Posted Jan. 30, 2008 – Crime and poverty in South Africa could be eased if they just legalize prostitution when the country hosts the World Cup, says parliamentarian George Lekgetho.

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“It is one of the things that would make [the World Cup] a success,” he told his African National Congress colleagues recently amid groans and laughter. “If sex working is legalized, people would not do things in the dark. That would bring us tax and would improve the lives of those who are not working.”

He also said legalizing “sex work” would reduce rapes, and he is only proposing it be legal during the World Cup, reports the BBC.

And this idea has some support.

“We would support any legalization of sex work, particularly during the 2010 World Cup,” Nicola Fick from the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force told the BBC.

 It was actually proposed before last year by now suspended police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is currently facing charges of corruption, reports the BBC. The Democratic Alliance opposes the idea. South Africa , set to host the World Cup in 2010, is already faced with challenges. Rolling blackouts have not only been hard on the economy but might be slowing preparations.

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