2010 security plan in place
Michael Appel
21 November 2007More than 30 000 police officers are being recruited and trained specifically for strategic deployment during the 2010 Fifa World Cup as per the country's security master plan for the tournament, says the government's World Cup unit.
The security plan will be in operation during the preliminary draw in Durban on 25 November, while recruited officers will be sent to Premier Soccer League matches during 2008 and 2009 to gain experience.
Another feature of the safety and security plan for the world cup is that police will be divided into sections, with teams patrolling and focusing on Fifa headquarters, hotels, stadiums, Fan Parks, restaurants and tourists destinations.
Additionally, special courts will be available 24-hours a day during the course of the tournament.
Speaking at a briefing on the government's progress with World Cup preparations in Cape Town on Tuesday, Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi said South Africa had committed itself to one official fan park her host city as per agreement with Fifa.
"The fan parks we have here will be very similar to those seen in Germany [during the 2006 World Cup], and will be branded by the partners of Fifa and secured by our own security services, because it is one of the areas that will cater to the broad amount of supporters in the tournament," Moleketi said.
He added that it is the obligation of the various host cities to make resources and infrastructure available for the fan parks.
"Fan parks are therefore also something that is driven by the availability of resources and capacity, particularly the capacity of the South African security services to be able to secure these fan parks," Moleketi said. "When you talk about security, we're not just talking about people being safe in stadiums, but also in these fan parks.
"To give you the figures, there were more people in the fan parks in Germany, almost six times more, than the actual people in the stadiums. This gives you an idea of the scale of importance of these fan parks."
South Africa already boasts an impressive record in its ability to manage security for high-level events, which include the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, the 1998 Non-Aligned Movement summit, 1995 Rugby World Cup, the African Cup of Nations in 1996, All Africa Games in 1999, Cricket World Cup 2003, and the recent T20 World Cup 2007.
Source: BuaNews
