Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation; Mr Gert Oosthuizen
Members of the media
Sport loving South Africans
Ladies and gentlemen
On 21 and 22 November 2011 at the Gallagher Estate, in Midrand - Gauteng, sportsmen and women from various spheres of government, the peoples parliament of South Africa, august bodies comprising of representatives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the South African Sport and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), International experts in the field of sport and recreation from Cuba, Botswana, United Kingdom, Australia, the South African sports federations, national federations, sports councils and Media will descend on Johannesburg to attend the Sport and Recreation Indaba organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Sport and Recreation South Africa.
The delegates to the National Sport and Recreation Indaba are responding to the Ministry’s clarion call for South Africans, in partnership and collaboration with the people of the world, to converge under one roof, to critically examine and deliberate on the road we have traversed as the sporting fraternity in pursuit of a non-racial and non-sexist, democratic, accessible and equitable sporting landscape in South Africa. The national Sport and Recreation Indaba has been preceded by the widest possible consultations within communities, individuals, organised formations and is a culmination of the provincial Izindaba that were held in the nine provinces over the last eleven months. Hence we say it proudly and boldly in stating that South Africa is primed and ready for the forthcoming Sport and Recreation Indaba as this promises, given the kaleidoscope of people attending, a real festival of ideas.
However the defining character and outcome of the forthcoming Indaba should be rigorous and robust debates that will culminate in the total transformation of the South African sport and recreation landscape. South Africans have had an overdose of a plethora of Izindaba within and outside our sector that did not deliver fundamental paradigm shifts and liberating outcomes. No more talks shops. It’s time for change and action!
As we progressively advance towards the Indaba, we have taken it upon ourselves to grab the bull by its horns and deal with the contradictions and embedded issues that have been a drag and an albatross around many South Africans’ necks yearning and crying out for a leveled playing sporting and recreation arena. For believe that the time has come for South Africa and her people to confront her shameful past characterised by years of:
- Slavery
- Imperialism and imperial wars
- Colonialism and wards of resistances
- Ethnic strife and despotic Kings and traditional rulers.
- Apartheid and homeland misrule
As part of our on going work to change the South African sport and recreation landscape, the Ministry is today launching the Transformation Perspective Document. Our intention of launching this document is to provoke rigorous introspection and robust debates about our past, our present and shape our future and common destiny. We believe that South Africans from all walks of life should participate freely and openly in discussion about transformation, not for the sake of it but with a view to changes society for the better.
We are opening this Pandora box with the aim of enthusing and imploring all South Africans to take stock of the opportunities presented by the democratic dispensation, underline our challenges and be always mindful of our strength and weaknesses.
South African must engage with the document and ask the difficult question and even those that are considered to be taboos such as:
- Why do we need quotas? How do we arrive at the selection of a representative team?
- Why do we have a dual model for school sport? One for the reach and one for the poor?
- What is the participation rate of those who have been excluded in the past relative to those who have been advantaged?
- How do we create opportunities and open doors for all youth and adults to participate in recreational facilities?
- How do we continue to be globally competitive whilst locally relevant?
- Is our current inter-governmental system enabling us to achieve our national goals?
- What does autonomy and accountability means in relation to SRSA and Federations?
- What is national interest? What is public and private interest in the context of sport?
- What is the role of the National Distribution Agency in relation our national goals and school sport?
How do we build talent and continue to grow our own timber.
The Sport and Recreation Indaba Transformation Perspective Document is not an end in itself but a means to an end. This is a living document that espouses our views and will evolve and improve over time as we receive input from all South Africans. The document is not a panacea but a guiding blue-print for the realisation of the first-ever sport and recreation plan, case for sport and legislative framework that will leapfrog South Africa to a world of opportunities and possibilities. This document is launched against the backdrop of the National Planning Commission report and we are looking forward to drawing some lessons from both processes as they are mutual beneficial and symbiotic.
“Although sports development cannot be a panacea to solve all the issues nor a priority compared to life-subsistence needs have disadvantaged communities, it can generate many positive effects and be a valuable tool for development. It is both a means and an end in itself” IOC, April 2009.
Ladies and gentlemen, all said and done, the question remains, are we in the sport for national interest or for our own interests? The Indaba must therefore help us understand the path forward, for an active South Africa.
Many thanks
