Taxpayers to fork out R461m for African Nations Cup

The tournament was to have been hosted by Libya, but the Confederation of African Football (Caf) decided to move it as a result of the civil strife in that country.

South Africa volunteered to host the cup and much of the infrastructure installed for the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be used.

The tournament will take place from January 19 to February 10 at five venues - Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Mbombela and Rustenburg.

The adjusted estimates of national expenditure noted, under unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure, that the Department of Sport and Recreation would get R213m extra for the hosting of the event.

About R123m of this goes to the host cities to help them cover the costs of the tournament, and R83.94m goes to the local organising committee for operational costs.

The South African Police Service also gets a sizeable extra allocation of R165m for the security requirements associated with the tournament.

The Presidency will get R8m for Brand SA during the tournament.

The Department of Home Affairs gets an additional R15m to facilitate the movement of Caf officials, the creation of dedicated lanes at airports and points of entry for football fans, and the creation of a 24-hour operational centre.

The Department of Arts and Culture gets R18.5m for "the production of creative programmes in respect of the African Nations Cup final draw and the opening and closing ceremonies".

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation gets a similar amount for protocol services for visiting heads of state during the tournament.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge