2010 Reality check: path to the World Cup not paved in gold (Feature)

By Clare Byrne Feb 25, 2010, 5:02 GMT

Soweto, South Africa - On a late summer morning in South Africa groups of workers in white construction helmets and orange bibs are rolling out instant grass sods outside Soccer City in Soweto township on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

With just over three months to kick-off in the World Cup, the landscaping teams are among the few workers left at the striking

89,000-seat calabash-shaped venue, which will host the opening game and final.

The bulk of the workers, who numbered 3,700 at the height of construction, were retrenched in the second half of last year, when the main building work was completed.

In the past few months, over 30,000 unskilled or semi-skilled workers, out of a total of 45,000, have been made redundant across ten stadiums nationwide.

Most have little to show for their contribution to the World Cup, apart from the promise of two tickets each, and a small bonus.

Loti Malopi, 51, had been unemployed for 20 years when Grinaker LTA, the contractor that carried out Soccer City's 3.4 billion-rand (453 million dollar) upgrade, started recruiting local workers in Soweto in 2007.

'I was very happy,' says the round-faced grandfather, who fed 10 on his modest storeman's salary. 'It's very good to wake up in the morning like everyone else and get something to eat,' he says, sitting in a food stall across the road from the stadium.

But a country where unemployment is running at 23.4 per cent, and the real figure is estimated much higher, work doesn't necessarily beget more work. Since his contract ended in June last year, Malopi has been jobless.

'I cannot sleep at night. I dream only about finding work,' he says dolefully.

As the clock ticks down on the biggest sporting event ever to be staged in Africa, the economic benefits for the hosts are being hotly debated.

The estimated 130,000 jobs that the tournament created were mostly low-skilled, low-paid jobs which, now the stadiums, airports and upgraded roads are finished or nearly, are being scrapped.

The hospitality sector, which had been salivating at the revenue potential of nearly a half a million visitors, has also had to review its expectations.

Instead of the initially punted 450,000 visitors, FIFA general-secretary Jerome Valcke admitted last week a figure of 350,000 was more realistic.

While the global financial crisis and the South Africa's well-documented violent crime problem have been listed as deterrents for some fans, the hospitality sector, it would seem, is also shooting itself in the foot by pushing the tournament beyond the pocket of many punters.

Most hotels and guesthouses have hiked their prices at least two-fold for the month of the competition and airlines have also been inflating their prices.

Some politicians and analysts have expressed concern at the risk of permanent damage to the tourist industry if visitors return home feeling they've been fleeced.

'They are going to go home and convince themselves we are a bunch of 'groot skelms (big rascals)',' Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile warned.

In the meantime, some of the people who have been serving local football fans for decades are going to be left out in the cold this winter.

The stadium 'cooking mamas' - women from townships who serve up cheap local fast-food at games - are being moved out to make way for FIFA sponsors, such as McDonald's.

The limited economic benefits of the World Cup for ordinary South Africans has drawn attention to the heavy cost of playing host. By late November, the five new stadiums alone were running at an estimated 12.1 billion rand (1.6 billion dollars).

'A waste' is the verdict of South Africa's Finweek magazine. For President Jacob Zuma, however, the 'proud legacy' of the World Cup will benefit children and communities 'for many years to come.'