Official South AFRICAÂ© space

About Me

Diversity is a key feature of South Africa, where 11 languages are recognised as official, where community leaders include rabbis and chieftains, rugby players and returned exiles, where traditional healers ply their trade around the corner from stockbrokers and where housing ranges from mud huts to palatial homes with swimming pools.The diverse communities, however, have not had much representation for long.Until 1994 South Africa was ruled by a white minority government which was so determined to hang onto power that it took activists most of the last century before they succeeded in their fight to get rid of apartheid and extend democracy to the rest of the population.he white government which came to power in 1948 enforced a separation of races with its policy called apartheid. It dictated that black and white communities should live in separate areas, travel in different buses and stand in their own queues.The government introduced grand social engineering schemes such as the forced resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people. It poisoned and bombed opponents and encouraged trouble in neighbouring countries.The apartheid government eventually negotiated itself out of power, and the new leadership encouraged reconciliation. But the cost of the years of conflict will be paid for a long time yet, not least in terms of lawlessness, social disruption and lost education.South Africa faces major problems, but having held three successful national elections as well as local polls since the end of white rule, a democratic culture appears to be taking hold, allowing people at least some say in the search for solutions.Very much Africa's superpower, South Africa has the continent's biggest economy, with strong financial and manufacturing sectors. It is a leading exporter of minerals and tourism is a key source of foreign exchange. But many South Africans remain poor and unemployment is high.Land redistribution is an ongoing issue. Most farmland is still white-owned. Having so far acquired land on a "willing buyer, willing seller" basis, officials have signalled that large-scale expropriations are on the cards. The government aims to transfer 30% of farmland to black South Africans by 2014.South Africa has the second-highest number of HIV/Aids patients in the world. Around one in seven of its citizens is infected with HIV. Free anti-retroviral drugs are available under a state-funded scheme.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/4/2007
Band Members: I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
Influences: 2010 Fifa World Cup South AfricaSouth Africa regularly hosts major international sporting events, and since 1994 has successfully managed some of the biggest - including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006 and, in January 2006, the only street race in the inaugural A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport.But the Football World Cup, the world's biggest sporting event after the Olympic games - in terms of television audience, bigger than the Olympics - is in a class of its own.For four weeks in 2010, South Africa will be the centre of the world. The 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan was the most extensively covered and viewed event in television history. Germany 2006, and South Africa 2010, promise to draw even bigger audiences.The eyes of billions of television viewers, an estimated three million international visitors and the cream of the world's sporting media will be focused on the southern tip of Africa.We don't aim to disappoint.Infrastructure upgrades In choosing South Africa to bring the World Cup to Africa for the first time, Fifa was not only looking at what the country already offers - world-class transport, telecommunications, tourism and sporting infrastructure, and a people renowned for their hospitality and passion for the beautiful game. They were looking ahead.In 2010, football fans will enjoy the benefits of a host of multibillion-rand infrastructure projects recently announced by the government.Between now and 2010, South Africa will spend in the region of R5-billion on building and renovating 10 World Cup stadiums, R5.2-billion on upgrades to the country's airports, and R3.5-billion on improvements to the country's road and rail network.The country will also be working to tight deadlines to ensure that the Gautrain, a high-speed rail link between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport, is up and running in time.Ten stadiums Five of South Africa's football stadiums will undergo major renovations for 2010: Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg in North West province, and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.New stadiums will be built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (encompassing Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape.Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo will be rebuilt, as will Kings Park stadium in Durban and Cape Town's Green Point stadium. Kings Park and Green Point stadium will become completely new multi-sport facilities, Green Point complete with a retractable dome to protect fans and players from the Cape's unpredictable winter weather.Boost for the economy According to consulting firm Grant Thornton, the World Cup will pump around R21.3-billion into South Africa's economy, generating an estimated R12.7-billion in direct spending and creating an estimated 159 000 new jobs.The country's tourism industry will benefit from the estimated three million visitors expected for the tournament, while construction and engineering companies will look to a slice of the billions to be spent on infrastructure in the lead-up to the event.However, the indirect spin-offs of an improved image abroad could have an even greater impact on the economy."There will be a big direct injection for the economy", Standard Bank economist Goolam Ballim said after Fifa announced the 2010 host. "But the indirect impact may be more meaningful for a sustainable economic lift in subsequent years ... it will help change the perceptions that a large number of foreign investors hold of Africa and South Africa."In his 2006 State of the Nation address, President Thabo Mbeki said the World Cup would make a huge contribution, not only to South Africa's socio-economic growth, but to the development of the continent as a whole."In return for these irreplaceable benefits, we owe it to Fifa and the rest of the soccer world to prepare properly for 2010," Mbeki said, challenging South Africans to work together to ensure that the country hosts "the best Soccer World Cup ever".
Sounds Like: Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lucky Dube
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None