S Mnumzana: Free State Sport, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Prov
Budget Vote 2006/07

30 March 2006

Mr Speaker,
Honourable Premier,
Honourable Members of the Legislature,
Mayors and Councillors,
Marena le Dikgosi,
Women Veterans present here,
Representatives of Sport, Arts and Culture Structures,
All the Stakeholders of the Department,
Honoured guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

INTRODUCTION

On this occasion of my first budget vote since being appointed into this
position I am quite privileged to address this house to give account about the
activities of the department during the last financial year.

Honourable members, the words of the former President, Doctor Nelson
Mandela, when he said “Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been
emancipated from all forms of oppression”, reverberate in our ears now more
than ever before. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historical and
indeed the heroical anti-pass march of women in August 1956, we look back with
great delight on the achievements women in our country have recorded since
1994. In the words of honourable Premier Marshoff in her 2006 State of the
Province Address, “The 50th anniversary of [the women anti-pass march]
epitomises the gallant role our womenfolk played in the struggle for
democracy”.

Ladies and gentlemen, this year has been declared the “Year of the Women”
against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the women anti-pass march of
1956. As the department, nationally and provincially, we will embark on
concerted programmes during this year to mark this important historical
occasion. A year long programme of activities and projects will unfold to
celebrate victories over injustices of the past, to honour women who marched to
the Union Buildings protesting against pass laws and to recognise the
contributions made to date in the various sectors to empower and improve the
lives of South African women. The provincial launch will be held on 9 April
2006 in Winburg. This event coincides with the anniversary of the burning of
the newly issued reference books at the Winburg magistrate’s office on 9 April
1956. I appeal to all to join hands to ensure that the Free State does indeed
do more to acknowledge the role of women in this country.

Ke rata ho ngka monyetla ona ho leboha boteng ba ba bang ba bomme ba
bahlabane ba teng ka hara ntlo yena ya ketsa-molao. Bomme bana ke ba bang ba
bomme ba ngkileng karolo e bohlokwa nakong ya boipelaetso kgahlanong le bukana
tsa boitsibiso ka selemo sa 1956 mane Pretoria. Ba babedi ba bomme bana, e leng
mme Anna Peters ho tswa Heidedaal mona Bloemfontein le mme Seapei Kgabale ho
tswa motseng wa Makeleketla, e bile baeti ba bohlokwa moketeng o neng o
tshwerwe ke Letona Pallo Jordan mohla letsatsi la ho thakgolwa ha programa ya
ho ketekwa ha dilemo tse mashome a mahlano (50) tsa boipelaetso ba bomme.

Honoured guests, in her 2006 State of the Province Address, Premier Marshoff
reminded us that we are also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1976
heroic youth battle against the apartheid education system. In the same vein,
as the Department we will co-ordinate jointly with the youth movements and
other partners, projects and programmes to observe this historical landmark.
Undoubtedly, the contribution made by young people towards the liberation of
our country will not go unnoticed. Towards this goal we will, amongst other
things, continue to partner with the Free State Youth Commission to advance
youth programmes in the province, to support the Basha Arts Festival and to
make a contribution to the Premier’s awards targeting young people.

Speaker, it is my pleasure to now reflect on the specific programmes in the
department that contribute to the various clusters of the province in line with
the Free State Growth and Development Strategy.

Programme 1: Administration

During the year under review the financial management of the Department was
strengthened with the appointment of a Senior Manager: Financial Administration
and a Manager: Supply Chain Management. The Supply Chain Management Unit is now
fully fledged, which will assist the Department in the following critical
aspects that require ongoing attention:

* Effective and efficient streamlining of the procurement of goods and
services for the purpose of implementing the Department’s strategic goals and
objectives
* Expansion of the network of suppliers of goods and services to include small,
medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and previously disadvantaged
individuals
* Payment of suppliers within 30 days after delivery of goods and services. A
systematic reconciliation and tracking system will be introduced at the
beginning of the new financial year.

Moral Regeneration Movement:

The function of the Moral Regeneration Movement has been transferred from
the Treasury to the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology. The challenge confronting the Department is to ensure that this
programme is fully operational.

The Department is to host an internal workshop with all relevant
stakeholders to develop a strategic approach towards the implementation of
programmes for both government and communities.

The budget allocation for this programme is R21 428 million.

Programme 2: Cultural Affairs

Speaker, Programme 2 constitutes the biggest core business of the
Department. A lot of ground has been covered in an effort to turn the situation
around with regard to the provision of arts and culture services to the Free
State communities. I wish to report on advances recorded in the last financial
year.

Arts and Culture Consultative Workshops:

The Department has walked the corners of the Free State, working on
developing a strategic approach to arts and culture in the province. A total of
six consultative workshops were facilitated across the province. These
workshops were aimed at creating a common understanding of challenges faced by
the arts and culture sector as well as developing a strategy towards addressing
these matters.

Language Services:

Honourable Speaker, language is the catalyst of people-centred development.
Undoubtedly, we cannot succeed in our effort towards quality service delivery
if we fail to communicate with communities. Language is central in
communication and thus every avenue must be explored to strengthen capacity in
this field.

To this effect we have established an Interdepartmental Language Policy
Working Committee comprising representatives of all 11 Free State Provincial
Government departments, local municipalities and language stakeholders. The
mandate of this committee is to develop a language policy and implementation
plan for the provincial government. The first briefing session of this
committee was held on 9 November 2005.

Speaker, I am also pleased to announce that an International Symposium on
Multilingualism and Exclusion will be held at the University of the Free State
on 24 and 25 April 2006. This symposium is organised as part of a research
programme run by the University of the Free State in collaboration with the
Province of Antwerp.

Music

Honourable Speaker, there is no doubt that music is one of the artistic and
cultural expressions that many of our people revel in. This is an art form that
we need to promote and never let it perish. Through Musicon we have endeavoured
to advance music amongst our communities although our efforts in this regard
still need to be maximised.

At Musicon we have to some extent pursued the goal of transforming the
racial demographics of staff and programmes. We have appointed the new head of
this institution as well as three lecturers who come from a disadvantaged
background. We have also made efforts towards transforming the kind of music
offered at this institution.

In addition the department has made inroads collaborating with choral
fraternities and promoters such as the Old Mutual/Telkom National Choir
Festival initiative.

Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation:

Indeed one of the challenges confronting our society is the issue of poverty
alleviation and job creation. Through arts and culture we should also be able
to make a considerable contribution towards addressing these challenges.

Towards this goal the following four craft projects received funding through
the Investing in Culture Programme:

* Afriwo Exotics in Mangaung
* Bompodi Arts and Crafts in Virginia
* Ikgopoleng Sewing Project in Thabong
* Menwana Beads and Buttons in Clocolan.

Furthermore, in Qwaqwa 30 young people earn an income by performing for
visitors at the Basotho Cultural Village. It is our intention as a Department
to make further contributions to poverty alleviation, particularly in areas
such as Memel and Van Stadensrus where we have identified the need for
projects.

Arts and Cultural Events

Honourable Speaker, the Department presented major cultural events
throughout the province in the last financial year. Among some of the arts and
culture public events hosted are the following:

* Freedom Day celebrations held in Qwa-qwa and Bethlehem on 27 April
2005
* Heritage Day celebrations held at the Vredefort Dome on 24 September
2005
* Reinterment ceremony for the 12 black soldiers from the First World War held
on 16 December 2005
* Cleansing and Healing ceremony held on 18 December 2005 in Bloemfontein
* Third bi-annual Folkloric Festival hosted by Mmabana Arts and Culture
Centre
* MACUFE, which has acquired international status, continues to grow in leaps
and bounds.

Museum Services:

The Literary Museum has successfully established networks and relationships
with some of the prominent Sesotho authors. Of note is Professor TJ Selepe who
has transferred his material to the museum.

Honourable Speaker, the restoration of the Presidency Museum was completed,
the museum displays were redesigned and security was increased through the
installation of glass panels in front of displays. However, the overall
security at museums is still a challenge.

Secretariat Services:

The Secretariat Service in the Department has been established to
co-ordinate the arts and culture statutory authorities and related matters in
the Department, such as the following:

Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (PHRA)

The Provincial Heritage Resource Authority organised a provincial tour aimed
at familiarising the Authority on its work of declaration of sites of cultural
historical significance for conservation. The following historical sites were
visited:

* Sangoma Valley in Rosendal
* Modderpoort
* Iron Age sites such as the Willem Pretorius and Prynnsberg in Clocolan.

During the next financial year the Department will focus on the
transformation of the house of the late Dr JS Moroka into a museum.

Provincial Geographical Names Committee (PGNC)

Last year in September the Geographical Names Committee launched an
awareness campaign on the provisions of the South African Geographical Names
Council Act, Act 118 of 1998. The law regarding place name changes provides
that any citizen, property owner or developer, organised body, government
department, local authority as well as the South African Post Office is
eligible to apply to have names changed or re-confirmed. As a result of the
awareness campaign the committee received inputs from the public on the
standardisation process in the province.

The committee held a successful consultative workshop on 26 November 2005 in
Bloemfontein. At the workshop the standardisation process and inputs received
from the public were discussed. The PGNC will continue to consult communities
regarding this process: There will be no name changes in this province without
proper consultation. Currently the PGNC only receives proposals which will be
submitted to the local authorities, who will process and validate the
applications. Public hearings will follow to test the acceptability of the name
change.

To arrive at a decision the PGNC will consult specialists and researchers
who can either authenticate or refute the claims of the applicants. This is a
process in which we must all participate as the South African Constitution
mandates government and, indeed, the entire nation to take active steps to
redress the injustices of the past. Among such injustices were the names, and
especially place names, given to places in the past.

Provincial Arts and Culture Council

The Free State Arts and Culture Council Bill is now ready for tabling before
the Provincial Legislature. This move will lead to the establishment of a
permanent council.

The budget allocation for this programme is R42 488 million

Programme 3: Library and Information Services

Library Services

The strategic goal of Library Services is to provide free, equitable and
accessible library and information services which support social and human
development and life-long learning and contribute to the improvement of
people’s quality of life.

The vision of this sub-programme is: “Libraries for all: towards a literate,
reading and informed community”.

Realising this vision has, however, been hampered during the past 10 years
by uncertainties about the legal framework for rendering community library
services and funding for this function. This has led to a decline in service
delivery and, often, strained relations between my Department and
municipalities.

I am therefore glad about the announcement of the national Minister of Arts
and Culture, Honourable Dr Pallo Jordan, that one of the key priorities for the
coming Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period is the clarification of
the legal framework for community library services and the funding of this
service which supports social and human development.

Funding that will become available from 2007/08 will certainly enable the
Department to expand and accelerate service delivery and start catching up on
backlogs that have developed over the past years. Encouraging is the
announcement that the current financial year will be used for detailed research
into the legal framework for library services and funding mechanisms, which
would clarify ambiguities and pave the way for improved co-operative
governance. I would like to call upon all role players to continue with their
support of library services while this process is unfolding. While waiting for
the outcome of this investigation, the department will not continue with its
programme to conclude agreements with municipalities. Once a new frame of
reference has been established, this process will be adapted accordingly.

Upgrading and expanding the collection of information resources in libraries
and providing information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure to
libraries are priorities of this Programme. 14.6% of the programme’s budget (R6
million) is allocated for the acquisition of reading and information resources.
In future all new library buildings will open with an ICT infrastructure in
place, which will give our people, especially those in remote rural areas,
access to the internet and other electronic information resources. The first of
these libraries to be completed is Fateng tse Ntsho in Paul Roux, which will be
opened during June this year, with Qalabotjha in Villiers to follow during the
second part of the year.

Work on a new library in Selosesha started during January 2006 and building
of the Refenkgotso Library in Deneysville will start within the next three
months. Work on the departmental one-stop centre for the Xhariep District in
Madikgetla, Trompsburg, which will include a library, will start during the
second part of the financial year.

In Sasolburg, the Zamdela Library was successfully upgraded in partnership
with Sasol and recently opened, also with a fully equipped computer room,
funded by Sasol.

Improving the flow of government information to the people is another
priority of my Department. The Department has embarked on a programme to
distribute the Department’s strategic plans, budget speeches and annual reports
to libraries. The government information service will also be strengthened by
the designation of the RJR Masiea Public Library as an Official Publications
Depository. In terms of the Legal Deposit Act, all governmental bodies must
provide an official publications depository with one copy of each of its
publications.

At a function held in February public libraries were rewarded for excellent
service delivery with the Library of the Year and District Library of the Year
Awards. The Library of the Year for 2005 is the Virginia/Meloding Library
Network in the Matjhabeng Municipality, Lejweleputswa District. The Department
would like to thank these library workers and many volunteers throughout the
province for their dedication and hard work to keep the ideals of the free flow
of information through libraries alive.

Archive Services

The strategic goal of Archive Services is to render archival and records
management services in support of effective, transparent and accountable
governance.

The importance of good record keeping in government offices is often
overlooked, with the result that important information about the transformation
of our government and society might get lost. The main function of Archive
Services is to ensure that governmental bodies establish and maintain proper
records systems and that important public records are stored and preserved in
the Archives Repository.

During the past year the Provincial Archives Regulations were promulgated in
terms of the Provincial Archives Act, Act 4 of 1999. These Regulations form the
policy framework according to which government offices must manage their
records. Proper records management is one of the key objectives of the
Governance and Administration Cluster and the Department will continue to
assist departments with this important task.

Budget Allocation for Programme: R43 022 000 00

Programme 4: Sport and Recreation

Honourable Speaker, allow me to turn to the last programme in the
Department, which is the Sport and Recreation programme. This programme has two
components, which are the Free State Sport Science Institute and Community
Sport.

Community Sport

The Community Sport component is responsible for the delivery of the
Siyadlala Programme, commonly known as Mass Participation Programme and School
Sport.

For the past financial year, through the Siyadlala Programme, we have been
able to establish 20 hubs within 20 municipalities in the Province. Through
these hubs the programme has been able to create 91 temporary jobs for Activity
Co-ordinators who, together with departmental officials, are tirelessly working
towards the realisation of our objectives of:

* changing community perspective to an active healthy lifestyle,
* reducing of crime,
* enhancing positive leisure activities, and
* increasing frequency of sport and recreational participation.

Speaker, the Siyadlala Mass Participation Programme to date has been able to
attract 193 557 active participants. Some 108 425 of them are women, while 190
307 are youth. We have been able also to reach 1469 people with disabilities
and 3138 of our elderly population. Our intention for the coming financial year
is to increase the number by an extra 100 000.

During September 2005, we hosted the OR Tambo Games in Maluti a Phofung.
During the same month we took 70 participants to the National Indigenous Games
in Oudtshoorn. We took a Free State Team of 556 athletes, put together through
our co-operation efforts with the Free State Sports Academy, the Free State
Sports Science Institute and the respective Free State Sports Federations to
the South African Games hosted by the Ethekwini Municipality in
KwaZulu-Natal.

We are proud to announce that this team performed better at these games by
moving from position eight in 2003 to position five in 2005. The team brought
home 13 gold medals, 25 silver and 19 bronze medals. As we all know by now the
Free State has been granted the bid to host the 2007 Games in Mangaung. To this
extent I have already interacted with the Honourable MEC for Local Government,
Mr Mafereka, and both previous Executive Mayors of Motheo and Mangaung in this
regard. Officials in the departments are working with municipal officials and
relevant stakeholders in the sporting fraternity that include South African
Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), to prepare for this
event.

May I also report that preparations for the hosting of the 2010 World Cup
are on track with the establishment of the political and technical
structures.

Speaker, we are happy to announce to the house that the Department has
received R6,3 million for the 2006/07 budget from Sport and Recreation South
Africa. This amount is an increase of 34.9% on the 2005/06 allocation.

This budget will be utilised for:

* the appointment of mass participation co-ordinators
* capacity building
* maintenance of hubs
* hub festivals
* securing equipment.

In this financial year, Speaker, we intend to launch a Club Development
Project in the five municipal districts. At the beginning there will be two
clubs per district and the identification of where these clubs will be located
will be a consultative process undertaken with relevant district
stakeholders.

School Sport

Speaker, for the first time this department will be responsible for
competitive school sport and will be expected to deliver on multi-coded
tournaments such as ball games, summer games, athletics, girls games and so
on.

The budget allocation for sport and recreation is R24 572 million.

Free State Sport Science Institute

Over a period of nine months the newly established Sport Development and
Training Centre presented 113 sport-specific development clinics, trained 121
coaches, 363 educators and 5437 people, mostly youths, who benefited from our
outreach programmes. Some 4345 persons were assisted with sport science and
exercise rehabilitation services at the High Performance Centre. Of the 4345
persons, 1 890 (43%) were historically disadvantaged athletes, bearing in mind
barriers such as transport, which are preventing our sporting communities from
fully utilising our service at our world-class facility.

With the assistance of the Central University of Technology, Free State, and
the Flemish community, we finalised the development of our unique “Volunteer
Involvement Programme” (VIP) in September 2005. This programme consists of 14
modules focusing on empowering volunteers who are active in the management of
sport-related activities throughout the Free State. The programme commenced on
1 October 2005 with the following results: the training of 150 volunteers in
four municipalities, training of 130 teachers and 27 mass participation
activity coordinators. We also assisted our neighbours, the Northern Cape
Department’s Academy of Sport, by training 25 mass participation officials.

On the international front we again hosted the Flemish top-sport athletes
and cyclists and at the request of Minister M Stofile, two Cuban sport
scientists, Dr Carlos Alonzo and Dr Celia Hernandez, were trained in
biomechanics, kinanthropometry and talent identification models. Mr Speaker , I
am also proud to announce that on 1 December 2005 I signed a new three-year
sport development agreement with the Flemish Minister, Mr Bert Anciaux, to the
value of €92 000 per year.

The challenges faced by the department are to promote accessibility of the
Free State Sport Science Institute services to deserving athletes and to
develop sport leadership and coaches. This strategic objective will be executed
in collaboration with our strategic partners, the Free State Academy of Sport
and the Provincial Sport Federations.

Conclusion

Speaker, the last financial year has been a learning and indeed quite a
challenging curve for me. May I express my appreciation to the honourable
Premier for throwing that challenge to me to lead a department with diverse
functions such as this one. May I also thank my predecessor, MEC Malefetsane
Mafereka, for the sterling job he did in turning this Department around. The
support of my colleagues in the Executive Council is also highly appreciated. I
must also thank the then Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Education,
Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Peter Maloka, for his oversight role over this
function.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been privileged enough to join and work with a
team of managers under the leadership of Ms Rachel Sempe, whose guidance to me
has been remarkable. May I directly thank the Head of the Department, Ms Sempe,
for always being there for advice whenever I required it. My thanks also to all
the managers and personnel in the Department for their preparedness to do more
under sometimes difficult conditions. Lastly, may I thank Ntate Mohloki for his
support at all times.

Honoured guests, indeed we have entered a season of hope with the economic
growth that we have experienced as a country. It is in this spirit that I want
to join the MEC for Treasury, honourable Tate Makgoe, in his clarion call when
he said, and I quote: “Let the Good Times Roll”.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Sport, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Free
State Provincial Government
30 March 2006
Source: Free State Provincial Government (http://www.fs.gov.za)