sports facility in Deben - Northern Cape
25 February 2006
Programme Director
Mayor and Councillors
MECs
Representatives of CBOs and NGOs
Business Representatives
Members of the community at large
Ladies and gentlemen
Today, we're opening a Multi-Purpose Sport Facility for the people of Deben,
and the surrounding areas.
With this sports facility, our objectives of bringing essential services to
our people have come to fruition.
A new sports facility means that our people can now look towards living
healthy lifestyles. We all know that a healthy mind means a healthy body.
The construction of this building, funded by Sports and Recreation South
Africa to the tune of R3.5 million, commenced in May 2004, and is now
completed.
Sports and Recreation South Africa is running this programme of job creation
and poverty alleviation by building these sports facilities, through the
'Building for Sports and Recreation Programme'. The Kgalagadi district is
fortunate to have two of these Multi-Purpose Sports facilities already
completed. So, not only is our government ensuring the health of our people
with this programme, we are also delivering on our mandate of job creation and
reducing poverty.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am told that a total of 102 women were employed in
this project. However we acknowledge that although this number may seem small,
we are encouraged by the fact that more women will benefit through such
projects in future.
The training of nine men and four women of the Community Sports Council has
already taken place.
The Northern Cape is allocated two of these projects per year! The funds of
these projects are now channelled through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant
(that is, the MIG, as you may have heard). So, the programme will now be run by
municipalities.
An announcement was made recently, by the national Ministry of Sports and
Recreation, and our province was not awarded funds for the construction of a
new stadium.
But, this does not mean that we are not part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup!
This province, through the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture,
and all our stakeholders, will do still prepare for any practice matches
allocated to us.
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is carrying out the resolutions of
the 2005 Soccer Indaba, and we are building the profile of soccer in our
province.
We are delighted and elated as we are now seeing more games of Premier
Soccer League (PSL) stature being played in Kimberley; Ajax Cape Town has
chosen Kimberley as their home-ground to play their upcoming games against
Silver Stars and Pirates.
The Memorandum of School Sport, as signed by the MEC for Sport, Arts and
Culture, and the MEC for Education last year, will be rolled out in this year,
as we intend bringing back a culture of sport that has declined, especially
among our previously disadvantaged communities over the years.
The Mass Participation Programme has by far exceeded its targets, and the
Northern Cape is flourishing in this area. This programme is aimed at providing
more access to sport and recreation activities by large numbers of people who
have not previously enjoyed such access.
It is intended to inculcate a healthy lifestyle among our youth and divert
their energies away from anti-social behaviour.
The Northern Cape Province recognises the role that the youth has played and
will play in future in strengthening our democratic society. The youth
constitutes the largest and also an underdeveloped sector of our
population.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is crucial to recognise the injustices of the past,
to capacitate the youth in making a meaningful contribution to all spheres of
the economy.
I therefore believe that we will continue as a province, to use the Youth
Commission as a vehicle, which should endeavour to create an enabling
environment for youth socio-economic development and facilitate their training
for skills retention.
This body also has a responsibility to promote a uniformity of approach by
all organs of state, including provincial governments on matters relating to
youth development.
Furthermore, with this hand-over of the Multi-Purpose Sports Facility, we
are also handing over sports equipment on all prevailing sports codes, to the
local sports federations, which will benefit this community of Deben.
The sports codes represented in the facility are: Soccer, Rugby, Athletics,
Tennis, Netball, Basketball, a Long Jump facility, Javelin-throwing and
Shot-put.
To all our young people in this area, we say, the people of this province
rely on each and every one of you to participate fully in these sports
facilities and ensure that you grasp all these opportunities and maximise their
value in order for us to achieve the best sports personalities in the
country.
The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy has a development target,
which may be achieved through the provision of adequate infrastructure for
economic growth and development by 2014. With this facility, we are gearing
ourselves towards reaching our target.
In conclusion, this project shows that all three spheres of government, that
is, national, provincial and local government, are working towards bettering
the lives of our people.
It is in this cheerful mood that we participate in this event today, a
spirit that says we have a lot to celebrate in what our province and our
country has achieved, whilst at the same time acknowledge the challenges that
still lie ahead of us all.
What makes our load lighter as government is the knowledge that many of our
people are willing to play their part to improve the quality of life of all, in
particular to push back the frontiers of poverty.
I also wish to use this opportunity to call upon you to exercise your right
to vote on Wednesday. So far we have ushered in a new era of democracy and
justice. The foundation has firmly been laid for our society to develop into a
truly united society.
There is undoubtedly a long way to walk and more tasks for us to complete.
So let us all do the right thing and vote for a caring local government
comprising of hard-working women and men who will be diligent and decisive in
their work, and will remain steadfast and loyal in the belief of a creation of
a better life for all our people.
We should vote for a local government that will create a solid platform for
further development in our communities.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
25 February 2006
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.northern-cape.gov.za)
