Chairperson;
Ministers and Deputy Ministers;
Members of Parliament;
The Minister has elaborated on some of our priorities for the next 5 years, namely: School Sport; Club Development; Community Sport; Facilities; and Transformation. I will focus on other critical work of the Department without which it will be difficult to implement the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) priorities adequately. In keeping with our vision of an Active Nation, I draw attention to our Recreation programme.
The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Recreation continues to assist the Department to actualise the essence of recreation. This Committee has completed a report on recreation in our country focusing on amongst others, the successes, strengths, weaknesses and failures of the current recreation landscape. The Minister will soon release the report for public comment. The Department will continue to provide secretarial support to the Committee and will over the medium term, develop a single governance framework for recreation to strengthen the delivery of recreational programmes.
The National Youth Camp will once again be held in all nine provinces in October this year to coincide with the school holidays.The purpose of the camp is to teach young people leadership skills, life skills and national pride using practical lessons on social cohesion in a rural, outdoor environment. As part of the 20 year celebration of our democracy, the 2014 National Youth Camp will focus on 20 year old participants, the so called “born-frees”. Approximately 3 000 youth, representing diverse cultural groupings, are expected to attend the Camps.
In keeping with the National Development Plan’s (NDP) proposal for an initiative to encourage South Africans to walk, run, cycle or play team games on the second Saturday of every month, the Department will continue with its Cycle for Life programme. To this effect, we will continue to work with the Burry Stander Foundation, Cycling SA and other government departments such as Transport, Health, Basic Education and the SA Defence, Police Services, all of whom can help ensure the effective promotion of the programme.
The Big Walk will be staged on the first Sunday of October 2014 with the view to encourage participation in physical activity. In delivering the Golden Games we will again partner with the Department of Social Development. These competitive events for older persons are hosted with the conviction that people can significantly improve the quality of life by staying active and fully engaged in life.
As Department we provide scientific support to our stakeholders. To this end, the focus of the athlete residential support initiative, will be phased out in the current financial year and replaced by the Ministerial Sports Bursary Programme. The new approach will be focused on setting the agenda for sport in South Africa.
A talent identification and development strategy was developed in 2013 and is being implemented in conjunction with a holistic academy system. Assistance will also be provided to support private initiatives such as the Doctor Khumalo Football Academy and the Grant Kgomo Rugby Foundation, where talented young stars will be groomed for excellence. We will also approach South African National Defence Force (SANDF), South African Police Service (SAPS) and Department of Correctional Services (DCS) with the view to investigate the possibility of talented athletes being supported by their respective infrastructure.
In other African countries, such initiatives have produced exceptional athletes. Programmes catering for the specific needs of the sport and recreation sector will be supported by a comprehensive research and development programme. Strong emphasis will also be placed on establishing and maintaining a knowledge management system.
Students benefitting from the Post Graduate Development Programme that is being implemented in partnership with Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) in sports science will be supported with access to the Department’s administrative resources assisting them with their studies.
The students will also present their research findings at SASReCON -South Africa’s primary bi-annual sport and recreation conference, which is, a valuable forum for South Africa’s sport and recreation community to exchange views and knowledge on topical issues in multiple disciplines within sport and recreation. This conference also assist to create an interface and knowledge sharing between coaches and the scientific professionals with the intention of ensuring that coaches continuously improve their skills and apply scientifically validated coaching methods.
Another platform for intellectual debate within the sector is our Think Sport Journal whose publishing each year is coupled with a seminar.
Honourable members, the Department will partner with South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on the rollout of the talent tracking system to ensure that the athletes who succeed at a national competition level are supported to develop into elite athletes. As SASCOC is the implementation agency in this area, the role of the Department is to ensure that systems are in place from a district to a provincial level to ensure a flow of talent to the national level.
The NDP also acknowledge that “South Africa has been positioned as a conference and sports event destination”. In an effort to perpetuate this, selected national and international sporting events, exhibitions or conferences will continue to be used to showcase South Africa as a sport tourism destination.
The Department will provide institutional and intra-governmental support to approximately four major events approved in line with the Bidding and Hosting of International Sport and Recreational Events Regulations.
In the current financial year the Scientific Support sub-programme received an additional allocation of R4.5 million to support the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport ensuring South Africa comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Expenditure on contractors in the Scientific Support sub-programme grew significantly from 2010/11 to 2013/14, due to the Department intensifying support to elite athletes through high performance centres in preparation for major events over this period, including the 2012 Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games this year.
The fluctuations in the transfers to non-profit institutions are due to one-off allocations of R84 million in 2012/13 to host the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, and R36 million in 2013/14 for the 2014 African Nations Championship. As a result, spending in the Major Events sub-programme of the Department fluctuates between 2010/11 and 2013/14.The available funds decreases to only R10.3 million for the current year, which poses a serious challenge as we have to fund the Ekhaya project and our sport tourism initiatives from this budget.
Honourable members, one of our other important programmes is the Sport Support Services. Federations are graded to ascertain their overall assessment of needs. The Department works closely with those federations requiring institutional support (including financial management; fund raising and project management) to enable them to be sustainable.
In the future, funding to all federations will be instituted according to the Recognised Sport Bodies Grant Framework. Funding to federations is provided across two tiers, namely guaranteed funding, fundamentally for administration, and conditional funding meant for performance, which will constitute the bulk of the funding that will address issues of governance, development and transformation.
The Department will continue to assist federations to ensure that they are able to submit the required documents (in the format required) so that all targeted federations will receive financial support early in the financial year.
The Department will ensure that good governance prevails in all National Federations (NFs). Steps will be implemented to address any alleged misconduct. Workshops to capacitate NFs in this regard are planned for 2014. In addition to providing institutional support, the Department will also prioritise federations and ensure that prioritised federations are capacitated to optimally deliver their programmes to realise the sector’s vision of an active and winning nation. Factors influencing the prioritisation of a federation for support towards school sport will include amongst others:
- the promotion of mass participation; an existing strong presence with a national footprint;
- the ease of roll-out in terms of affordability and sustainability; and
- the promotion of equity principles, redress and transformation.
A federation to receive intensive support will be selected each year. In 2012 additional assistance was rendered to Netball and in 2013 Tennis was the beneficiary. Basketball has been identified as the 2014 beneficiary, and the National Basketball league is currently under way for the second year.
The Department will continue to support the Sports Trust whose primary focus is on assisting communities by providing them with equipment, facilities and other resources required for development of sport and recreation. The funds allocated to the Sports Trust are mainly used for priority projects identified by the Department.
In 2014/2015 the Department will continue with the establishment of the Thabang Lebese Player Benefit Programme to assist indigent athletes with their identified social and insurance needs. In terms of International Relations, we will continue with the strategically focused approach which commenced in 2013. In this regard, the agreements and programmes of action will be informed by the International Relations Strategy and we will continue to build and strengthen bilateral relationships to support sport and recreation development in South Africa by executing exchange programmes with international partners.
Bilateral exchanges with Bulgaria, Jamaica, and Australia are envisaged for 2014. Outstanding bilateral engagements will be reconsidered and revived when appropriate. That is in line with the new approach of the Department.
We will continue to render support to the South African students in Cuba who are still completing their physical education and sports degrees. South Africa will also continue to strengthen bilateral sports ties with countries on the African continent that are emerging from conflict to enable their sports sector to be self-sustainable. South Africa is playing a leading role in projects of global importance as reflected in the international agreements with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, the UN Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG); International Association for Dialogue Analysis (IADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to name a few.
I am happy to report that mainly due to the major contributions from our country, South Africa was two weeks ago re-elected as Chair of the Sport for Development and Peace Thematic Working Group as well as Chair of the Executive Board of the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group. The inputs from South Africa also resulted in the development of government policies regarding the harnessing of sport to address gender based violence for consideration by the United Nations. Yet another good story by the ANC Government!
Honourable members, South Africa will continue to play an active role in the African Union Sports Council Sport Development Region Five, formerly the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa (SCSA) Zone Six.
It has been agreed that while the zone transforms into the African Union (AU) Region Five, it will continue to function under the existing constitution and policies. It will also remain the sports technical implementation arm of Southern African Development Community (SADC). South Africa will remain the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee during 2014/15. South Africa is also represented on the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and on the Confederation of Southern African National Olympic Committees (COSANOC).
The Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport (CABOS) and other Commonwealth initiatives will also be supported. Furthermore, strategic partnerships with IBSA (India Brazil and South Africa) and BRICS countries (Brazil Russia India China and South Africa) were strengthened through participation in joint projects aimed at concluding preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Honourable members, although the road ahead is still long and challenging; we have the National Sport and Recreation Plan to guide us as a sector. Linked with the NDP, we cannot falter; but it needs all of us in the sport and recreation sector to pull together and to work as one unified force towards success - that I am sure we will!
I thank you.
