12/06/2006
NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA (NRW) INVITES MPUMALANGA DELEGATION FOR 2006 WORLD CUP
Mpumalanga Premier Thabang Makwetla accompanied by MEC for Economic Development and Planning, Mr. William Lubisi and MEC for Culture, Sport and Recreation, Ms Nomsa Mtsweni will lead a provincial government delegation to visit the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Federal state of Germany from the 16 th June 2006 to the 20 th June 2006.
Mpumalanga and the NRW have a twinning agreement that was signed in 1995. During his visits in March 2005, Premier Makwetla reviewed the bilateral agreement and a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was subsequently agreed upon. The partnership between the Federal German state, North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and Mpumalanga is based on mutual benefit and knowledge exchange.
As a result, Minister President of NRW, Dr Ruettgers, invited Premier Makwetla and the Mpumalanga Government to look into possible opportunities and synergies deriving from the FIFA 2006 World Cup currently hosted by Germany. Mbombela municipality, the Mpumalanga Provincial Capital, was recently confirmed by the South African Football Association (SAFA) as one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
As a result, Mpumalanga Province identified six possible areas for further discussions, synergy and cooperation with NRW. These include
- Infrastructure Development
- Cultural Promotion
- Sport empowerment
- Tourism development
- Marketing and
- Project management
North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) with three FIFA venues for the 2006 Soccer bonanza, i.e. Dortmund, Cologne and Gelsenkirchen, offered to share its experiences and knowledge gained with its partner province Mpumalanga. This visit should also give the Mpumalanga delegates practical exposure to the mammoth task of planning and carrying out a sport event of this caliber through first-hand experience.
The West German Football and Athletic Association (WFLV) has always shown interest in supporting the partnership between North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and Mpumalanga. Further discussions about the involvement of WFLV in possible projects to assist Mpumalanga for the 2010 soccer scene will be explored.
Issued by :
Ntime Skhosana
+27 13 766 2055 or 084 673 0415
Office of the Premier
Mpumalanga Provincial Government