i. MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JACOB GEDLEYIHLEKISA ZUMA The year 2010 marked the beginning of the most important period in the history of our country since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Being entrusted by FIFA to host its flagship and prestigious event further confirms the massive confidence on the infrastructure and organisational capacity of South Africa, more so since it was for the first time the event was held on African soil. Although the FIFA World Cup tournament came to South Africa and it is gone, the successful story about South Africa as hosts of the tournament is a lasting legacy. The year 2010 thus served as a reminder that there is more to celebrate about the country. We put South Africa first, and took forward our collective mission to shape this country into one of the most successful constitutional democracies in the world. Despite some doubts around South Africa’s ability to host the Soccer World Cup, we have proven to be a country capable of hosting the event. As a result of hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, infrastructure development received a major boost which includes integrated transport system that responds to travel demand both nationally and internationally. Presently the country has 10 well-developed stadia which can cater for any major event that the country is assigned to host. This event also served to confirm that Africa’s time had come and South Africa has indeed confirmed that Africa is alive with possibilities. As a Continent, we demonstrated to the world that Africa can do it. Yes, we did not manage to keep the Cup in the Continent, but we kept the pride of being able to host such a successful event. As we strive to contribute to our continent’s renewal, consistent with our national endeavours to ensure that we build state machinery that serves the interests of the people, free of corrupt practice, we have to do everything possible to ensure the success of the African Peer Review Mechanism. 2