Sport federations who are willing to work together and engage in meaningful partnerships with the community and other role players deserve to be supported.
The Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Dr Ivan Meyer, emphasised this important concept at a formal cheque handover at Paarl City Hall on 24 April 2012. At this event, various sports codes in the Boland region received funding money from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS).
The Minister thanked the 28 federations for their dedication and hard work. The department availed R585 000 in development and administration funding to the federations and another R176 500 to 11 federations for major sporting events.
Over the years, sport has been growing rapidly in this region, with many of these talented athletes eventually representing their national teams, and Dr Meyer is pleased with the development of sport here, stating that they are worthy of the funds. He singled out the leadership roles of the federations as inspirational, saying that communities require good leaders to lead by example, whether it is in sports or on any other level.
The Head of Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Mr Brent Walters, said that it is the federation's aim to engage with young people and to offer them the opportunity to develop their talent. He said that "we need to build communities that we can be proud of" and urged federations to promote social inclusion and continue with their contribution in the region.
The Chief Director of Sport and Recreation at DCAS, Adv Lyndon Bouah, addressed the federations and said that DCAS believes that the earlier sport federations receive their funding, the sooner programmes can be delivered to the broader sport community in the Boland. He mentioned that in total, an amount of R3.9 million will be transferred to sport federations across the province, after the process of consultation with the federations.
This financial injection will be useful to many federations, who have proved again that with a bit of courage, teamwork and determination you can overcome all obstacles. The Department of Culture and Sport fully supports them.
