Speech By Ms Tokozile Xasa (MP) Minister of Sport and Recreation SA during the NCOP Budget Vote Debate 2018/2019
Honourable Chairperson of the NCOP
Cabinet colleagues present
Deputy Minister of Sport & Recreation, Honourable Gert Oosthuizen
Chaiperson of the Select Committee, Hon. Zwane
Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Hon. Dlulane
Honourable Members of the NCOP
Director-General of the Department, Mr Alec Moemi
Officials of the Department of Sport & Recreation
Invited guests
Ladies & gentlemen
As we deliver this budget vote no 40 of our Medium Term Expenditure Framework, we wish to remember some of our forgotten sporting heroes. Heroes whose gallant deeds were suppressed by the brutal apartheid regime to never be appreciated by this nation. These are the heroes that apartheid South Africa had taught its children to never recognise and celebrate. We therefore take this opportunity and bow to them. Remember Len Taunyane and Jan Mashaine with were South Africa's future rest Olympians who participated in the St Louis Games during the World Fair in 1904 Olympics. They were in many ways the trailblazers of yesteryears and who gave their dedication and all, towards ensuring that the plight of the African is noted by the world. Apartheid was in many ways a terrible system that dehumanised our people. When the apartheid sports plan was introduced in 1956, it laid a solid foundation for the exclusion of black people from mainstream participation in Sport and Recreation. Our History of Sport project unearths the stories and heroic deeds of these black athletes of yesteryears and ensures that their memory and legacy is never forgotten: Themed The Sport in the Struggle Exhibition.
It is the suffering of these athletes under apartheid and many other irritations such as pass laws, separate amenities Act and the infamous group areas act that led the stalwarts of our liberation movement such as Nelson Mandela to fight for the liberation of the black majority. As we observe and celebrate the Centenary of Nelson Mandela, there could never have been a fitting tribute to this late Father of our nation than to honour his legacy, correct the wrongs of the past and contribute to his vision of a non- racial, non-sexist and a prosperous nation united in its diversity. Accordingly, our programmes and efforts are premised on the tenets of Outcome 14 of our government and most important on the output related to Social Cohesion and Nation Building. These are important tenets that Nelson Mandela and Mama Sisulu truly believed in and worked tirelessly to achieve them. Also in honour of Isithwalandwe /Seaparankwe, Ntate Andrew Mlangeni, the Andrew Mlangeni Green Jacket Programme, will be held again this year. This programme was established in 2011 to recognise men and women who have excelled in sport either as a player or as an official. The recipients are rewarded with a sought-after Andrew Mlangeni green jacket in recognition of their sporting prowess and achievements in their days.
As we mark the centenary life of Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, fearless pathfinder of our democracy, a human rights activist and a champion of women rights. We are celebrating this giant of our revolution under a theme: A WOMAN OF FORTITUDE. We do so in recognising her courage discipline, integrity and love for her country.
We are celebrating this stalwart of our revolution under a very bad spell, where our young women die in the hands of their partners who claim to love them. As leaders of our nation we must continue the fight against women killings and ensure that South Africa remains a non-racial and non-sexist country whose prosperity belongs to all who live in it. We have put together a team to develop a Women in Sport Policy by 2018. Even on the IAAF matter, we have constituted a high level panel that will challenge the newly reviewed regulations which will affect women participation in athletics. As a country rooted in a human rights culture, we have a moral obligation. Overall we are reviewing the Case for Sport & Recreation in South Africa because Sport has Power to Unite, Economic Power, it can create jobs and contribute to a healthy nation.
Following baseline reductions in December 2017, the Department was compelled to review targets planned over the MTEF as well as to reconsider the project delivery modalities envisaged. As the largest baseline reduction was taken from the Mass Participation and Sport Development Grant (R31 Million), it would be expected that this is where the largest impact on the targets would also be experienced. The large target of 1 000 000 people actively participating in organised sport and active recreation events has been reduced to 600 000 people for 2018/19. SRSA is allocated R1,1 Billion.
The total budget for 2018/19 is R 1.091 billion having gone up only by R 24.1 million from the previous year’s allocation which is a 2.19 percent growth.
- The total allocation for Programmes 2 stands at R696,8 million, having gone up by R7,3 million from the previous year’s allocation of R704,1 million. This constitutes a 1.05 percent budget growth from the previous year. This allocation is to support the provision of mass participation opportunities in sport and recreation.
- The total allocation for Programme 3 stands at R79,8 million having gone up by R8,4 million from the previous year’s allocation of R71,4 million. This constitutes a 10.53 percent budget growth from the previous year. This allocation is to support the development of elite athletes
- The total allocation for Programme 4 stands at R158,1 million, having gone up by R8.5 million from the previous year’s allocation of R 149,6 million. This constitutes a 5.38 percentage budget growth from the previous year. This allocation is to develop and support an integrated support system to enhance the delivery of sport.
- The total allocation for Programme 5 stands at R13,8 million, having gone up by R1,8 million from the previous year’s allocation of R12 million. This constitutes a 13.04 percent budget growth from the previous year. This allocation is to manage the provision of sport and recreation facilities.
R587.4 million of this is allocated for provision of mass participation opportunities and recreation under the banner of our ACTIVE NATION programme. The Deputy Minister will elaborate further on this point.
Sport is a key catalyst for Social Cohesion and Nation Building. We believe that, fairness will not be achieved until we have levelled the playing field and the provision of equality of opportunity for all South Africa's children. On this path, we first have to ensure equity in Sport, where all potential participants are fully empowered to be able to participate. Therefore the quality of opportunity is essential to redress past imbalances. These beliefs we hold dear and they constitute the cornerstone of our approach and philosophy to the Transformation in Sport processes. The Ministerial appointed Sport Transformation Commission called the Eminent Persons Group, will focus on the Annual Transformation Status report and the Transformation Barometer to measure all codes and to determine the extent of targets set by the National Federations themselves. For the first time in the 2016/17 report:
- The first 5 sporting codes have shown positive progress in the self-assessment barometers.
- The remainder of the federations have set their own self-assessment targets and signed.
- Punitive measures have been established for non-compliance
Honourable members, we do not mince our words on this, transformation of the South Africa society is a key imperative. South Africa is undergoing a renewal - a new dawn - a period of hope. It's a new dawn of change that reverberates across all sectors of our society. Sport is no different in this. The sport sector too has to cleanse itself to all the negativities of the past. The sporting bodies, including private sector, should also shag their tags and labels as pariahs who resist change and transformation. They should become part of the solution to embrace this new dawn. This new dawn provides us with an opportunity to further deepen the vision of Nelson Mandela and the building of his diverse nation, cohesive for a purpose of achieving equality and prosperity. In the true spirit of the clarion call made by His Excellency the President, Hon. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa of Thuma Mina, we re-dedicate ourselves and all our efforts to ensure that we are at the forefront of all efforts to help us achieve the transformation objectives of our country. We have already issued Ministerial Directives in terms of Section 13 of the National Sport and Recreation Act to ensure greater compliance with the objective of the Sport Transformation Charter.
For sustainable transformation, we recognise that School Sport is a bedrock of the entire development continuum. It's a thread that weaves the foundation for a healthy pipeline of future participants and champions. This programme has been reviewed and improved. We have accelerated the training of teachers as coaches working with the Sport Coaches Outreach Programme (SCORE); We have as part of the review process put in place mechanisms to ensure that our children in schools are also offered an opportunity to compete globally in the International Schools Federation (ISF) tournaments in 2019. In preparation for these, Sport camps will be held in the current financial year to prepare the South African teams to the ISF meets. Accordingly, school sport remains our biggest priority and is allocated a lion's share of the budget. School Sport is allocated in excess of 40% of the total budget of R1,091 billion. On the 30th of May 2018, the department of Sport and Recreation together with the department of Basic Education signed a ground-breaking Memorandum of Agreement. We will later this year launch The ‘Play Sport Manual’ to assist with training of teachers in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers that offer better nurturing of the motor development skills for children at this formative stages of their lives. This intervention is key if we are to become a winning nation.
R179.00 million is allocated over the 2018/19 period for transfers to 60 sport and recreation bodies. The Department in consultation with SASCOC, will continue to prioritise Federations and ensure that these 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 school sport support will include amongst others: the promotion of mass participation; an existing strong presence with a national footprint; the ease of rollout in terms of affordability and sustainability; and the promotion of equity principles, redress and transformation. The following Federations have been classified as priority federations for school sport following an initial assessment conducted in 2012: Football; Netball; Rugby; Cricket; Athletics; Hockey; Swimming; Tennis; Table Tennis; Basketball; Gymnastics; Softball; Volleyball; Goal Ball; Boxing; Chess; as well as selected Indigenous Games.
As part of the Department’s efforts to revive the identified sports through the Federation Intensive Support programme, the Leagues for netball, basketball, hockey and amateur boxing have continued to be hosted by the National Federations with the support of the Department. The impact of this initiative is evident in the general performance of the national teams notwithstanding the fact that the leagues are semi-professional. As part of the 2017 / 2018 programme the Department supported Volleyball South Africa in implementing the Inaugural Volleyball League held in Durban on 02 to 25 March 2018. A combined total of 188 female and male players participated in the Volleyball League.
Softball will be the recipient of this extra support in 2018/19. The plan is to establish a Softball League. The Basketball; Hockey and Volleyball leagues will continue to be supported during 2018/19 with the aim of making them self-sustainable in the near future. The other code that has also benefited apart from the aforesaid three, is Tennis. The 2018 Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League started on the 11th of May, at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena. As part of the programme of intensive support, I'm proud to announce that Softball South Africa has been declared as the Federation of the Year for the 2018 / 2019 financial year, the Department will be providing additional technical and financial support of R10, 000,000 to Softball South Africa. This will enable Softball South Africa to establish a Softball Premier League wherein women’ and men’s teams from all provinces will participate. In addition to the Premier League, Softball South Africa will be launching a Softball Regional League. The Provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North-West and Free State will participate in the Regional League, which will culminate into a Super Cup. The league will start at Provincial level and the top two teams will represent their Province in the National League. More than 83 teams will participate in leagues with over 1 245 Athletes of which 555 athletes are expected to be women. The league is scheduled to start in August 2018.
Volleyball, Football and Netball will be supported in 2018/19 to participate in the BRICS Games to be held in Durban or Johannesburg in (18-22) July this year. This is an Inter-Governmental collaboration to promote sport, amongst others, by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). We intend to host the BRICS Sport Council and finalise the BRICS Sport Charter that will allow rotation of the BRICS Games every four years.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Correctional Services (DSC) have been approached to support talented athletes at their respective infrastructure. Historically these initiatives produced exceptional athletes. Operation Victory Lap has been initiated in partnership with the SANDF, and this will continue in 2018/19. The work we have started to do, will be formalised through a memorandum of understanding this financial year.
A further intervention to ensure that we improve access to participation opportunities, has been the approval of the National Facilities Plan and the Norms and Standards for building of Sport Facilities. This plan has provided a key framework for the roll out of Sport facilities. We are on average rolling out 60 quality facilities on the various grades and Classifications of the framework. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is still key and central to achieve this objective. An amount of R287 million is ring-fenced on the MIG at the Department of Cooperative Governance to drive the roll out of these facilities. We are now linking this roll out programme to our new approach of having focused nodes linked to specific sporting codes. Our approach is informed by the adage and imperative of starting where we are strongest and codes have a greater footprint and foothold. Accordingly, provinces have been requested to identify codes they are strong in and those having greater presence. A scoping exercise will be conducted in due course and the nodes finalised. Purpose build Facilities will be followed out to these nodes. This work will be undertaken in the current MTEF period. From last year eleven (11) sport facilities have been completed. These facilities accommodate clusters of schools and multi-codes, they are also accessible to communities.
Our new approach indicated under Infrastructure will integrate well with rural sport development program which has shown success in its implementation. We have noted a need for improvement, particularly in terms of the involvement of District and Local Municipalities as well as private companies.
The Department will support the Rural Sport Development Programme under the guidance of the National House of Traditional Leaders and initiatives to uplift sport in these areas will receive attention. The aim of the Rural Sport Development Programme is to revive sport and to unearth talent in the rural areas.
The programme was conceptualised out of a realisation that the most disadvantaged communities, particularly in the rural areas and in areas under Traditional Leadership, still require a structured focused sport development programme. The programme was launched in 2016 (with stage one competitions) and the inaugural national event was held in July 2017 reaching over 1 960 participants.
I’m proud to share with you some of the fruits of this programme. In the Eastern Cape Province, 14-year-old 100m and 200m athlete Bayanda Ncedani was scouted and offered a bursary by Dale College for further nurturing and 13-year-old Yolanda Nogubha has progressed to be a top female athlete, at provincial level after participating at the National Rural Sport Competitions. They both hail from Ebotwe Traditional Council.
In Mpumalanga Province seven girls from Guduza, under Mbuyane Traditional Council, Maphanga Nomthandazo, Nkosi Mbali, Lubisi Nomawethu, Simelane Samantha, Makofane Nomonde, Khaliphe Charmaine and Ngwenya Amanda were selected to participate in the National Under-15 Netball Development team. Samantha Simelane was further selected to attend the National Training Centre in Bloemfontein as a budding national player.
In Free State, football player, Karabo Mokoena from Bakwena Baha Monontsha Traditional Council has been identified by Sundowns Football Club School of Excellence to be part of the 2019 programme. These are just some of the highlights of good stories emerging from this programme.
We will continue to Recognise, Reward and Honour pockets of excellence and distinction in our quest to celebrate our champions and inspire our next generation. Our gold-medalists from the CommonWealth Games; we salute them. On the 2nd of June, I attended cricket SA awards, in what turned out to be Rabada night. Rabada has achieved a fit no other cricketer has ever done to win more than five (5) awards. Kagiso Rabada has joined us. Let us congratulate the first Black African test Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, this has ignited renewed hope of unity amongst our people. Also Dane Van Niekerk, the current Captain of our National Women Cricket team and Sport Women Cricketer of the year. Last but not least, our three-weight champion, Hekkie Budler.
The South African Sport Awards will be hosted in November 2018 during the National Sports Week starting the 05th until the 11th of November 2018. In the past three years we also hosted the Regional Annual Sport Awards of the African Union Sports Council Region 5. Building on the inaugural Women's month programme that SRSA hosted in 2014 to honour the role of women in sport, the Department has maintained its partnership with G-Sport to once again host a similar event in 2018. The overarching objective of this prestigious programme is to highlight and celebrate the role that women play across the entire value chain of sport.
We have approached the Hon. President to appoint a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate violence at football matches. Both the FNB disaster and the violence at the Moses Mabhida Stadiums will be investigated. We are also pleased to indicate that the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into the Governance Affairs of SASCOC is now in the report writing phase and its report will become available in due course. We will further strengthen the arm of the Minister of Sport and Recreation to be able to intervene decisively into these matters by bringing amendment to this house in the current session on the National Sport and Recreation Act. We also wish to highlight that we will defend the case that Solidarity brought against us and the affected National Federations to ensure that the march towards a transformed sports landscape is not scuppered.
We want to align our programmes and federations must understand our mandate clearly. Governance issues of federations are key. We are please to indicate that the Committee of Governance Affairs of SASCOC is now in the report-writing phase. On the FNB/ Moses Mabhida matters, we had approached the President for a judiciary commission of enquiry after a court challenge by the Stadium Management. They have since withdrawn the case and we are still considering the Ministerial commission. We also wish to highlight that we are defending with all our might, a case by SOLIDARITY brought against us. We will not be deterred in our work to make Sport as an instrument to unite our people and open opportunities for our youth.
Forward to an Active and winning Nation.
I CHOOSE TO BE ACTIVE; HOW ABOUT YOU!
#THUMAMINA
I Thank You.
