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Mayor Hails Warm-Hearted Durbanites28 July, 2010
Story By: S’CELO KHUZWAYO, SIHLE MANDA and SHARON BACON Durban civic leaders have heaped praise on the city’s citizens for their enormous contribution to a successful hosting of the World Cup. “The spirit of unity brought about by this World Cup is amazing . . . All this would not have been possible without the active participation of our people,” said Mayor Obed Mlaba. “Our visitors were made to feel comfortable by the hospitality of Durbanites, who extended their hands of friendship to our guests. This will put us in a better position to attract future events into our city.” Assurance The Municipality has given the assurance that much of the infrastructure put in place for the Cup would continue to be used for the benefit of locals and visitors. The Moses Mabida Stadium will be used for other big national and international sporting events. Its popular SkyCar, SkyWalk and Big Swing, closed for the World Cup, will be back in action for the public from today, 16 July. The stadium shops and restaurants will reopen too. Around 150 000 people have enjoyed the attractions on offer since the stadium opened on 30 November and 150 corporate functions and conferences were successfully hosted in venues around the stadium. Stadium tours will not open for several weeks while Fifa moves out and stadium staff and management move back in. The people mover buses will go back to its normal schedule and the fan parks are being disassembled and their sites will return to their pre-World Cup states. The Metro Police’s top management have expressed happiness at the manner in which the World Cup safety plan was executed. Deputy Head of Operations, Titus Malaza said one of the challenges they had faced was to ensure the safety of residents and visitors, while also complying with strict Fifa rules. Smooth Metro Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent, Joyce Khuzwayo said members cooperated well with their South African Police counterparts to keep crime levels to a minimum and ensure traffic flowed smoothly, despite the necessary road closures. Disaster Management’s Billy Keeves said, “Working with 31 representatives from various departments and units on the match days was a sign of commitment. It reflects positively on the city.” He said all agencies operating from the Disaster Operation Centre had hailed its operation as “fantastic”. khuzwayos@durban.gov.za
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