Honourable speaker
Cabinet colleagues
Homourable members
Since the appointment of Minister Mbalula liveliness have been experienced in the department – to the benefit of every South African.
This past weekend, another young man, whom many people may not have regarded as a factor to be reckoned with, has excelled beyond all our expectations!
This young golfer not only proudly flew the South African flag at the US Masters - he has also proven to the world, once again, that South African sports people can be world beaters.
As a department we pay tribute to Charl Shwartzel for his magnificent performance at the US Masters.
Sport and recreation is a force to be reckoned with - a sector that can contribute to the achievement of many of the government priorities ranging from, social cohesion and nation building; to job creation and contributing significantly to our GDP – evidence of which we are expecting soon in research that has been commissioned.
This is the first budget vote from our department after successfully hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
2010 FIFA World Cup
As South Africans we are proudly looking back at a legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that stretches beyond the obvious tangibles: the stadia, the roads, the airports, the infrastructure and the new equipment acquired for the police, emergency medical services and other government service points.
Never before had the country, with all its people, rallied together, united in their support of the national football team as during the World Cup.
Never before were campaigns such as Football Friday and Fly the Flag so successful in uniting the entire nation in support of our National team and country – it truly was one team one country.
Our department fulfilled its mandate by monitoring the construction of stadia to ensure that they complied with FIFA standards and ensuring that the deadlines were met; we facilitated the training of volunteers; and mobilised South African and African support.
Another key area of responsibility of the department was to oversee the delivery of the 17 guarantees signed by government departments with FIFA. This was done successfully and all 24 projects eminating from the guarantees are part of our proud legacy.
Chairperson, I am happy to report that South Africa, through the 2010 FIFA World Cup, also made valuable contributions to international initiatives such as global warming.
During the World Cup, the Green Goal programme, as an environmental management programme, was successfully launched in all the provinces.
Looking back at 2010, there is no doubt that the World Cup has changed our country forever. In terms of nation building, social cohesion, and leaving a legacy, no other event has ever or could come close to this.
The challenge now is to take the 2010 World Cup experience forward; to invest in this experience for the future of our children and of our country.
The tournament has ended, but the legacy must live on and inspire us and the way we work.
I have no doubt we will also achieve this “Suma Cum Laude”.
Sport tourism
Governments worldwide have become increasingly supportive of greater investment in sport as an industry.
There is a new global drive to utilise the potential of tourism, sport and mega events to the benefit of countries and humankind world-wide.
This drive resulted in the UN World Tourism organisation and South Africa hosting an inaugural Summit on Tourism, Sport and
Mega Events in Johannesburg from 24 to 26 February 2010.
The summit was a resounding success with participation from 35 countries.
Our department forged valuable networks and friendships with local and international role-players in the field of sport tourism.
The wider perspective that this brings, combined with the new access to this knowledge network, will assist us to do what we do in a smarter way.
We have a partnership with Tourism which is aimed at forging closer working relationships between the tourism and sports industries within South Africa with the aim to maximise the tourism value for major sport events.
The first priority of this partnership is the formulation of a sport tourism strategy for the country which will be finalised in 2011.
In fact, it will form part of the legacy of the 2010 World Cup in our country. As there is a need for an accurate register of major events we are working with and giving direction to our National Federations who are planning to bid for events that we see as strategically fit to host.
This year we have partnered with DTI and SA Tourism to host the first of its kind Sport and Events Tourism Exchange in Cape Town from 27 to 29 July 2011.
This "confex" will focus attention on the world class standard of facilities and services that South Africa has to offer as a host. In short, it will be an exchange between sport tourism and the events industry.
Running alongside the exhibition component of the Exchange, we will be holding a comprehensive and informative international Sport and Events Tourism Exchange Conference on 27 and 28 July 2011.
Transformation
I want to refer to transformation. Many talk about this concept. Some reduce it to colour and quotas, others correctly extend it to the mindset of those in charge. But by and large, sport leaders are inward looking.
This is why it is so easy to run abroad to buy a ready made player or official, even when the country has the requisite skills.
Together with Home Affairs we are working on tightening the administration of our laws to protect the integrity of our nation.
We have said in the past and we repeat it today: Transformation is a non-negotiable. But we are acutely aware of the role played by control over the economy in accessing opportunities.
Apartheid, after all, was never just a political programme. It was an economic and class issue too. We are too knowledgeable to ride into this matter rough shod.
Transformation needs scalpels, not assegais. To this end, we will use our budget to intervene at the amateur levels. Market forces cannot help us here for they have no sympathy for the poor.
Governance
The governance of sport, in a different context, has been in the news in recent months.
We are aware of the lack of good governance in some federations, this is an issue that SASCOC is addressing. There are, however, inconsistencies in the way that federations address bad governance, similarly to the way that different sanctions are handed down in terms of the World Anti-Doping Code for the same offence.
If we are to be able to confirm that we subscribe to the principles of good corporate governance, we need to take tough action. It should not matter that someone is our friend, is a volunteer or has done good work in the past.
Bad governance hits at the heart of the organisation and betrays not only the athletes but also the supporters of the organisation. We have to act firmly to ensure that our sports federations are properly managed, are transparent and serve the best interests of the athletes.
Administration: Good governance
Taking cognizance of the audit findings on our 2009/10 Annual Report, we have tightened our internal control systems to ensure optimum and impeccable accountability underpinned by our commitment to good corporate governance.
We shall not rest until we can present to you a report that is not only unqualified but also completely clean!
Personnel
As far as our personnel are concerned, we are looking into the internal capacity of Sport and Recreation South Africa as a department to deliver on its mandate.
We are in the process of filling critical positions, including that of the Director-General, Mr Vernie Petersen, who sadly passed away.
This process is coupled with a review of our organisational structure to strengthen the Department in line with the increased challenges that require a lean and enabled operational capacity.
Expenditure
As we present this budget vote, we are proud to intimate that this year we will be reporting expenditure in excess of 99% of our allocated budget.
National Sport and Recreation Indaba
A week ago we launched the National Sport Indaba.
To this end, we have clearly identified our vision and strategic goals for sport and recreation in the country.
We have developed a “Road Map” for the department and have ensured alignment with the key policy issues as captured in our updated White Paper.
As a next step we have started the process of developing a National Sport and Recreation Plan.
This Plan will manifest the implementation plans of the sport and recreation policy directives of Government.
Underpinned by the White Paper, the National Sport and Recreation Plan will contribute to addressing the key strategic issues that can take South African sport to the next level.
The draft National Sport and Recreation Plan will be discussed at nine provincial indabas scheduled for July 2011.
Together with inputs from the Portfolio Committee, Select Committee and SASCOC and the National Federations we hope to finalise and approve the first ever official National Sport and Recreation Plan for the country at the national sports indaba in August 2011.
The envisaged theme of this indaba is “From policy to practice” and the tagline: “More than just playing”.
The main objectives of the indaba are to:
- To clarify and action the policy directives emanating from the revised White Paper that also captures the strategic directions of the Road Map
- To facilitate a collective buy-in from all stakeholders to the National Sport Plan
- To streamline implementation towards common objectives
- To elevate public awareness of the National Sport Plan by means of an effective and targeted media campaign
- To finalise the Transformation Charter and Score Card for South African sport.
Chairperson, without a coordinated, integrated and aligned sport system within which all component parts are focused towards a common set of goals and objectives, the potential value of sport to the South African society cannot be fully realised.
All sectors must buy-in and commit to the strategic direction that will emerge from the national sports indaba.
The responsibilities of all role-players are substantial. It is clear that they will never be adequately realized without formidable partnerships in place.Furthermore, it is important to recognise that sport on its own cannot fulfil all the sports development needs.
To this end Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) will liaise with other government departments and sectors.
The aim is to establish strategic alliances ensuring the appropriate coordination and alignment of programmes, structures, strategies and funding.
As a department we are committed to work in a spirit of ubuntu in finalising the National Sport and Recreation Plan.
If we say this, we know that; The winning Nation - will walk tall – and the respect we will have earned as competitors, as hosts and pioneers in sport will have further cemented the Rainbow Nation!
I thank you.
