What Next After World Cup Fever?
After the IFRTD Board meeting in June I urged my fellow Board members to become regular bloggers on these pages. I can hardly go on urging others to blog if I don't follow my own advice so here goes...
Last month I watched the opening game of the World Cup, South Africa vs Mexico, in a crowded Nairobi hotel bar. We cheered for Bafana Bafana ( apologies to Roberto Aguerrebere, my fellow Board member, who was at that moment heading home for Mexico!) The World Cup party atmosphere continued on my plane journey home the following day to London, with the Kenya Airways staff sporting Go Africa tee shirts. Now that the World Cup is well and truly over the focus is on the legacy of the tournament.
What lasting benefits can we expect, particularly for poor people in South Africa?
Firstly, there is enormous pride in the fact that the doubters who said that the World Cup in South Africa would be a disaster were proved totally wrong. As a British, black woman, low expectations and doubts from others about your ability to succeed is something that I am familiar with, it is always sweet when you prove your doubters wrong. But how much better it is when you feel that you don't need to prove things in order to avoid stereotypes.
Secondly, a few facts and figures about the World Cup 2010. South Africa spent an estimated £3.5bn ($5bn) and FIFA has made £2.1bn($3.3bn) from television coverage and sponsorship alone. Investment in the transport infrastructure is a key part of the legacy; 700 new buses, the upgrading of the road and rail infrastructure, the Rea Vaya (We are moving) South Africa's first Rapid Transit Bus system. This has to be the pearl in the oyster; affordable, high quality mass transport serving the needs of low income people. Check out Todd Litman's post on the Planetizen website for more on this. Next year, 2011 will see Gautrain , South Africa's first high speed train. Part of the route opened for the World Cup in June. I will be keeping my eye on the transport ball to see how well the legacy will serve poor communities in South Africa.
Asante Sana Kenya
By the way, in case you thought I spent all of my time watching football during the Board meeting. I'd like to mention here what a pleasure it was to have the chance to attend a working session organised by Peter Njenga, IFRTD Regional Co-ordinator for East & Southern Africa and Maria Arce, IFRTD Executive Director. The workshop was the start of developing the Strategic Plan for the East & Southern Africa region (see our group, pictured above). We were joined by colleagues, and IFRTD members Taye Berhanu, Executive Director of the Ethiopian National Forum for Rural Transport & Development and Kenneth Odoro, Executive Director for Climate XL Africa. It was a good opportunity to focus on the new agendas and challenges that IFRTD has to face at both regional and global level. I came away from the session feeling very positive and more convinced than ever of
the need for good collaboration and strong partnerships if we are to succeed
in bringing about major change in transport policy and attracting resources and support for our cause. During my trip I also had the pleasure of meeting Eric Makokha of Shelter Forum Kenya .
I learned more about how an organisation with very similar roots to IFRTD has grown over the years since it became independent. I'll be posting more about this in future. For now I will sign off with a thank you (asante sana) to the people I met in Nairobi. I look forward to returning to Kenya some time soon.
1 comment:
I've visited South Africa a few times and I felt quite sure they'd make a big success of the World Cup. Despite the West's stereotypes, its cities are modern, with pretty good infrastructure, and its roads are better than the ones in my supposedly affluent neighbourhood in Leeds. I did worry, however, by the practice in Durban of literally excommunicating the street people from the city centre when large scale tourism took place. They said this was to keep us (in my case, international sociologists) safe - but it seemed too draconian. Two 'transport' things were noticeable: the relative absence of a train service and the preponderance of privately-owned minibuses as the main means of transportation for low-income people. On the former, it's good to hear from Roma that a high-speed train service is planned. (I was told that SA once had a good rail system - but presumably the old tracks are no longer suitable.) I'd like to know what informed opinion makes about the minibus system. On the one hand, it seems a good example of entrepreneurial activity. But it cannot be good in terms of carbon emissions, and it certainly reinforces the divide between tourists (who are told never to set foot in a minibus) and local people.
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