Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Premier,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature of the North West province,
Leaders of Political Parties,
Mayors, Speakers and Councillors,
Magosi a rona a a tlotlegang,
Commissioners
Chairpersons and representatives of our public entities,
Business community, sports ambassadors and legends, artists, cultural activists and experts in various fields
Ladies and Gentlemen, our fellow citizens and communities
Avusheni! Dumelang! Groete aan almal! Greetings to all of you!
Honourable Speaker, our place in the sun has been affirmed, our position in the books of history is definite, the voices of our forefathers are still echoing in our ears, the wishes of our course are on track. Although we cannot travel without problems, Doors of Learning and Culture are slowly opening and victory is certain.
Allow me to first pass my gratitude to this house for allowing this budget vote to be tabled on 26 April as this is a symbol of a clear cut direction in celebrating our freedom month as adopted and articulated by our democratic government. This is a day before we celebrate our hard earned freedom day which we will celebrate in the village of Dinokana and to honour revolutionaries who have made possible for you and me to have the freedom that we enjoy today.
These were gallant fighters who joined Umkhonto We Sizwe in the sixties. Our department is hard at work to finalise the details and the logistics thereof which we are inviting this house and the citizens of the province.
It would also be appropriate to recognise milestones and anniversaries in the history our Mass Democratic Movement, The African National Congress (ANC) and its allied disciplined forces of the left for the wonderful work that they have delivered to this country and the African Continent.
- Twenty years since the first meeting of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, which was tasked with resolving centuries of political conflict in our country, and also with defining the transitional constitutional arrangement for a post-apartheid South Africa.
- Ninety years since the formation of the Communist Party of South Africa, now the South African Communist Party.
- Eighty years since the formation of the Bantu Women's League, the forerunner of the ANC Women's League, which leads us in the fight for the emancipation of women.
- Fifty years since the establishment of the people's army, uMkhonto we Sizwe.
- Fifty years of the receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize by ANC President-General Chief Albert Luthuli.
- Thirty-five years since the Soweto students uprising.
- 16 days ago we were commemorating Tembisile Chris Hani who was born in the rural village of Sabalele, in the Cofimvaba region of the former Transkei. His soul will aways be remembered in our quest for a democratic, non-racial and free South Africa.
Under trying circumstances they put at risk everything at their disposal; including their lives so that we can today, call ourselves a free society. These gallant fighters of our people can only find relevance in their freedom when it restores their humanity and nationhood.
Honourable Speaker, as we come before your house to table our speech, we are bearing in mind the plight of our people and challenges facing their daily lives.
Our programmes and vision create a sporting nation with a strong arts and culture practice.
Such programmes will ensure that we are able to curb the social ills that we find in our communities relating to morality and substance abuse.
In the past my predecessors have outlined to this house with regard to the importance of a change for a better life for the African Child in the areas aligned to the mandate of this department.
That an African child must benefit the fruits of our freedom in this democracy at all costs through sport, arts and culture activities. Please allow me to use the words of a Legendary Poet, Don Mattera when he talks of the adults of an African Child when they relate to oppression in his poem "We were there before"
"We removed the barriers of ignorance and isolation
No people or nations are sole architects
Of their own destinies or their own lives
We warned the seers, the high priests and the Pharaohs
And they heeded not
We washed our wounds in the Nile
We slept in the streets of Egypt
We slept under the wings of the Scarab
Yes Look at us
We have been here before"
Honourable Speaker you would agree with me that this province deserves a high recognition like other provinces in our country as opposed to the current status of drought of events and negative coverage across all spheres.
The words contained in this poem were the most appropriate ones to choose as they were said at the worst part of our lives as a country. This is the time when all pessimists had ruled any possibility of victory out, this poem kept on reverberating in our mind, body and soul.
Our spirits were never dampened, our hopes were very high, our conviction was undiluted, our revolution was becoming clearer and victory was certain.
Sport, Arts and Culture was an integral part of this and assisted to a large extent, there were voices of our people in the background singing the revolutionary songs loud and clear at all times. ‘We were there before’
These were the songs that brought us to where we are today even if there are large outcries about their meaning and interpretation.These songs are part of our heritage and history,
What needs to happen is a dialogue between the opposing groups so that there is an understanding among the people of South Africa.(Vorster shall never go to heaven………….. ‘We were there before’
As it were, our people further put together documents which for decades, will always remind us of who we are and will take us back to where it began.
When they concluded the Freedom Charter they said Let all people who love their people and their country now say, as we say ‘’These Freedoms We Will Fight For, Side by Side, Throughout Our Lives, Until We Have Won Our Liberty ! ‘We were there before’
The above mentioned utterances is the symbol of a reminder to us that we need to revive our appetite for Big Ideas for in targeting provincial, national and international events within our mandate.
Our vision
With regard to the vision, department has identified the following challenges and opportunities of which some we have already intervened Insufficient Human Resources. We have since fast tracked advertisement of posts within the Department to address this backlog. These also include the public entities as most of their term has expired.
These anomalies have created a slower pace of delivery in our programmes and plans are well underway. ‘We were there before’
Management and administration
Honourable Speaker, there is an observation of a serious low morale in the department amongst staff members. This was evident in the slow pace regarding implementation of programmes and the bad attitudes of some managers in terms of imparting information of events and programmes to the public.
In our efforts to create job opportunities and ensure a better running public service, we have intensified recruitment processes by advertising funded vacant posts.
Short listing and interviews of these posts are underway.
We have already conducted interviews of the Head of Department (HOD) post which will be finalised in due course with the Honourable Premier.
We have resolved to capacitate senior officials at the levels of Middle and Senior Management Services with extensive labour relations training to enhance and strengthen their capacity to handle labour issues.
Cultural affairs
Honourable Members, it must never leave our minds and conscience that “a nation that forgets its culture and heritage is lost forever”. The Department that I am leading has a mammoth task to support and develop nation building and social cohesion through arts and culture in this province.
During the 2010/11 financial year the Department successfully facilitated the nomination and participation of poets and traditional music groups at South African Traditional Music Annual Awards (SATMA) held in Durban.
Our Setswana Poet Mr David Leshomo won a SATMA for his category in poetry. Okanyatsa Cultural Group from Ganyesa also won the SATMA award at this event.
Honourable Members, We are proud to share with this House that for first time in South African Dance Theatre that an Educational Dance production is created in the North West Province entitled: “Celebrating South African National Orders” funded by the Department and the National Arts Council.
In our quest to sustain the legacy of the first secretary of the mother movement, Mr Solomon Tshekisho Plaatjie, the department in collaboration with that of Education and Sol Plaatjie Educational Trust held the Sol Plaatje Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture here in the capital city of the Province.
Plans are underway to host the biggest carnival in this province during heritage month followed by a series of musical events with international input.
‘We were there before’
Gateway to freedom history legacy project
The department has been leading a provincial team to undertake the gateway to freedom project over the years. On 5 and 6 April 2011 the department held a two day summit with the National Heritage Liberation Route. The aim was to map the way forward with regard to our heritage.
Mmabana Foundation and the Provincial Arts and Culture Council
Honourable Speaker, from the commencement of tenure at the department, Mmabana foundation has received my utmost attention. My observation has been that the foundation needs a complete turnaround to withstand the developmental challenges it finds itself into.
For the past years, there have not been regular productions, events and activities within the Mmabana Centres. This is because of poor management and leadership. In addition there have been allegations of corruption in Mmabana.
Already some corrective actions have been taken and some are underway which resulted in the termination of the acting position of the Acting CEO, dismissals of Director of Performing Arts, Artistic Director Dance and the Drama Tutor.
And the suspensions of the CFO and Artistic Director Dance Sport. We expect the results of the investigation in due course. This does not exclude my department and therefore I have since taken action to redeploy some managers and terminated the service of acting HOD.
Some of the issues in the department warrant forensic investigation which I am in the process of finalising in consultation with the Honourable Premier.
Provincial Arts and Culture Council (PACC)
Meanwhile, we have to find a balance with the role of Mmabana and work done by PACC with regard to support to artists.We believe strongly that the two entities should work together.This process is underway and the house shall be duly informed with regard to the outcome.
Museums and heritage
Honourable Members, we must acknowledge that museums in this province are not in a satisfactory condition, and a serious intervention is required to improve this situation and make museums accessible to the public. Community involvement is paramount.
Same as the situation with museums, the heritage sector leaves much to be desired.The department is currently creating capacity in order to address this issue.We will however need to enhance a partnership with the department of Economic Development and Tourism which deals with the environmental aspects on heritage sites.One such process is the return of the actual Taung Skull to the province.We need a secure museum prior to the relocation of the Taung Skull to the province.
NWCDI (North West Craft and Design Institute)
The North West province is a potential tourism destination.In order for the department to make a significant contribution to the tourism sector, we need to provide our artists, especially crafters, with a proper platform in assisting them with funding as well as empowerment strategies in exporting and marketing their artefacts locally and internationally.
Libraries and archives
The purpose of a library is, inter alia, to provide a wide range of books and multimedia resources to support teaching and learning throughout the developmental stages.
Libraries must be there to foster a reading and information culture that promotes independent motivated readers and learners for life. This noble idea needs to be upheld at all times so that we create a nation that is able to challenge its history.
It will be difficult to do so if our communities do not have access to such facilities. The libraries are faced with major challenges due to some of the municipalities not complying and not having capacity to build libraries. My department has identified project managers to look at the state of each library project and they will advise the department accordingly.
Our three additional mobile libraries have been purchased at a cost of R4.8m to cover areas not provided for in the library construction programme. This will promote libraries as a very important facility to obtain information and education; and also to ensure that even the most remote rural area in the province has access to this very vital facility.
Recreational centres
Honourable Speaker, recreational centres play an important role in the wellbeing of our communities. Currently my department is responsible for five recreation centres. As the focus area we also plan to upgrade all five recreation centres identified in the province.
It is our intention that the Rustenburg Recreational Centre should be expanded to provide sporting facilities. Learning from the experiences of the loss of 10 young people in Schweizer Reneke on 1st January 2011; the department will build one Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Centre in Schweizer-Reneke.
This facility will host programmes offered by the department. The day will be remembered through a festival of sport and recreation/tournaments, where young people will participate.
In line with the Deputy President’s call in Manthe Village, Taung, to alleviate poverty and to create jobs, the department has responded by building an Indoor Sports Facility and a library to promote sport and educational programmes.We believe that this will go a long way in uplifting the lives of the community in Manthe.
Honourable members, the department has commissioned the Provincial Internal Audit to do the investigation with regard to the sale of Akasia Recreation Center. This Centre used to bring economic spin offs in the province through sporting, recreational and leisure activities. The department is committing itself to reposition recreational facilities in providing equal access and opportunities to the public.
Sport and recreation
Mass Participation is one of the five Key Strategic Areas, used by National Ministry of Sport and Recreation to implement Sport and Recreation Programmes, in South Africa.
In his first meeting Honourable Minister Fikele Mbalula on 10 to 12 January 2011, outlined the “New Vision for Sport” of 2011 to 2015.
This vision is called Road Map to Optimal Performance and Functional Excellence. The vision contains:
- mass mobilisation
- recreation
- school sport
- institutional mechanism
- transformation
- and funding
Honourable Speaker,
In order to achieve the national vision we will take on board and involve the masses of our people, from all corners of the North West Province in Sport and Recreation Activities.
As enablers of Mass Mobilisation the department in partnership with National Ministry will support our national teams , Bafana Bafana, Proteas, Springboks, Banyana –Banyana and so forth, in popularising the Magnificent Friday and fly the Flag Campaigns, as part of the legacy of 2010 FIFA World Soccer Cup.
In 1995 the former State President Hon. Nelson Mandela worked hard as the international Icon to solicit support in rallying behind the Springboks, and the rest is History.
Recreation
Recreation forms the foundation for sport development towards elite level. South Africa has adopted the sport continuum with recreation being the foundation level, where athletes are identified at early age with potential, to graduate to elite level or as Olympians.
At this level, communities participate in Indigenous Games, Games for Senior Citizens and Gymnastrada. These games provide opportunities for young and older people to showcase their talent. Recreation at this level prepares athletes towards all forms of skills, such as coordination, balance, fitness and discipline.
These Games will begin from the Municipal, District and culminating into Provincial Level, where Provincial Team is selected to represent North West Province at National Level.At Present we have Indigenous Games Team which is ready to represent the province at the National Indigenous Games that are held annually in September 2011.
The team just came back from Mpumalanga province on 9 to 10 April 2011 on building Inter-Provincial relations and Social Cohesion.
In October 2010, at the National Games for Senior Citizen held in Richards Bay, Kwazulu Natal, our Golden Oldies Games Team obtained position two. The selected Provincial Gymnaestrada Team will form part of the National Delegation to represent South Africa at the World Gymnastrada Festival to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland on the 10 to 16 July 2011.
Honourable Speaker, the Benefits of participating in recreation are well documented, thereby participating in recreation improves people’s lives.
School sport
Honourable Speaker, the road map to optimal performance and functional excellence for national sport and recreation department clearly defines that school sport is an integral part of mass participation. As part of the vision for sport, Schools Sport is receiving great attention towards its revival through “Wednesdays Leagues and Tournaments”.
In the build up towards hosting of the National School Sport Summit on 26 to 28 May 2011 in Rustenburg, the department is in discussion with Honourable MEC Raymond Elisha with regard to collaboration in the affairs of school sport and development. A forum has been established from these two departments to facilitate and craft a strategy in addressing the above imperative policy direction.
The National Summit is aimed at resolving roles and responsibilities of sector Departments between Education and Sport nationally. We hope that there will be a clear policy direction towards implementation of School Sport.
Honourable Speaker, I now want to focus your attention to sport development, through institutional mechanism. As part of the vision for Sport and Road Map to Optimal Performance and Functional Excellence, my department hosted the Sport Indaba in February 2011 with various federations to outline the need for transformation. At this Indaba, federations acknowledged and committed themselves towards transformation as priority for government to allow all citizens and give opportunities for equal participation in sport development.
My department took a firm position that sport development should happen through club development or formations at local level. These clubs must affiliate to local associations within municipalities.
The role of Provincial Federations becomes necessary, as these clubs should be represented at provincial level. Through this model, talent is identified at a local level through leagues and tournaments.The result of these tournaments will culminate into Provincial Squads which will create a National Pool of Talent Development.The role of North West Sport Academy, Honourable Speaker will be then to nurture this talent through technical, scientific support and life skills, in preparing these athletes.
This model of talent development happens in partnership with provincial federations. Federations have a major role to play as they possess specialist skills in various codes of sport. The Department intends to house all provincial federations under one roof so that output in the affairs of sport development is maximised. The experience has been that most of the federations operate from the boot of their cars.
Providing accommodation will enable proper administrative system and afford them an opportunity to fully interact with the Department.
Honourable Speaker, as part of the vision for sport, the department will again host the Provincial 2011 Sport Indaba on the 11th June, spearheaded by the National Ministry.
The aim of the Sport Indaba is to allow communities and stakeholders to input into the National Sport Plan. This Indaba will feed into National Sport Indaba which will take place at end of June 2011.
Part of the vision for sport is to improve on the governance of sport provincially and nationally. The Department intends to revive and establish the Provincial Sport Council, in consultation with SASCOC before the end of this financial year.
The hosting of the National Sport Awards, by our Province is underway. These awards will take place in Sun City on 5th August 2011.The hosting of these awards is to promote North West as a tourist and sporting destination.
We have observed that the hosting of these big events only takes place in Gauteng, Kwa Zulu Natal and Western Cape.As the province we need to revive and position ourselves as the best, to host these national events. This requires close collaboration with the Department of Economic Development & Tourism, as well as North West Parks & Tourism Board.
Mahikeng stadium
Honourable Speaker, part of bringing national and international sporting events to the province require a serious revamp of the Mahikeng Stadium and other stadia around the province.Mahikeng stadium as one of the key landmarks is receiving serious attention in terms of redesigning the structure to suit the required standards for purposes of attracting national and international sporting events as well as a venue of choice.This will also contribute towards the economic development and tourism for the province.
2010 FIFA World Cup
Honorable Speaker, the benefits that were derived from the hosting of 2010 FIFA World Soccer Cup are too many to mention. South Africa and Africa were able to host this magnificent event. We have been able to demonstrate to the world that South Africa and Africa is a tourist and a sporting destination.
The support that were obtained from Former State Presidents Hon. Nelson Mandela and Hon. Thabo Mbeki and the current State President Hon. Jacob Zuma gave the country an advantage to invite as many people as possible to visit South Africa and experience the passion, hospitality and UBUNTU of our Nation.
It is proper to remind the House that North West Province hosted six matches at the Royal Bafokeng Sport Palace, during the 2010 FIFA World Soccer Cup. We want to thank everybody for their contribution in making South Africa proud.
Honourable Speaker, Disability Sport is also important in the development of our communities. We have hosted the Nedbank National Disability games in March 2011 in Rustenburg.
We hope that athletes from North West Province will form part of the National Team for London 2012 Paralympics.
Financial status
Honorable speaker, with regard to the financial management of the department it is proper to inform the house that we:
- Successfully Implemented Basic Accounting System (BAS).
- Improved compliance with the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA).
- Acquired unqualified Audit Opinion
Budget narrations (Programme allocations)
Programme one: Administration - R73 307 000
An amount of seventy three million, three hundred and seven thousand rand (R73, 307,000) is allocated to Programme one, Administration.
Programme two: Arts and Culture - R105 214 000
An amount of one hundred and five million, two hundred and fourteen thousand rand (R105 214 000) is allocated to Programme two, Arts and Culture affairs
Programme three: Library and Archives – R111 617 000
An amount of one hundred and eleven million, six hundred and seventeen thousand rand (R111, 617, 000) is allocated to programme three, library and information services.
Programme four : Sports and Recreation – R 143121 000
An amount of one hundred and forty three million, one hundred and twenty one thousand rand is allocated to programme four, Sports and Recreation.
In conclusion
I would like to thank Honourable Premier for giving me the opportunity to lead this department.
I want to thank my colleagues in the house for your support. I really appreciate it.
I want to thank the chairperson of the committee and members of portfolio committee in doing their oversight work over the department.
I want thank staff in the office of MEC for their support. A special thank you to the staff of Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation and cultural activists.
I want to thank again all officials of the department and stakeholders.
Lastly I want to thank my family and my children Innocent, Khensani and Katlego.
Lastly, I want to thank my late mother for her support. May her spirit give me strength, wisdom and humbleness.
‘We were there before’
Source: North West Provincial Government
