2017/18 Budget Vote: Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts Culture and Recreation Faith Mazibuko tables a list of commitments
The Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation looks to spend its R870 million allocated budget to deliver more on its services including improving, rehabilitating and building more sports, museum, arts and library facilities.
Earlier today MEC Faith Mazibuko tabled her department’s 2017/18 budget in pursuant of the vision towards sporting and artistic excellence and using these to foster social cohesion and nation building.
The R870million budget is R54million more than the previous financial year. It includes grant allocations totalling Two Hundred and Sixty Million, and Six Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand for:
- The Community Library Services (R72m);
- Mass Participation and Sport Development (R85m);
- Social Sector Expanded Public Works Programme Incentive (R1.5m)
- Expanded Public Works Programme Integrated Grant (R2.2m)
About R171 Million will be used for the completion and operationalization of the Women’s Living Monument in Tshwane, the Provincial Archives Centre in Kagiso and the building/completion of libraries and recreational facilities within the province.
COMMITMENTS:
- Arts and Culture
“During the current financial the department will do research on 25 sites which it believes are of heritage importance to South Africa”.
“Working with municipalities we plan to have honored about 200 of our heroes and heroines in various ways. We also want their stories of the heritage sites and the heroes/heroines to be carried in the local community libraries where these are found”.
“After the completion of the all-important Provincial Archives Centre, the facility will be open before the end of the financial year”.
“WE will improve and restore the house of mama Charlotte Maxeke in Kliptown to ensure its condition benefits her undying stature. The house will be turned into a museum and an interpretation Centre”.
Through our arts in schools programme we will support 40 schools with varous forms of arts including Dance; Theatre and music”.
“We have committed to support 100 emerging fashion designers especially young ones in and around the corners of Gauteng”
“We want to train atleast 7 500 traditional and contemporary dance artists. We are exploring means to see them entering into mainstream creative industries”.
- Gauteng Film Commission
“We will launch the Post Production and Research Hub at the GFC Offices to be accessed by emerging film makers with an aim of rolling out to all municipalities in the ensuing financial years”.
“Working with municipalities, we will implement Mini-Municipality based Film Festivals and Film as Business Workshops”.
“We will ensure that spaces in our libraries are utilised for arts and cultural exhibitions. Crafters will display their wares at all our libraries”.
Sport and Recreation:
Said MEC Mazibuko: “In line with what the late President Nelson Mandela believed, we are also unwavering in our commitment to ensure that we use Sport as a vehicle to unite our nation.
We are committed to use Sport as a vehicle to bring diverse communities to work together in building a united and non-racial South Africa.
We also view Sport as an economic driver. Tourism, Catering, and Transport industries benefit from Sport hence we continue to strive to position Gauteng not only as a Home of Champions but also as a mecca of Competitive Sport”.
COMMITMENTS
- Sport & Recreation:
“Through our school sport programme we will support not less than 400 schools with tools including balls and attir”.
“In an effort to revive and strengthen school sport we will now national school games taking place three times instead once a year. We expect to reach about 10 300 learners”.
“Thorough our six academies with various high performance centres in the province we have targeted to reach 1500 athletes to help these with proper support and development to be champions”
Conclusion
Despite increasing demands with limited budget the MEC has committed her department to do more with less including being among the first department to align with the deliverology strategy by redeploying personnel from the head office into communities throughout the five corridors. “This is aimed at ensuring that we do not only maximize our reach but we also make a meaningful impact. It is our firm belief that all government work contributes to Social Cohesion and Nation Building”.
For Media inquiries contact:
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Cell: 083 507 8068
Tel: 011 355 2578
E-mail: nomazwen@gpg.gov.za
