events, a knowledge repository on the management of mega-sporting events, and a rethink on the ways of evaluating the costs and benefits of these events.
Five: The team of academics led by Professors Leo Jago and Daneel van Lill will complete a detailed report, sponsored by Visa and commissioned by the South African Government and the UNWTO that will contribute the basis of a framework towards maximising the benefits of mega-events.
Delegates also had witnessed new networks and friendships forged between industry players, academics, governments and international organisations. To South Africa – and on behalf of the government, it can be safely said, the summit opened up new networks between new friends. The wider perspective that this brings, combined with the new access to this knowledge network, will assist South Africa to do what was needed do in a smarter way.
In conclusion, Deputy Minister conveyed his appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, for co-hosting that prestigious inaugural summit in partnership with the Government of South Africa. The impact of the event would be experienced globally for many years to come. TUESDAY, 24 AUGUST 2010
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159
(1) Voluntary Disclosure Programme and Taxation Laws Second
Amendment Bill, 2010, submitted by the Minister of Finance.
Referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and the Select
Committee on Finance.
- Introduction of Bills
(1) The Minister of Finance
(a) Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B 28 – 2010] (National
Assembly – proposed sec 77)
Introduction in the National Assembly (proposed sec 77) and
referral to the Standing Committee on Finance of the National
Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism
(JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160, on 24
August 2010.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
(b) Voluntary Disclosure Programme and Taxation Laws Second
Amendment Bill [B 29 – 2010] (National Assembly – proposed sec
75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice of its
introduction published in Government Gazette No 33476 of 20
August 2010].
Introduction in the National Assembly (proposed sec 75) and
referral to the Standing Committee on Finance of the National
Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism
(JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160, on 24
August 2010.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three
parliamentary working days.
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
a) Submission of Policy Directives issued in terms of section 79(13)
of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No 51 of 1977) as amended
by section 10 (b) of the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2008 (Act
No 66 of 2008). National Assembly
- The Speaker
(a) Report of the Public Protector on an investigation into an
allegation of a breach of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, 1998
and the Executive Ethics Code by General (Ret) S Nyanda, Minister
of Communication.