Although Botswana was the sole bidder for the games, hosting the spectacular is no small feat for a country that for many years has seemed determined not to host sporting events of this magnitude inspite of the economic windfall that they have become. A record 4,000 plus athletes from 53 countries are expected to descend on Gaborone for the continental showpiece. Indeed, such massive international sporting tournaments are big business as South Africa demonstrated when projections indicated an exponential real GDP growth on a scale of billions of pula and thousands of jobs being created by construction of new stadia and upgrading of existing infrastructure for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The crescendo effect saw other industries - transport, tourism and accommodation, in particular - swell as the synergy gathered a self-fulfilling momentum. Studies forecast that our neighbour to the south would continue to benefit from the thrust more than a decade after the soccer extravaganza. The World Cup's capacity to spur inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) was a given. Of course, being relatively smaller in scope and scale, AYG 2014 is not the World Cup. Nevertheless, it will bring to Botswana what the 2010 FIFA World Cup brought to South Africa in proportion to scale and scope. Wrapped inside AYG 2014 is great entertainment, a bonanza for the economy, a firming of Botswana's intra-Africa relations, the potential for boosting trade with the continent to the north and the immeasurable 'feel good' factor. However, all these great potential attributes of international tournaments follow thorough preparation and assembling of top grade personnel both in the field of play and the organisational crew. It is the latter we are worried about because factors such as improving the image of the country are contingent upon how well we conduct the event. If AYG 2014 does not proceed successfully, everything will be blamed on the host nation, translating into a lost opportunity and a curtailed appetite for hosting other such events. Most of all, Afro-pessimists will jeer and view it as another bungle in the jungle. The government must therefore marshal cross-sector efforts to ensure that AYC 2014 works at all levels - economic and social - to benefit Batswana and their beloved country. In the games, Botswana will get just the right opportunity to learn firsthand what it takes to host bigger events such as the Africa Nations Cup. We do hope that the opportunity to relax the country's stiff regulation of entertainment will not be missed because our visitors will want to experience what we have to offer on the cultural front while adding value to the economy. Sadly, the news comes at a time when the country is reeling from incessant power cuts and water shortages. However, AYG 2014 should add impetus to efforts to bring power and water projects out of the pipeline.
Today's thought
