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TEMPERS flared yesterday as hundreds of residents and business owners from the area around the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium raised their concerns regarding Fifa’s hefty restrictions.
A heated meeting was held at the North End stadium to brief businesses and residents in the area on rules and regulations which would apply during the Fifa World Cup.
It became heated when some angry stakeholders said they were tired of the lack of communication and transparency from the city’s 2010 directorate, headed by Errol Heynes.
Heynes – who arrived 20 minutes late for the meeting – along with Fifa consultant David Gill, Fifa legal manager Mpumi Mazibuko and Nelson Mandela Bay’s rights and protection co-ordinator advocate Mhleli Tshamase briefed the gathering on rules and regulations concerning “ambush” marketing, informal traders and the selling of counterfeit goods during the mid-year tournament.
After the presentation, people raised their concerns regarding the lack of communication, road closures and loss of business during the World Cup, especially on match days when the area would be closed to traffic.
There will be road closures and traffic control points for the entire radius of the stadium and also around the Fan Park area at St George’s Park. These roads will be closed from midnight before a match day to midnight after the match.
One angry resident who lives in Milner Avenue, directly next to the stadium, said he was not allowed access to his own home during a recent match.
“I had to sit in the road outside my house until 11pm that night when they finally let me through to go home.”
Another resident said traffic police refused to let him walk 30m to his flat on a match day. “We should receive permits to gain entry to our own residence. They should be a different colour to businesses’ permits.”
Chris Beer, of C and C Paint and Hardware, situated in Prince Alfred Road, asked the panel how his customers would gain access to his business if only permit holders would be allowed through traffic control points. “Some people come to my business by car, or by taxi or sometimes by foot. How will they be able to come into my store?”
Mazibuko said business would continue as usual and there would only be road closures in the restricted areas on the eight match days.
However, representatives from Coca-Cola, Keypak and other businesses said employees and delivery trucks and vans needed constant access to roads which would be closed on match days.
A representative of the EP Powerboat Club at North End Lake said he had even been warned by Fifa that he would be shut down if he operated and hired his venue out during the World Cup.
DA councillor Jeremy Davis blamed the local organising committee for “the lack of communication and not doing their jobs”. He said business owners and residents’ rights were being abused.
Heynes vowed there would be as little inconvenience to businesses and residents as possible. He said businesses and residents would receive permits to pass checkpoints and there would be a 24-hour office where people could get a permit to visit the restricted area.
“This is not a matter of shutting down the area for 30 days. There will only be a few days of inconvenience,” he said.
One business owner asked if businesses would be compensated for the loss of customers.
Heynes said another meeting would be held at a later date to discuss all the grievances concerning access to the area. He said traffic consultants and officials would attend the meeting to give stakeholders more information.
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