Deputy Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, hon Premiers and hon members ...
... sesithetha nje mhlekazi kuba kufuneka sithethile, ngamany' amazwi uyigqibile le nto. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Likhona ixesha lokuba sibethane kwaye namhlanje ibingelilo, kodwa ke asinakukuyeka sesikubona noko. [Kwahlekwa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [... sir, we are going to speak only because we have been mandated to do so; otherwise you have covered everything. [Applause.] There is a time for us to be at loggerheads, and this is not the time, but now that we have been afforded this opportunity, we are not going to let it go to waste. [Laughter.]]
The UDM salutes the people of South Africa for making this World Cup a resounding success. In the run-up to this event we spoke of the key role- players who made this possible, namely the then leadership of Safa, who had the vision and were supported by former President Nelson Mandela and his administration; the LOC and former President Mbeki's administration, who oversaw the implementation of that vision; and finally, the administration of President Zuma who oversaw the finishing touches to this great sporting event.
We are right to celebrate our own successes, but that must not prevent us from looking towards the future. We have hosted a successful Soccer World Cup; what now? The UDM would like to make the following two appeals, once more, to government and Safa.
Firstly, the stadia and infrastructure that were created need to be maintained and used as a springboard for further infrastructure development. You should bring proper roads and playing fields to the townships and rural areas.
Secondly, you should use the Soccer World Cup as the first stepping stone in a major soccer development programme. There are considerable amounts of money that flow into South African soccer, but not enough of it is being invested in developing tomorrow's talented players.
In conclusion, allow me to say a few words on the possibility of South Africa's hosting other major events of this nature. In the past month there has been widespread speculation about bringing the Olympics to our shores. There is no doubt about our ability to host such an event. However, we must proceed with a certain caution because the Olympics are hosted by a single city, not the whole country. We need to ensure that whichever city bids for the opportunity will have the finances and capacity to deal with the massive infrastructure development that is required, whilst simultaneously honouring all of its service delivery commitments.