KEEPING IT BRIEF

MPUMALANGA

Nelspruit's Mbombela stadium has hosted some of the World Cup's most exciting clashes, while bringing the excitement of the tournament to the people of Mpumalanga. "The tournament has placed Nelspruit on the map," said Differ Mogale, Nelspruit's 2010 co-ordinator. "People are still excited. We did well during the tournament and this experience will help us to be the best city for our people and citizens in future."

EASTERN CAPE

Despite Nelson Mandela Bay being one of the smaller host cities, the city's FIFA Fan Fest attracted the third most visitors during the first two weeks of the World Cup. Attendance peaked at 29 000 on the opening day with the lowest daily total around 2 500. Of the 10 official sites countrywide - one for each host city - only those in Durban and Cape Town had outperformed the one in Nelson Mandela Bay. The parks in Sandton and Soweto ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

NORTHERN CAPE

A total of 67 nurses graduated at the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College in Kimberley at the end of June. They are already doing community service in the province to address the shortage of nursing personnel. The increase in the number of qualified health professionals will improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare, especially in the underserved, rural areas of the province.

FREE STATE

To highlight the history and importance of football in the province, the National Museum in Bloemfontein put up an exhibition displaying various objects that capture soccer history. It includes old trophies, soccer kit, old soccer boots, teams' soccer blazers, photographs, soccer balls, books and newspaper clippings. The exhibition has been very popular with fans during the World Cup and is still attracting many visitors.

LIMPOPO

Police in the province will continue to maintain their high visibility, even after the World Cup, said Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Major General Benny Ntlemeza. The Limpopo police are proud to have delivered a safe and secure 2010 FIFA World Cup in the province. "Our members were ready to handle any situation and we had 150 officers on stand-by during the World Cup games," said Ntlemeza. "We instilled a sense of responsibility in every person involved."

KWAZULU-NATAL

More than 20 000 prisoners in the province will receive HIV counselling and testing. A joint initiative between the province's departments of health and correctional services will see half of correctional services staff also given access to testing and counselling. The HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) programme will include access to wellness centres for both staff and prisoners. Correctional Services has six accredited antiretroviral sites in the province.
- Information sourced from BuaNews and provincial government websites
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