I must also say that the Fifa LOC undertook to purchase extra seats to accommodate the access needs of disabled people.
In the Free State, the delegation expressed serious concern over the continued lack of co-operation between the host city and the Free State's rugby leadership over their continued use of the stadium. The Free State Cheetahs were continually using the stadium as their home ground for their Vodacom Super 14 games. The continued use of the stadium by the Cheetahs posed a serious risk to the growth of the grass and could have led to the withdrawal of all World Cup matches scheduled to take place in the city of Mangaung. The committee delegation recommended that the Free State Cheetahs request permission in writing from the SA Rugby Union for their remaining matches to be rescheduled to other venues. The delegation resolved that no other matches, especially on 1 May and 8 May 2010, should be staged on the Vodacom Park pitch. The captain's run would also be moved to other venues to avoid further damage to the pitch.
We also noted the lack of adequate support staff to assist with the proper management and cleaning of the facilities. I must also inform the House that we visited several base camps that were proposed for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Although most of the base camps were of a high quality, the delegation expressed concern about the quality of the pitches at some of the base camps. We were also notified of several contractual disputes that were raised with respective parties and requested that they be addressed immediately.
The delegation visited several host cities to ascertain their readiness. We also visited the areas that were designated as fan parks and, in most instances, we were pleased with their state of readiness. We were also pleased about the availability of the tourism information kiosks. We believe that these facilities will assist and make it easier for our international guests to navigate themselves to the various games and fan parks. They will serve as crucial points for our guests to get more information about the areas they can visit in order to get a true experience and reflection of South African life.
I must also say that we also visited airports in the host cities. We were impressed with the world-class infrastructure, which will also benefit our people beyond the World Cup. We were impressed by the baggage management system at the airports, which would surely limit baggage theft and make it easier for those who misplace their baggage to track it down.
Finally, I must inform this House that the delegation had engagements with Eskom to ascertain their readiness to provide a reliable power supply and ensure that we did not experience any blackouts. I must say that we were pleased about ... [Interjections.]