SOME VIEWS ON HOSTING THE OLYMPICS

by Rishi Hansrajh

The first point is that it is a wonderful opportunity - its only once in about
fifty years a country’s history we get an opportunity to participate in the
organising of this event.

The second point is that we must see this opportunity against the
background of the context of transition. It is not just an opportunity in the
ordinary sense say for a developed country having this opportunity; say
for example India or Zambia. This is a wonderful opportunity because we
are on the crest of political transition and this makes a great difference to
the way in which we understand the opportunity presented to us. If it can
build on the momentum which the public in the political transition has
provided will itself make a real impact on what we do and we can of
course also contribute to that process in a meaningful way.

The most important thing that is happening now is simply that in every
arena a broad range of interest groups or stakeholders are coming
together to discuss cardinal issues of importance for them. They ask the
question - What would be the best strategy to us given the particular set
of difficulties we face in developing national objectives? In other words,
for example, people in education don’t only talk about education - they
talk about how education for the youth is a major lever to assist the
employment side. The people in the housing forum are not just talking
about housing, they ate talking about housing relative to job creation. The
electrification forum is interested not just in electricity but in issues which
have to do with what kind of townships, job creation etc.

This links to a set of wider economic objectives and how it can add to the
job of bring stability to communities and also is related to the provision of
basic goods and services etc. At the same time its also concerned with
how to jack un the industry to make it internationally competitive. There
are a multiplicity of forums in the country dealing with these issues. Each
one of these forums have one major plan. They see their job as that of
the adding to the general set of overall strategies to get the country
moving again. Much more widely than just the job of getting on with its
own interest area.

Every one of these areas is important. Nevertheless, you have to

understand that no one sector or activity by itself will mean much unless
it has some idea of the total picture and how it could participate in the job
as a WHOLE.

None of this is political. It is about development. That is one approach to

development. What we must understand is that another approach says
we are not interested in these large issues. Our job is to have a big
sporting event and out of this (especially if it’s well-organised we can
have big benefits). This is not a strategic approach. It really leaves
everything to chance. It is a short term and somewhat opportunistic
approach saying that we don’t really care whether it really works out as
long as we have a big bang and it has big coverage. We are not really
thinking seriously about the enormous potential of such an event to
generate real growth in the local economy and to do a lot more.

Sport is not the generator of development. It has never been anywhere.

Just like education is not the generator of employment by itself. But if it is
associated with a wider set of strategies then it can be a generator of
development. If people say that is not what we want then they miss the
real chance that is being handed to sport. It’s a once in a lifetime effort.
We are talking of development in much wider sense. There are two ways
in which we can look at it. Olympics in a big city and of the country also -
especially in small economies. That is not the job of sport alone and it
cannot achieve this end by itself. It is not left to sports people alone to do
that but what they are is that they are facilitators of development. Either
they can use it as a big blast and pat each other on the back or we can
say how is the best way to really use this as a wonderful opportunity to
show the public - the people of this country our genuine commitment to
development.
Lets be honest and examine the Olympics and do some research of it. I
think it will show something which we need to take heed of. In most of
those countries the Olympics was not properly used as a building block to
do the longer term job of helping a poor country out of its difficulties. In
most case it probably led to some sensational short term opportunities for
a few people relative to the whole population and then all was quiet.
Nothing was developed on a long term basis. If we want a long term spin
off from this for our society then we need not think only of making a
hundred outstanding athletes. Those believe that sport itself can build
society. There are many serious constraints. Sports can’t do that. It does
not do that by itself. Yet we can contribute through sport to the process of
building the capacity. It can help in building society.

If it understands that it has a role to play as a part of a broader set of

social stake holders who are involved in development then its approach is
based on that. For one thing it won’t take on the job of organising the
Olympics by itself. If the latter are the strategy then it means only one
thing: we can’t decide by ourselves, we can’t plan alone because the
outcomes are not just outcomes for sport but they are for wider
communities in our country. If the outcome were faster times, better
training, most stadiums, better tracks, international contacts etc. with
leading sports people then its fine - nothing to do with anyone else.
Olympics are just not that. It is an investment by a nation in a
development job. Therefore, it can’t leave the strategy to sports people
alone. The reason is always that we want to use the Olympics for our
purposes opportunistically or we genuinely say that it’s for the people and
then use it accordingly. Either it is a glamour issue or a development
issue.

The other reason for the strategy is that we must be honest about the
African Games. Who came to it? Only the sports people and that too, of a
particular class and again it deepens the racial divide. Also, there were
thousands of empty stands. This of course questions whether the African
Games were true or superficially African. We need to think about this
honestly and think about the long term implications of what we do.
Seriously did we do the best or did we lose a valuable opportunity. We did
not attract the people on the street. This is very short sighted not to get
mass support for events like this. It is not enough to bring a few educated
black people into an event like this. We have to really popularize sport
where it matters. The Olympics are a real OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A
MASS CAMPAIGN IN SPORT CONSCIOUSNESS.

We will never do this if we don’t talk to those involved in development

discussions. This includes, big business, trade unions, local governments,
the civics and other bodies like that. Yes, and they will be frustrating to
deal with and raise a hundred and one questions. But either we deal with
them or we pretend that we are making sport available to “the people”.
We will reproduce the same scene - a narrow body of sport people. We
need to bring hundreds of thousands of our people into sport. Otherwise
we will simply provide a passport to those few who have been privledged
all along and a few more.

The next issue is that either this is a sports spectacle for outsiders or it is
a genuine local building of capacity exercise - that is, to bring real
opportunity to our nation and build nationhood. These are not
contradictions - we can reconcile them. Olympics need not be mainly
externally oriented to get us foreign exchange and publicity - at the same
time it can be local participation for thousands of people who can see this
as their event and not just be passive and poor bystanders to the events
that are taking place in their own backyard but which they have nothing
to do with and nothing to gain from. It can be internal and external. If its
only external then don’t pretend it is developmental. Either it is a big
splash and lots of money for a few - look at what other countries have
achieved by doing that type of thing. Or you could say no this is a chance
for broad development. It must then have long term objectives.
Development does not take place overnight. You have to think of how to
develop a stadium and look to its long term usages - may be as a
shopping district with stalls or the nucleus of an industrial park. Then the
residences could be used as residences for university and technikon
students etc. Maybe it could be used for a whole range of educational
functions, cultural etc. We in sport can’t answer these other questions
because we don’t know the wider development debates and the strategies
which people in small business, youth unemployment, education and
training, housing etc. are talking about. Yet there is a real opportunity for
us to take part in all that by the massive investment which might be
possible through Olympics.

If you bring all these people into the planning the Olympics you know
whether you are building ghost stadia or important long term investments
for the people. And the small business people, the youth, unemployment
people can come up with a hundred ideas about how they could
contribute to the Olympics and also earn a useful living and bring stability
to the region. What’s the purpose of having an Olympics in a region full of
social tension based mainly on the lack of resources and the competition
for resources that has given rise to, unless we can contribute to peace
and stability? Maybe we can make sure that contractors only get contracts
if they do certain things by way of getting employment, and maybe we
use the small scale farm producers to make sure that they be the only
suppliers for the whole of the event and we demand high standards and
expect people to compete for tenders. There must be many examples of
this which we have not thought about.

The next point has to be this. Why do we say we should be given the
Olympics. Well, its a wonderful opportunity to link with our African
neighbours and provide for them to come here for the Olympics - not just
for the wealthy countries of the world to be able to come here. We need
to provide the kind of accommodation which will make it possible for our
neighbours to come here and to share in the event so that we build long
term relations, cultural and business contacts etc. with our immediate
neighbours who will always be here with us - unlike the once off Olympic
tourist who will be here for the event and no further.

But the most important point must usually be that our application is
different. Well it can only be different if we are serious about its
development potential. I think the world is looking at us and saying what
will they do which is different. We can be different and this difference can
be in the way in which we organise - that is by bringing the community
into the exercise of planning and holding the event. In that way we show
the world that we are genuinely interested in two things - democracy and
development and that is the main reason why we should be awarded the
Olympics. In fact if we cannot do that then it would be best that we leave
the Olympics alone and not create false expectations, use valuable
resources badly and recreate the divisions in our society even more
deeply.

July 1993

RISHI HANSRAJH
Co-President - Natal Athletics
Local Organising Member - African Athletic Championship 1993