Barbara Creecy, following State of the Province Address
21 February 2007
Following Premier Mbhazima Shilowa's State of the Province address on
Monday, 19 February 2007, I would like to inform you of the Gauteng Department
of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation's plans of action and key
responsibilities for the 2007/8 financial year.
Building the province as the home of competitive sport
The 2010 World Cup in Gauteng
Preparations are firmly on track to deliver a 2010 World Cup that will bring
enormous benefits for Gauteng and for all in South Africa, an event that will
become a source of pride for the entire African continent for a long time to
come.
Much has been said about the opportunities that will arise from this event.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is expected to pump about R21,3 billion into South
Africa's economy, generating an estimated R12,7 billion in direct spending and
creating an estimated 159 000 new jobs.
In the process of realising these opportunities, our first challenge is to
ensure that all South Africans - not just a select few - benefit from them. The
second challenge is to ensure that the positive spin-offs will be sustained
long after 2010 is over.
Modern sport is inseparable from modern economies. The province will use
2010 as a platform to translate our football into business success, to boost
our tourism and sporting industries, and to create an enabling environment that
maximises investment and economic growth.
The Gauteng Executive Council has adopted an Integrated Framework which
outlines eight strategic areas for successfully hosting the World Cup. The
framework covers responsibilities of both provincial and local government and
includes stadia upgrades, transport infrastructure, safety and security, health
services, disaster management, public viewing, an environmental management plan
and a volunteer programme.
Despite the ongoing debate on the preparation of stadiums for the World Cup,
the Gauteng province believes both our match and practice venues will be ready
for the Confederations Cup in 2009. The province has completed the first phase
of the upgrade of HM Pitje, Sinaba and George Thabe Stadiums, all of which are
potential 2010 practice venues. This phase included the replacement of grassing
on the pitch, addition of ablution facilities, installation of light masts,
irrigation systems and sub-soil drainage systems. A total of 1 816 jobs have
been created during construction. Phase two upgrades on HM Pitje and Sinaba
will begin in July 2007.
Gauteng - Home of Champions
We have made major strides in expressing the Provincial Sports Strategy,
which is founded on three equally important pillars - mass participation,
talent identification and development and competitive sport.
Our strategy is to position Gauteng as the "Preferred Home of Competitive
Sport" by actively attracting and supporting major sporting events in the
region. Over the last few years we have begun to develop the sports industry
and sports tourism into one of the province's key economic drivers.
Our successful bidding for major national and international events resulted
in a string of competitive sporting events being hosted in the province over
the last year. The SASSU/FASU Multi-code Sports; The Telkom Charity Cup; The
Jomo Cosmos Glasgow/Aberdeen match; Hyundai Five Aside Competition; South
African Sport Association for Physically Disabled - National Winter Multi-code
Games and the Confederation Schools Ball Games. The provincial Gauteng Charity
Mile and the Vaal Canoe Marathon were also supported by provincial government.
We have committed to ensuring that the finals of the Vodacom Challenge Cup take
place in Gauteng for the next three years. Last year, Kaizer Chiefs beat
Manchester United on penalties watched by a capacity crowd at Loftus Versfeld
Stadium in Tshwane.
Soccerex Gauteng
Our biggest achievement in this regard has to be our successful bid to wrest
the world's largest soccer exhibition, Soccerex, away from Dubai and bring it
to Gauteng for the three years leading up to the world cup. This event is an
important milestone in building the Gauteng City Region as a premier
destination for competitive sport. Winning the right to host this event is a
major coup, not only for the province, but also for the country. It will bring
soccer associations, football clubs, football legends, businesses and the media
from all over the world to Gauteng from 2007 to 2009 and will boost our
build-up to the 2010 World Cup and the sustainability of our sports and tourism
industries beyond 2010.
Now in its 10th year, Soccerex is the only convention that gives exhibitors
and delegates the opportunity to network with suppliers and manufacturers, key
buyers and decision makers in international football. This business-to-business
expo will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 26 to 28 November
2007.
This event alone will attract approximately 4 000 influential business and
football individuals to the province, and is expected to inject more than R700
million into the Gauteng economy. It will also give the province billions of
rand worth of international media coverage.
Together with our partners - the Gauteng Economic Development Agency, the
Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, Gauteng Tourism Authority and the City of Joburg
- we will ensure that the benefits of the event radiate to small and medium
enterprises by offering them subsidised exhibition space and conference
delegate status.
Sports Development Policy Framework
A key aspect of building a province as a home of competitive sport is to
ensure this strategy is underpinned by sound sport development and mass
participation programmes. The province's Sports Development Policy Framework
approved by the Executive Council at its first meeting this year is the result
of two years of consultation with sports federations.
The strategy allows the province to ensure federations focus their athlete
and club development programmes in historically disadvantaged communities. With
the assistance of provincial grants we aim to ensure that in our seven priority
codes historical inequalities are indeed a thing of the past.
In line with this strategy, we are happy to announce that in 2007, the
province will extend its mass participation programme to 40 communities across
the province. This will mean an additional 8 communities will now be able to
access organised sporting activities including fun runs and walks, the school
holiday programme, daily aerobics, volleyball, soft ball and street soccer as
well as coaching in the seven priority sporting codes. To date this programme
has created 230 community based coaches who receive accredited training and a
stipend. This number will increase to 360 in the course of 2007.
Building the creative industries
The creative industries have been formally recognised by the national
government as having potential for major growth on their own, as well as
impacting on a several "traditional" business sectors. Gauteng already has the
most developed creative economy in South Africa, with over 40% of the country's
creative enterprises located in the province. In May 2006 we launched the
Gauteng Province's Creative Industries Development Framework, which recognised
the core benefits of culture and aligned creative industries with the Gauteng
Growth and Development Strategy.
We are currently in a partnership with the British Council to conduct a
Creative Industries Mapping Exercise for Gauteng. This method was used in the
United Kingdom (UK) to identify the main players and target resources
correctly. It is hoped that the baseline data from the study will inform the
development of growth initiatives for creative industries.
Gauteng to host World Carnival Conference 2007 and World Summit on Arts and
Culture in 2009
As part of developing our carnival into a premier international event, we
are happy to announce that we have secured the right to host the 2007 World
Carnival Conference in Gauteng. The conference has been scheduled to culminate
in our third Pale ya Rona Carnival in September. This means that over 400
delegates from the who's who of the world carnival movement will have an
opportunity to see our carnival first hand. Gauteng creative workers will
benefit from the extensive skills transfer programme we have planned to ensure
the expertise of visiting delegations is shared with local communities.
In further recognition of the role the province is playing as a centre of
creative industries, our government has been invited to co-host the 4th World
Summit on Arts & Culture, together with the National Arts Council of South
Africa; and the City of Johannesburg in 2009. This triennial Conference of The
International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) will
attract over 500 international arts and culture organisations.
A significant part of the Creative Industries Strategy is the Expanding
Markets Initiative. This initiative seeks to build the market for creative
products through regional promotion and market expansion.
Last year, the department facilitated a Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
guarantee to support the local production of the international stage hit, the
Lion King. This production opens in June 2007 with an all-South African cast at
the new MonteCasino Theatre. The production will create 2 000 jobs.
The Marketing, Advertising Publishing, Printing and Packaging Sector
Education and Training Authority (MAPPPSETA) will ensure that 60 young artists
are trained in the high tech production skills associated with staging an
international event of this magnitude.
I thank you.
For more information contact
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Tel: (011) 355 2578
Cell: 083 507 8068
Issued by: Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Gauteng
Provincial Government
21 February 2007
