Speaking at a business breakfast on Tuesday, 21 October, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said the department had made provision for visiting soccer fans to be issued with special events visas as opposed to the standard visas.
"It was the first time that such a 'special events' visa to commemorate such events would be presented anywhere in the world," she said, adding that the visa's special design and logo have already been approved.
In other preparations towards both events, the department is to deploy 190 new recruits as immigration officers at OR Tambo Airport in Gauteng, where the majority of crowds are expected to stream through for the two football events.
"They will start working at OR Tambo shortly so that they are well into a routine by next June, and certainly by 2010," said the minister.
Further immigration officers, such as airline liaison officers, will also be deployed to some of the airports abroad. They will perform pre-screenings of passengers before they board for South Africa.
Foreign affairs personnel will also be beefed up at overseas immigration offices to help issue visas, more so in countries where soccer is a great national interest such as in Europe and Africa and those countries which had made the finals.
Mapisa-Nqakula said next year's Confederations Cup to be held in June would provide the department with a dry run, testing their readiness ahead of the world cup.
She said the Confederations Cup would provide proof as to whether the department had enough capacity. "If we can handle the crowds who enter the ports of our country during June next year, then we will be okay for 2010," she said.
The department will assess their abilities and if they fall short in certain areas, there would still be enough time for a 2010 contingency plan to be put in place, said the minister.
She said that the department had a key role to play in the countdown to the world cup and that "without well-oiled machinery" a successful Confederations Cup and world cup would not be possible.
Mapisa-Nqakula was positive that the country, and her department, would be able to deliver for 2010. "We are ready for it," she said.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews.
