Ladies and gentlemen of the media, in the past few weeks we concluded a successful congress of the Gauteng Sports Council a civil society structure charged with the responsibility of spearheading sport development in the province.
It was critical for us to take some decisive steps around resolving the divisions that had bedevilled the previous structure, tearing it into two warring factions. We have emphasised the point about the need to ensure that we have properly constituted structures that adhere to the imperatives of sound corporate governance.
Our task is therefore to ensure that we consolidate the regional and local structures of sport in order to effectively take our agenda forward.
On 3 to 4 June 2011 we are convening a Gauteng Sports Indaba. This is a pre-cursor to the National Sports Indaba to be convened by Minister Mbalula later in the year. The specific outcomes we expect from the Indaba relate to discourse about the following:
- Developing a shared policy framework that will guide the work of civil society organisations working in sport, government and one that will serve as a basis for engagement with the private sector
- A Gauteng Sport Plan that will specifically focus on approaches on the development and maintenance of sport infrastructure
- Develop and strengthen partnerships with the academy dispensation and agree on specific outcomes that must emerge from partnerships, including linkages with the future plans of the Gauteng Village for Sport Development
- Pass legislation that will guide all sporting activity in the province, including empowering government to intervene where there failures.
- Put in place a comprehensive training development programme that focuses on building technical, managerial and coaching skills
We will table the draft strategy on school sport with a view of soliciting input from the Indaba. Our approach is informed by the need to ensure that leagues are put in place and that learners are engaged in regular play. In order to ensure that there is focus – we have decided that Soccer, Boxing, Aquatics, Cricket, Rugby, Athletics and Netball are our priority codes. This will ensure that we deploy and make use of the resources in a targeted manner that will enable us to measure outcomes against set objectives.
Our focus in the medium term will also target the use of available infrastructure both at schools and in the communities. For our part we have committed to providing some of the basics to get schools started. We will be providing transport in order to enable interschool mobility for access to infrastructure and facilities, including the provision of basic equipment such kits, balls etc.
Competitive sport remains a critical ingredient in the implementation of our agenda. We believe the strategy has gone a long way in achieving the set objective of positioning Gauteng as a preferred destination for competitive sport. In addition to hosting a successful 2010 FIFA Soccer World, whose legacy we must consolidate and build on; we have recently hosted another successful Gauteng Under 17 Future Champions Cup and we look forward to hosting the under 15 Manchester United Premier Cup and the Vodacom Challenge in the next two months.
We have started engagement with the local sphere of government with regard to the issues of sport infrastructure. The primary focus has been:
- Infrastructure planning and development
- Access to sport and recreation infrastructure and facilities in communities
- Maintenance of infrastructure
One of the key issues that we believe constitute a critical part of developing infrastructure is planning. Our view and we hope the Indaba will engage this matter, is that in the planning of new human settlements it must be made standard to include multipurpose sporting facilities. It is through such provisions that the important matter of maintenance is adequately addressed.
The issue of access to infrastructure remains a thorny one and this may continue to be the case if some decisive action is not taken. Our view is that whilst the local sphere of government must take leadership in matters of infrastructure it is the people through their organs or structures that must take a lead in the development and implementation of programmes in the communities.
We are going into the Indaba with a clear objective of ensuring that the resolutions are turned into an implementable programme of action agreed to by all partners and role players.
The Indaba will be held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, and as members of the media you are all invited.
See you there.
Source: Gauteng Sports, Art, Culture and Recreation
