DURBAN CONFIDENT ABOUT ABILITY TO HOST WORLD CUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DURBAN 000065 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ELTN EAIR SCUL ASEC PINR SF SUBJECT: DURBAN CONFIDENT ABOUT ABILITY TO HOST WORLD CUP ¶1. (SBU) Summary. City Manager Dr. Michael Sutcliffe said that national, provincial and local governments have worked together to develop plans to improve infrastructure to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The new stadium and airport being developed to host the games are on track for completion before the games begin in June 2010. The greatest challenge facing World Cup preparation efforts is the ability to improve public transportation and security capacity. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Consulate General Durban staff met on October 28 with eThekwini Municipality (Durban) City Manager Michael Sutcliffe to discuss municipal government preparations to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Durban is the biggest municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province and one of the host cities for the World Cup. In his capacity as City Manager, Sutcliffe represents Durban at the World Cup Local Organizing Committee (LOC) meetings and is involved with all of the major infrastructure projects in the municipality that will support 2010 preparations. -------------- South Africa Expects to be Prepared for 2010 -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Sutcliffe expressed confidence in South Africa's ability to host the games and remarked that the 2010 World Cup would be a "different experience" from the precisely-executed 2006 World Cup held in Germany. He explained that significant national and provincial foresight went into plans to improve infrastructure when South Africa decided to bid for the 2010 World Cup. He cited public transportation and security capacity as the area of greatest concern for World Cup preparation efforts. According to Sutcliffe, South Africa has successfully hosted large international sporting events in the past (e.g., 1996 African Nations Cup and the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup) and has the emergency response and coordination systems in place in the chosen host cities to ensure the success of the games. Sutcliffe is pleased with the progress on the development of the new stadium in Durban and the capacity of the local tourism and hospitality industries to accommodate the large number of fans expected to visit Durban. -------------- KZN Transport Infrastructure Being Upgraded for 2010 -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Sutcliffe conceded that initiatives to develop the transport infrastructure required for the World Cup have been resource intensive. He expected the municipality to be able to provide a reasonable level of public transport service during the games, but admitted that public transport capacity would not reach the level originally desired by the province or municipality due to financial constraints. Work at the new Durban King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy is currently on a 24-hour cycle to complete construction before the games begin. Sutcliffe would like to see the province make efforts to attract a few large international carriers such as Emirates, Air India, and Air China to provide direct service to the new airport. He thought it would be more strategic to target a few large carriers with high passenger volume to increase the long-term economic viability of the new airport. ¶5. (SBU) In 2007, the municipality contemplated developing a tram-based public transport system to improve public transport capacity for the World Cup and beyond. Municipal officials consulted with Durban's sister-city Nantes, France, which operates a tram-based public transport system that they hoped to use as a model. The municipality decided to shelf the project due to a lack of financial support from the national government and projections that Durban would not have the commuter volume to support a tram-based system after the World Cup. The municipality decided to rely on a bus-based public transport system instead to meet short-term World Cup transport needs. Park and ride platforms will also be established at key train stations that will link fans to World Cup events. -------------- -------------- 2010 Providing Impetus to Test Various Types of Public Transport Systems -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Sutcliffe said the municipality would revisit the tram-based public transport project if Durban won the 2020 Olympics bid. (Note: Durban is bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and International Olympic Committee members have suggested that the organization should award the games to an African nation). Sutcliffe also noted that a concerted effort would have to be made to change the mind-set of the population DURBAN 00000065 002 OF 002 to increase utilization of public transport before such a project could be considered feasible. ¶7. (SBU) According to Sutcliffe, urban density in KZN is not high enough to support the type of mass transit systems that are in place in Europe. He predicted that it would take another 20-30 years to achieve the urban population densities required in KZN to support these types of initiatives. He even expressed skepticism regarding the economic viability of the mass transport systems (e.g., Gautrain rapid rail link and Johannesburg bus-rapid transport) being implemented in the Gauteng province for the World Cup. He believes that the Gautrain model was unrealistic and did not meet public, mass transit needs. Sutcliffe also highlighted the challenge government faced in dealing with the entrenched interests of the taxi industry, which operates in a "mafia-like" manner to thwart any initiatives that would develop or promote alternative forms of mass public transport. ¶8. (SBU) Despite these challenges, Sutcliffe thought that the World Cup-led transport capacity building initiatives would provide an opportunity for the host provinces and municipalities to experiment with various mass transit systems that would eventually benefit all South Africans. For instance, Durban hopes to incorporate lessons learned from the various public transport projects being implemented in Gauteng for the World Cup. Sutcliffe emphasized that there has never been such a large injection of resources into the public transport system in South Africa before. He hoped that among the various pilot public transport projects being initiated for the World Cup a few models would emerge that could be emulated to develop larger-scale public transport systems. -------------- Capacity Building will be Key to Improving Security Preparations -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Sutcliffe also outlined the municipality's plans to increase the patrolling capacity of the Metro Police service and criticized the national government for putting too much emphasis on technical solutions to address World Cup-related security concerns. He noted that new technical solutions would need to be combined with experienced policing and patrolling during the games to be effective. The municipality plans on recruiting and training an additional 600 Metro Police for 2010. The municipality has started training the new recruits and 200 have completed the training to-date. Sutcliffe noted that providing new recruits with adequate training and experience before 2010 would represent a significant challenge for the municipality, "because experienced policing can not be replaced with technology." ¶10. (SBU) Comment. Sutcliffe was optimistic about the ability of South Africa and Durban to host the 2010 World Cup, but was candid in his assessments of the constraints faced by initiatives to improve public transportation and security capacity. He raised valid points about the difficulty of ramping up transport and security infrastructure in such a short period of time. Most officials are not as publicly skeptical about the long-term economic viability of the projects being initiated for the World Cup. End Comment. -------------- Bio Notes -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Dr. Sutcliffe is an ANC loyalist, brought into the party by current KZN Premier Sibusiso "Sbu" Ndebele. He is a prominent figure in KZN province and in the municipality of eThekwini (Durban). Sutcliffe is driven largely by a pro-poor liberal political ideology, which has its roots in the anti-apartheid struggle, and appears to relish opportunities to shake up the "previously- (and in his view, still-) advantaged" elites of Durban. He is very close to the eThekwini ANC regional leadership, especially the powerful Chairman John Mchunu. These relationships have caused a rift between him and Durban's mayor, Obed Mlaba, who is seen largely as a ceremonial mayor. Sutcliffe by contrast seems to enjoy greater political influence and decision-making powers. Sutcliffe is also very supportive of ANC President Jacob Zuma. He has a rocky relationship with opposition parties in the City Council and has often been at logger-heads with them over a number of controversial issues, such as the street renaming process. Sutcliffe's name is invoked with anger in many letters to the editor in local papers; he has developed a thick skin, and told us he views the media as part of the "opposition." His detractors and critics readily admit that he is an extremely effective city manager, and he is credited for making eThekwini one of the best-run municipalities in the country. DERDERIAN