The Department remains firmly committed to the overall vision of championing social transformation by providing effective service delivery to the people of the province. In aligning the range of services that the Department provides, some critical factors have to be outlined and achieved in order to truly fulfill the mandate of the department. In the current and last financial years the department has managed to reach most of the milestones set out in its Strategic Plan and annual performance plans.
Sport and Recreation
It is our considered view that sport and recreation serves a pivotal role in our quest to develop our communities. We are all aware that our country hosted one of the best FIFA World Cup tournaments ever. Through the co-operation of the provincial government and the Mangaung Municipality, our province was able to host all its designated games successfully. As a build up to the World Cup the department held the 32 Schools 2010 Mini World Cup which involved schools from across the province.
This enabled aspiring young soccer players to hone their skills while also showcasing the excellent talent and athleticism we have in our schools. During this year the department also launched the Free State Sport Federation in an effort to advance sport development in the province. We believe that this federation will ensure that sport in the Free State is managed and controlled efficiently, effectively as well as professionally.
We also successfully launched the Free State Local Talent Development Centres as well as the District High Performance Centers to ensure that we are able to identify, develop and retain raw young talent that will ultimately represent our province and country in various sporting codes. These centers will also make sport science and injury rehabilitation services more accessible to the broader sport communities in the Free State.
So far we have opened these centres in the districts of Thabo Mofutsanyana and Lejweleputswa and the roll out to all other districts will continue unabated. Through the Sports and Recreation programme we have managed to realise the following goals, amongst several others:
- Provide three boxing rings, valued at R145 892 to help 245 current boxers improve their skills and encourage the growth of boxing in the Free State.
- Complete the Provincial High Performance Centre for Boxing.
- Distribute sport attire and equipment to schools and community sport clubs.
- As part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup build-up programme we distributed the following items to the rural community of Gladstone rural area in Thaba Nchu:
- 1) 1 000 blankets
- 2) 200 food parcels
- 3) 100 bags of 12,5 kg mealie meal
- 4) 1 000 lunch packs
- 5) Six sets of soccer kits
Arts and Culture
I believe that the development of the arts coupled with the preservation and promotion of the diverse cultures in the province remains critical in our pursuit of unity and nation building.
My department continues to ensure the observance of all national days in the province and on the 24th of this month we will be celebrating Heritage Day in Ficksburg. Our province made history this year when we launched the first Sesotho Soccer Terminology Book, we view this as a step towards promoting multilingualism, redressing the past linguistic imbalances and developing the previously marginalised languages.
Through the MACUFE programme, the 2010 edition of which is about to kick-off in two weeks time, we have managed to realise one of the important goals of local talent promotion.
Out of the 314 artists and crafters who took part in the 2009 MACUFE programme more than half of these were Free State artists and crafters. The economic impact study of the 2009 MACUFE programme has indicated very positive outcomes for the province.
Kroonstad is rich with the cultural and political heritage of our Province and country. Amongst some of the cultural landscapes within Moqhaka is the house of one of the stalwarts of the liberation struggle, comrade Zaccheus Richard Mahabane. The department will facilitate the declaration process of the house as both provincial and national heritage site. We will also work on the restoration of the house according to acceptable heritage guidelines.
Library Services
Our endeavors to promote literacy in the province have resulted in us hosting the provincial Writers’ Workshop which was aimed at enhancing our efforts to promote reading and writing in our communities. Participants included acclaimed as well as aspiring writers, poets and artists.
We are currently building the first ever formal library in Edenville which will be completed in November at a cost of around R8,7m. Once completed the library will be fully equipped with 14 internet capable Computers, activity and study halls, a toy library as well as about 10 000 books. This library will also be provided with a vegetable garden outside and a large capacity water tank.
In our quest to promote indigenous languages and knowledge we launched the South African Indigeneous Classic Books in celebration of International Literacy Day on 8 September 2009. Sesotho titles such as S.P. Lekeba's Mehlolo ke dinoha and the popular drama Senkatana by author S Machabe Mofokeng are part of these classics that we launched.
Conclusion
The department will continue to position itself as a key role player in initiatives that are aimed at the development, preservation and promotion of sports, indigenous languages, the arts and recreational activities in the province. We will do our part to support the initiatives and programmes of Operation Hlasela in order to improve the lives of our people for the better.
I thank you
Source: Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation
