Master of ceremonies, Mr. Simphiwe Mdlalose;
MEC for Sports, Arts and Culture, Mme Onnica Moloi,
Executive Mayor of Capricorn District Municipality, Cllr John Mpe; Polokwane Executive Mayor, Cold Thembi Simelane-Nkadimeng, Captains of industries, our progressive business men and women;
Acting Head of Department, Ntate Mabakane Mangena; Representatives of the Sport organisations;
Esteemed sports men and women, Invited guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
Let me start off by extending my appreciations to our energetic MEC for Sport, Art and Culture for her relentless effort to truly take sport in our province to new and higher trajectory.
With just less than three months in office, your commitment and energy have already earned you a beautiful nick-name - MEC Wodumo.
Last Saturday we witnessed and felt an ambiance which was never seen in this province since the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Peter Mokaba Stadium has never vibrated in a manner that it did when Bafana Bafana hosted Senegal in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Sports psychologists would agree with us, that, to a particular extend the convincing victory of our national team over Senegal is owed to the heart-warming support that Limpopo gave to Bafana Bafana on Saturday.
I can speak with absolute certainty that Limpopo sports will never be the same again.
We are on a new trajectory – we have upped the gear and we are accelerating the pace.
We are happy this morning to be joined by patriotic business men and women who identify with the theme for this breakfast. Our carefully crafted theme says ‘repositioning sport to ignite economic growth’.
Indeed sport has a potential to ignite economic growth and bring about a development that creates jobs and other opportunities for our people.
But beyond economic spin offs, sport plays a very central role in the social life our communities. This role has been best captured by President Nelson Mandela when he said that:
“Sport has the power to change the world……It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”
As I have said, I have got no doubt that this message from President Mandela resonates with all of us; we are all aware of the significant role that sport can play in the life of our nation.
All what we need to do is to establish a conducive environment for sport to play that important role in our society.
It is for this reason that we have invited you as business people to partner with us to allow sport to play the important role that President Mandela spoke about.
It is up to us to breathe life into the vision of President Mandela.
Programme Director;
Perhaps I should speak directly to the business men and women who are with us this morning.
I want to say to you that it is only through your support and partnership that the beautiful vision that Mandela had about sport will not die.
Your partnership and friendship will make it possible for a child in the most remote village of our province to realise a dream as a successful sporting personality.
We can assure you that support can never be forgotten.
The work you do as corporate citizens, through supporting initiatives such as this goes beyond just the phrase of corporate social responsibility.
You are the true nation builders, in a true sense of the word.
Your support will ensure that Limpopo remain an arsenal for the best sporting talent in the country.
Your support will ensure that we produce the next Lesley Manyathela; the next Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, the next Phillip Ndou; the next Caster Semenya; - so on and so forth.
We have talent in this province; most of it is lying dormant in some dusty street of a remote village of our province.
This talent is waiting to be uncovered and natured.
For us to achieve this we need resources. As you know, the public purse is very limited with lot of other competing interests.
It is for this reason that we have come to you.
We are here to request your support so that you can help us uncover and nature talent.
You would know what the late Miles Monroe says about talent. He says that the best talent is found in our graveyards.
This is the talent that was never discovered; a talent that was never natured.
We should never allow this to happen to our children. On their own they won’t make it; they will simply take their talent to their graves.
We need them to share it with us. We want them to entertain us with their God given talents. We want them to be able to use this talent to support their families.
We want them to use this talent to be the best they can ever be. Let us invest in the discovery and maturing of these talents.
As the musician says, let us see the world through the eyes of our children.
Let us imagine ourselves in their situations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me not go beyond this – the fact that you have accepted our invitation on its own means that you share in our vision; the vision of Nelson Mandela.
It is for this reason that I have no doubt that you will contribute the little that you have to assist us realise this dream.
Once again I wish to express my personal appreciations for you to have taken your much valued time to spend it with us this morning.
I also wish to thank you in advance for your generous contributions.
Mzwakhe Mbuli would remind us that everybody can be a Good Samaritan, that, you do not need permission in order to show compassion and love’.
Once again, thank you very much for gracing this event!
I thank you!
