Windhoek — When South Africa won the right to host the 2010 World Cup finals in 2004, the whole of Africa, and in particular Namibia, was in a jubilant mood celebrating another milestone for the continent.

Many Namibians started to put their ducks in the row with various plans on how to make a quick buck out of the biggest sporting event on the universe that will be staged on our doorstep in less than two years.

However, as it stands, Namibia and other African nations are still in limbo as to how they will benefit from the global showpiece, with the latest revelations painting a very gloomy picture for non-South Africans.

The University of Namibia Department of Sociology, in conjunction with the Namibia Institute for Democracy, held a public lecture at the University's Auditorium Hall, south-west of Windhoek, last week.

The two-hour session, conducted by Durban-based lecturer Dr Orli Bass, looked at the impact of the 2010 World Cup finals on social and urban development in South Africa and notions of African urban identity.

The session concentrated mainly on the promises of 2010, such as development in the urban and rural areas as well as social developments continent-wide, while also tackling the implications for poverty reduction and legacies.

However, concerns regarding readiness, ability to cope, electricity woes, cost escalation, inflation, safety, security, xenophobia and the threat of FIFA's much-trumpeted Plan-B also took centre stage.

Cities or countries that have hosted events of such magnitude have suffered huge financial loses.

The 1976 Montreal Olympic Games left Canada with long-term economic consequences and the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, which were regarded as a success, saw a huge increase in basic commodities such as food, services and transportation costs while the promised job creation proved to be a temporary solution.

Instead of an envisaged U$4 billion gain, the hosts cities of the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals hosted by the United States of America (USA) experienced losses of between U$5,5 and U$9.3 billion and the Lillehammer Winter Olympics contributed a reduction in employment in non hosts cities, while the Sydney Olympics in 2000 aggravated the existing housing gap.

Is it justifiable to provide festivals using public resources when the masses are struggling to keep hunger at bay?

It is true that the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals will create jobs, but it is widely argued that the creation of jobs would not necessarily solve the unemployment problems or lead to significant skills transfer and neither will the upgrading of public transport system solve public transport systems.

It is common knowledge that the creation of "world class" facilities will have the potential to attract mega events in future, but these facilities are likely to be under-utilised.

Now, the big question is how will other African countries, including Namibia, benefit from the 2010 World Cup finals and what plans do the host nation have in place to make sure that all Africans get a bite of the cake.