Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has welcomed FIFA delegates and international visitors who have come to witness the 2010 World Cup final draw in Cape Town.
"Today, as the Department of Home Affairs and on behalf of the government and people of our country, we are proud to welcome on our shores the more than three thousand FIFA delegates and foreign guests of honour to the Mother City, " she said.
Dlamini-Zuma said the draw will be a good indicator and reaffirmation of the state of readiness of the country and its people to host a successful World Cup.
"As a department we have done everything we could to ensure the smooth entry of all members of the FIFA family, guests of honour and indeed representatives of the 32 teams that will be participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup," she said.
The department said it has established dedicated lanes for the use of accredited members at OR Tambo and Cape Town international airports.
The department has also introduced an Advanced Passenger Processing (APP) system to closely monitor the entry of soccer hooligans, she said.
Dlamini-Zuma said the department has also granted VISA exemptions to accredited FIFA delegates and created an Immigration Response Unit to assist in unlocking logjams at ports of entry.
The department has additionally distributed DVDs to all airlines, travel agencies and diplomatic, travel agencies and diplomatic missions abroad to ensure smooth passage of delegates and guests.
"We are certain that all South Africans wherever they may be and in whatever they are doing, will display the warmth of Ubuntu in welcoming the FIFA family and guests of honour to our country and give them the taste of the flair and efficiency that will be the hallmark of our hosting of the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup" she said.
