World Cup budget up as prices rise

  1. Posted on Thursday 14 August 2008 - 10:34
    Sam Banda Junior
    Image of Sam Banda Junior
    Sam Banda Junior, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi
    As a count down to the 2010 World Cup gets closer in South Africa, the country's deputy finance Minister Jabu Moleketi has revealed that its preparations would shoot above budget. This according to the minister is due to the rising costs of building materials especially cement.
    Greenpoint Stadium_World Cup 2010_Cape Town_Elles van Gelder
    The country recently saw the prices of fuel and foods go up forcing citizens to go on strike.

    Moleketi cited inflation is one of the driving forces to the overshooting of the budget to the preparations adding that the country will invest more than US$ 256 million.

    "We are talking about something that is north of 2 billion rand (US$ 256 million) as we speak. That is the figure," said the deputy minister Wednesday.

    According to a Reuters report the rich Southern African country which will be the first to host the World Cup, is said to have budgeted less money to finalise the construction and refurbishment of 10 soccer stadiums and other infrastructure.

    However the country is now set to add in more money to finalise the whole project.

    The report further quoted companies saying costs of preparations have gone up due to rising prices of building materials.

    On the other hand the country is also yet to impress on the ground with their national side which performed badly recently in the joint 2010 World and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

    A B side team however last month managed to lift the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup which is competed for by Southern African countries.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive