Vavi+fumes+over+Aussie+2010+hijack,+Timothy+Molobi,+City+Press

City Press, Johannesburg, 25/11/2006 18:53 - (SA)
=Vavi fumes over Aussie 2010 hijack=


 * Timothy Molobi**

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has entered the fray by condemning Australia’s insistence they were ready to step in if South Africa fails to host the 2010 World Cup.

The country’s largest union has also threatened to march to the Australian embassy to register their unhappiness at the constant negative publicity Australia continues to churn out against the 2010 hosts.

“They must stop painting the country negatively and misleading the public,” fumed Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday.

Vavi who, is also on the board of the SA 2010 World Cup local organising committee (LOC), lashed out at the Australian government, particularly Premier Morris Iemma of the state of New South Wales.

Iemma stunned South Africans this week when he said his country was willing to help the African country stage the 2010 World Cup if they were unable to meet Fifa requirements.

“We stand ready to step in if South Africa is unable to host the 2010 World Cup and the Football Federation of Australia puts a bid to act as an emergency host,” Iemma said this week.

Vavi described the comments as “pure racist remarks by pessimists who still believed Africans cannot do anything good.

“Those racist Australians don’t want to accept that black people are capable of organising an event like the World Cup. They still believe all of us are involved in self-destructive fights and we cannot do anything good,” fumed Vavi.

The straight-talking Vavi said he was seriously considering mobilising the workers to picket at the Australian embassy in Pretoria if Australia did not stop such statements.

He said the conservatives now in power in Australia were pushing their own agenda. Vavi said had the labour party been in control, the Australian government would be viewing South Africa in a different perspective.

“That country used to be the home of one of the biggest anti-apartheid movements, but things have changed.

“We should tell them loud and clear that we are ready to host the World Cup and we are even ahead of schedule and no-one is going to take the event away from us.”

The outspoken unionist’s comments followed the 2010 Organising Committee Board’s decision to complain to the foreign affairs minister about the continued negative reports from Down Under.

Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the LOC, confirmed that they were gatvol with Iemma’s statements and had lodged an official complaint with the minister to intervene.

The LOC have since written a strongly worded letter, asking the minister of foreign affairs to lodge a complaint with the Australian government.

The LOC said they wanted to ascertain whether recent statements by Iemma were the position of New South Wales or the Australian government.

Although he said they were not worried about the reports, he said they were surprised by Iemma’s insistence that they were ready to host the event.

“We are tired of these reports and enough is enough, hence we decided to write a letter to the minister. We find it totally unfair because they have done it more than once,” said Jordaan.

He said Fifa president Sepp Blatter has stressed that there was no plan B for hosting the World Cup. He said there was no way Fifa could give the event to any other country.

“If there is a recommendation to be made it has to come from the World Cup committee and there is not even a single Australian on that committee. Fifa has made it clear that they are happy with our preparations so far and said there was no plan B.”

Jordaan said he was happy that the construction of stadiums would start early in the new year.

He said that it was the Australians who should worry that one of their companies was struggling to complete the Wembley Stadium in England.

The construction of the new Wembley Stadium has fallen behind by two years and its costs have more than doubled.


 * From: http://www.news24.com/City_Press/Sport/0,7515,186-245_2035837,00.html**

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