Honourable Deputy Speaker
Honourable Premier
Colleagues in the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Executive Mayors, Mayors and Councilors
President of SASCOC-Mr Gideon Sam
Representatives of Sport Federations and Arts and Culture Councils
Representatives of Bloemfontein Celtics and Free State Stars
Representatives of African Warriors
Soccer Legends
Management of the department
CEOs of PACOFS and Phakisa
Family of the Late Mr. Motlalepula Ntsala
Ladies and gentlemen
Comrades
In his introductory message to the ANC’s 2009 Elections Manifesto, President Zuma said; “Our constitution, inspired by the vision of the Freedom Charter, unites a nation of many languages and significant cultural, religious and socio economic diversity. We have to work together to weave the threads that will see us celebrating a nation which is non racial, non-sexist and democratic - a nation that is dedicated to pushing back the frontiers of poverty.”
The development of government’s new outcome-based performance management approach articulates the priorities determined in the ANC’s Election Manifesto. This approach emphasises the need for all spheres of government to work together to achieve one goal, namely a better life for all South Africans. It emphasises the need for national, provincial and local government to cooperate and collaborate to achieve the determined outcomes.
At a provincial level, it also enhances the coordination of joint planning and implementation initiatives between provincial government departments.
One of the 12 determined outcomes is the achievement of an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship. This outcome speaks to the core responsibilities of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation and indeed reflects the reality that the Department is one of the critical threads that will achieve our vision of the nation that we are building.
In his State of the Nation Address, President Zuma declared 2010 as the Year of Action and demanded that; “Government must work faster, harder and smarter.” This was emphasised by the honourable Premier in his State of the Province Address. The Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation can declare boldly that it is ready to meet the challenges set out by the president and the honourable premier.
We will ensure that the year 2010 is characterised not only by the execution of our internal vision and mission. In fact, we are committed to ensure that we actively engage and collaborate with our partner departments such as Education and Health to ensure the achievement of all determined priority outcomes. We are convinced that our relationship with local and district municipalities throughout the Free State will ensure that we further enhance and strengthen the coordination and implementation of programmes aimed at furthering our transformation agenda. Our provincial department will also meet our obligations in pursuit of the achievement of the priority outcomes that relate to our two national departments, namely Sport and Recreation South Africa and the Department of Arts and Culture.
We are under no illusion that we will have to work tirelessly to meet our obligations in the respective service delivery forums and to achieve the key outcomes that will be set out in the service delivery agreements that will soon be concluded.
It is therefore appropriate to reflect that the department has formulated a new vision statement, namely; “Championing social transformation”. This vision is enhanced by the revised mission statement that positions the Department to achieve the creation of an enabling environment for social cohesion and nation building by;
i) establishing structures of civil society to improve levels of governance and administration with Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation
ii) implementing inclusive programmes that enhance and retain Free State talent and capacity within sport, arts, culture and recreation as well as ensuring developmental pathways towards healthy lifestyles and excellence
iii) promoting intra and inter participation and cooperation within all spheres of government
iv) promoting sport, arts, culture and recreation tourism within and into the Free State province.
The global economic recession require of us to think dialectically and approach solutions to today’s problems in an integrated manner. Quite frankly, we have to find new and innovative ways and means to increase the value we derive from our available resources. There can be no doubt that our collaborative approach is one of the key elements to achieving success in this regard. Whilst it is tempting to view the core responsibilities of this department as dispensable in times of economic crisis and hardship, the opposite should in fact be acknowledged.
Our ability to create an enabling environment within which sport, recreation, arts and culture can and are practiced in our society remain fundamentally important during these challenging times. These are the threads that create hope and optimism for a better future and also constitute some of the indispensable building blocks to achieving our vision of a united, prospering South Africa. We also send our condolences to Jerry Segwaba’s family on the passing away of his father, may his soul rest in peace.
General Overview of the budget
Honourable Deputy Speaker, in the presentation of this budget vote of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation we set out to give a brief overview of some of our achievements during the past financial year. We will further outline the future trajectory that this function will take through commitments and projects for the 2010/11 financial year.
The total budget allocation for the Department for the 2010/11 financial year is R373.4 million. The allocations to the four respective programmes are as follows:
1) Administration: R42.6 million
2) Cultural Affairs: R87.9 million
3) Library and Archive Services: R84.2 million
4) Sport and Recreation: R158.5 million
This budget includes the conditional grant payment of R73.3 million. Library and archive services receives R45.197 million of the conditional grant with a further R28.186 million going to sport and recreation.
The total infrastructure budget is R100.878 million. This allocation is divided as follows:
1) New projects: R34.691 million
2) Rehabilitation/Upgrading: R19.462 million
3) Recurrent maintenance: R 3.197 million
4) Transfers to Municipalities: R43.528 million
I will now deal with the individual budget programmes of the department.
Programme 1: Administration
This programme provides support to the rest of the department to ensure that we achieve the promotion, development and transformation of sport, arts, culture and recreation in the province.
The department has sustained its efforts to ensure the continued effective management of its financial and human resources. The Southern Africa Institute of Government Auditor’s (SAIGA) Awards introduced the Annual Public Sector Reporting Awards to recognise the pursuit of excellence in annual reports published by all provincial and national departments. Allow me to list the achievements of the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in respect of the 2009 awards.
1) The department’s score of 95.90% is the highest score ever recorded by a department since the Awards’ inception in 2002
2) The department achieved the overall highest score for 2009
3) We became the first department to win two years in succession and
4) We took second place on the list of most consistent performance by provincial and national departments over the past three financial years.
It is appropriate that I acknowledge the individual and collective efforts of the responsible staff members, under the leadership of respective accounting officers and the chief financial officer, that have brought about these significant achievements.
I should also take this opportunity to suggest that the honourable MEC responsible for Finance consider developing an appropriate incentive scheme linked to the determination of budget allocations to recognise and reward such achievements. This will further motivate and encourage public servants and departments in general to continuously improve and maintain the quality financial management services that we require.
We are, however, not complacent and continue to strive to improve and sustain our achievements. In this regard, the appointment of the Chief Risk Officer of the department and the approval and implementation of the Risk Management Charter, Policy and Plan will contribute to the achievement of our determined targets as we pursue the goals of Operation Clean Audit by 2014.
Programme 2: Cultural Affairs
Honourable Deputy Speaker, the strategic goal of programme 2 is the promotion, development and transformation of Arts, Culture, Museums, Heritage and Language Services in order to contribute to sustainable economic growth and opportunities, nation building, good governance and social and human capital development.
Our mandate essentially speaks to the promotion of social cohesion and nation building. In his reply to the debate on the State of the Province Address, the honourable premier urged us to accept the truth in the statement of President Zuma when he said; “We are a people with a certain history and working together, we must forge a future of unity, togetherness and a common heritage which accepts the history of this country in its totality.”
One of the injunctions arising from the Premier’s State of the Province Address is that the department will assume responsibility to convene a broad summit with stakeholders and role-players in the provincial cultural sector.
In this year of action we are indeed not wasting any time to ensure that the accumulated historical backlogs of the past decades and centuries are addressed. Starting from April this year, we will commence with the research and preservation of the history of the majority of our people which has traditionally been marginalised. As we approach the centenary of one of the oldest liberation movements in the world, the African National Congress (ANC), we will use this occasion to, amongst others;
1) Research the historical roots of this movement in the Free State with the intention of reinvigorating the debates and creating awareness of the historical importance of the birthplace of this historical movement.
2) Initiate the process to encourage the declaration of the ANC’s birthplace or venue as a National Heritage Site.
3) Upgrade the now degraded old graveyard in Bloemfontein where the graves of the founding fathers of the ANC in the Free State are located.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, this is part of the work that still must be done. This is part of our unfinished business as this government. Certainly, our heritage, symbols and monuments must be visible, as a powerful nation building tool. We must concede that we have been very slow in creating new national or provincial monuments since the ushering in of democracy in 1994.
Through our Heritage and Museums Unit, we will embark on this task in partnership with external organisations and persons.
As part of the drive to enhance social cohesion and nation building, we have started a process of promoting our National Symbols in the province. National Flags have been installed at the entry points of the towns of Ficksburg and Jagersfontein and will be rolled out to other towns in the Free State. National Flags were also widely distributed during the 2009 FIFA Confederation Cup matches and we will continue with this campaign during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In order to realise our vision to preserve heritage and history in its totality in the Free State, the Heritage and Museums Unit will also realise the achievement of the following goals during the new financial year:
1) Clustering and re-theming of three museums into new generation museums, namely: Riemland (Heilbron), Pellissier (Bethulie) and Niek van Niekerk (Boshoff) museums.
2) Manuscripts that were collected from various writers during Macufe Wordfest 2008 will be published at the beginning of 2011. The publication will be called “Mokolokotwane”.
3) The promotion of multilingualism will continue to be given further impetus in the province. Consultation processes with various departments on the implementation of the Free State Provincial Language Policy will commence in May 2010 and the implementation of the Policy will take place during the 2010/11 financial year.
4) As part of the process of enhancing the language policy, the Provincial Writers Association and Provincial Language Forum will be established during this financial year. The purpose of these bodies is to evaluate the language policy and provide expert advice on the policy. The Sesotho Soccer Dictionary has been completed and will be launched during May 2010 for usage during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, in October 2009 the Basotho Cultural Village celebrated its 15th Anniversary and the Friends of the Village Association were officially launched. This Association is made up of 83 members and aims, amongst others, to provide cultural practitioners of the Free State with a voice in how cultural issues are presented at the Basotho Cultural Village. Quarterly seminars where cultural issues will be discussed by knowledgeable people are planned under the umbrella of Friends of the Village Association.
Infrastructure development, specifically the restaurant and conference hall at the village, has been completed. Our annual cultural competitions, which include gospel music competitions, drama competitions, Dithoko le Dithothokiso, Monyanyako, traditional dance and indigenous games, form an integral part of life at the Basotho Cultural Village.
In order to create more jobs and contribute to the economic upliftment of the area of QwaQwa, programmes such as puppet shows, horse and cart riding, drumming sessions as well as our own traditional dances, like mohobelo and mokgibo, will be packaged to form part of the village tours. These activities will provide income to about 40 residents of QwaQwa.
Let me take this opportunity to invite you to the celebration of the African New Year according to the calendar of Basotho. This will be celebrated on 1 August 2010 at Basotho Cultural Village.
The Visual and Performing Arts services are also at the centre of our arts and culture programme. For quite some time this Department has only been known for Macufe when it comes to arts and culture matters or the visual and performing arts. In recent years this picture has slowly but surely been corrected.
During the 2009/10 financial year, the department facilitated SMME workshops in Hennenman and Jagersfontein whilst training workshops in contemporary dance and drumming were offered to community based groups in the Motheo and Thabo Mofutsanyana Districts. The Zamdela Arts and Culture Centre also celebrated its 10th Anniversary last month and the impact of the Centre on the community of Zamdela and Fezile Dabi was broadly showcased through cultural performances and exhibitions. We also partnered with the Department of Education and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to deliver an environmental awareness programme called ‘Baswa le Metsi’.
Other innovative programmes implemented by the department include the launch of the inaugural Disability Dance Competition last month in Welkom which saw 350 disabled dancers from across the country participating in the competition. Ten Ballroom and Latin American dance couples from the Mmabana Community Arts Centre competed in the South African Dance Foundation’s SA Championships in Cape Town. Five couples qualified to compete at the World Championships Series, which will take place in Singapore in August 2010.
A successful Macufe 2009 was hosted from 2 to 11 October 2009. With the support and funding from the Free State Provincial Arts and Culture Council, we hosted a developmental performance programme called PACC Macufe Home Brew programme. This programme showcased the talent of the Free State on stage at the Macufe Craft Market.
Beyond Macufe, the need exists to develop and promote artists and crafters of note who can represent our province on any global platform of artistic expression. The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents us with that kind of platform to showcase the artistic talent that exists in our province.
The new financial year will see the implementation of a range of projects that will further enhance the development of visual and performing art and artists. Some of these projects will include:
1) The Bochabela Strings Programme, in partnership with the University of the Free State, will be hosting the Violet Orchestra from Belgium. The orchestra will combine with Bochabela Strings to present concerts in different towns of the Motheo and Xhariep Districts. They will also be presenting music workshops to beneficiaries of the Mangaung Strings Programme outreach in Xhariep and Motheo Districts.
2) Craft development will be given specific extension. This will include the extension of Craft SMME Business Performance Improvement training to all five districts. The participation of Craft SMMEs at the International Craft Exhibition under the South African Handmade Collection programme as well as the participation of Free State crafters in the monthly Flea Market to be hosted by Free State Women in Tourism will be supported.
The implementation of Tsa Setso Craft Development programme will be concluded this year with the remaining deliverables to be completed by December 2010. A Craft Emporium will be established in Bloemfontein and its construction will run over a period of two financial years.
3) The Thabong Community Arts Centre will continue to lead the delivery programme for disabled dancers through the pilot project in the Lejweleputswa District.
4) The Performing Arts Development Programme for the five districts will be convened at Mmabana Cultural Centre.
5) Monthly showcasing of Motheo performing, visual arts and craft skills at Bochabela Boxing arena and Bloemfontein Zoo in partnership with the Motheo Municipality.
6) Development and nurturing workshops will be staged for Educators to develop drama, traditional music, poetry, praise poetry and posters for the district, provincial and national competition of Baswa le Metsi programme of Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
7) We will also be implementing the Wednesday Arts, Culture and Heritage programme in schools. The programme will be piloted in Lejweleputswa District due to the fact that schools in that district have already started engaging with the department through the Thabong Community Arts Centre.
8) District Arts Festivals will be held as the official auditions for local artists to take part in Macufe 2010. These auditions will be handled as festivals in themselves to build the hype and gather local support for Macufe.
9) We will also continue our cooperation with and support of PACOFS.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, it should, however, be noted that a number of challenges remain that will inhibit our ability to maximise the development of arts and culture in the province. These challenges are primarily resource-based and will affect the extent of the services we render with regard to specific arts and culture projects. The department will also continue to be challenged by its high vacancy rate.
Programme 3: Library and Archives Services
The strategic goals of Programme 3 include the development, transformation and promotion of sustainable library information and archive services. Library services worldwide are changing. The advent of the Internet and World Wide Web coupled with the rise of Google and other profit information brokers challenged library personnel to re-define their roles and reposition themselves in the global information economy. Many predicted the demise of libraries and books.
Technological advances have, however, opened many doors for libraries, not only to generate new ways of service delivery, but also to transform and renew traditional library values. Libraries remain the gateways to learning, reading and information resources which form the foundation of shared knowledge societies. They bridge the information and digital divide to realise the ideals of a developmental and democratic society with an empowered citizenry who can participate meaningfully in civil life.
Libraries in the Free State are positioned as learning centered institutions where the traditional functions of learning, education, information and recreation are integrated to support government’s priorities of quality education for all, skills development for an empowered workforce, decent and sustainable job opportunities as well as facilities and infrastructure which enhance community life in all human settlements, including rural communities.
The department currently provides library and information services at 170 facilities of which 139 constitute standard library buildings and the rest are housed at schools, hospitals, prisons and similar institutions. Standard library buildings with study areas, computer facilities and activity halls provide an enabling environment for learning and reading. An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure at all libraries provides online public access to the Internet and World Wide Web and a large variety of electronic information resources, which can support and enhance learning and reading. Social networks provide new opportunities to promote a culture of reading and learning. Libraries have more than 800000 registered users and approximately 3 million people visit libraries annually.
During the 2009/10 financial year the three year roll-out programme to provide all libraries with an ICT infrastructure continued and will be maintained and expanded in the new financial year. ICT provides Internet connectivity in even the remotest communities and the traditional print collection of books and periodicals were expanded with access to electronic publications. The provision of electronic readers will be investigated in the coming year. The ICT infrastructure also enhances and supports services such as government information and business information. The provision of the ICT infrastructure is made possible with a grant from the national Department of Arts and Culture.
Thirty community libraries were provided with photocopiers, which bring the number of libraries with photocopiers to 106. Audio-visual equipment, which can be used for educational and recreational activities, was provided to 10 libraries. The book collection at libraries was expanded with approximately 50 000 new books, which include study materials, books in indigenous languages and South African and African history and literature. A special collection of South African classic titles, which was re-published by the National Library of South Africa, was distributed to all libraries in the province.
The Free State developed A re Ithutheng Reading Programme, which supports the national Kha Ri Gude literacy campaign and is linked to the determined outcome of improving literacy and numeracy skills. This programme was implemented at 15 libraries and in the coming financial year it will be expanded to 15 more libraries.
The Library Service Programme contributed to job creation and skills development in the province by filling 52 posts at libraries and providing a variety of training programmes to library staff. This brings the total number of posts filled and maintained since 2007/08 to 135. By appointing additional staff at libraries, access to services and service delivery are improved because library hours can be extended to meet community needs. The need for qualified library staff is addressed through a bursary programme. In 2009, 19 bursaries were awarded and in 2010, ten more will be allocated.
The architect of the Selosesha Public Library, Prof Bannie Brits, received an award for the excellent design of the library. The fact that the library has become one of the busiest in the Province is proof of the success of the design, which brought together a variety of services from a toy library for pre-schoolers to a study space for university students in one flowing space.
In support of the 2010 World Cup, 2010 information desks with countdown boards were established at all libraries in 2007/08. Library users could follow the build-up to 2010 through information brochures, newsletters and websites on the World Wide Web. In 2009 a writing competition, Write-2-Read, with football as theme, was held. The department wishes to congratulate the winners in all categories, but especially Alfezenzo Sethole of the Koffiefontein High School who won the poetry prize. Library Week 2009 was also devoted to 2010 and celebrated the upcoming event with a variety of activities that included marketing, tourism and entrepreneurial activities.
During this financial year the department will implement the following projects in support of government’s priorities:
1) Infrastructure development
The new library in Ngwathe-Edenville will be completed and opened. The construction of the Ratanang-Jacobsdal Library will start. Planning of libraries in Qibing, Khubetswana, Mofulatshepe and Luckhoff will be done and construction will commence in 2011. Eight library buildings will be upgraded, including the Riebeeckstad Library that was closed for a couple of years. Infrastructure projects like these contribute to rural development and township renewal and also to job creation. The budget for these infrastructure projects is R14 million.
2) ICT infrastructure
The ICT infrastructure at 170 libraries will be maintained to ensure continued access to electronic information and learning resources for all communities. This infrastructure is budgeted at R10million.
3) Library Material
The collection of library materials will be maintained with the procurement of approximately 90000 new items. The collection will focus on learner and teacher support resources, indigenous languages, healthy lifestyles, South African literature and history and general reading material to support the development of reading skills and a culture of reading. Subscriptions to periodicals, newspapers and electronic publications will be maintained. The budget for collections in the 2010/11 financial year is R10 million.
4) Facilities and Equipment
Ten libraries will receive audio-visual equipment and a further 10 will be provided with new furniture. Photocopiers will be provided and existing equipment will be maintained. Security at libraries will be upgraded with burglar alarm systems at 38 libraries, security services at ten libraries, security fences at nine libraries and electronic security gates at six libraries. In this way the programme contributes to government’s priority to create a safe and secure environment for all. Directional signs to improve access to facilities will be provided in four municipalities. Community vegetable gardens to contribute to food security will be established at 15 libraries. The total budget for the above facilities at libraries for the 2010/11 financial year is R6.5 million.
5) Special Services
The following special services to support quality basic education will continue to unfold in the libraries:
a) Toy libraries in support of pre-school education will be established at Philippolis, Edenville, Sedibeng, Kutlwanong and Trompsburg libraries.
b) Literacy corners with special reading materials to support adult literacy learners will be established at five libraries. This will bring the number of libraries with literacy corners to 60.
c) Special services for visually handicapped persons will be established at 15 libraries. Digital audio readers and computers with special software will be provided.
d) The National Symbols Awareness Programme that started in 2009/10 will continue, with the programme being presented at 25 libraries during 2010/11.
An amount of R1million has been allocated for these special services.
In terms of the library Employment and Skills Development Programme, nine Libraries will be assisted with additional staff and 135 posts will be maintained in the new financial year. Training programmes will be facilitated and the bursary programme will be maintained. R16million has been budgeted for recruitment, maintenance and training of library personnel for the next financial year.
Honourable Speaker, as we have stated before, the Archive Services Sub-Programme renders an important support service to all government departments and municipalities to ensure transparent and accountable governance and administration. Proper records management forms the basis of sound archival collections. The Free State Archive assists government departments and municipalities with this function by training record managers, developing filing systems and regularly inspecting records management offices.
A joint project was undertaken with the Heritage Services Directorate and the Awareness Publishing Group to publish books on Free State struggle heroes. Books about Fezile Dabi, Thabo Mofutsanyana and Albert Nzula will be published in March 2010 and will be made available at all community libraries in the Province.
Speaker, programme three receives the following allocation for the 2010/11 financial year:
* Equitable share: R29692000 00
* Conditional Grant: R45197000 00
* Infrastructure: R15677000 00
The total allocation for this programme is R90.566million.
Programme 4: Sport and Recreation
The honourable premier correctly reminded us in the State of the Province Address that our participation and achievement in sport and recreation are inherently linked to the promotion of nation building and social cohesion. The State of the Province address also enjoined us to use this mandate to; “bridge the cultural and ethnic divides between our people and inculcate a sense of belonging; to bring people together; to promote inclusion and participation of people from various walks of life”.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, as the department we have indeed begun this year as the year of action. As we move closer and closer to the 2010 FIFA World Cup we are hard at work to ensure that sport and recreation in totality, inclusive of arts and cultural affairs, will form an integral part of our showcasing during this tournament and benefit from and enhance this global spectacle.
To that end, at the very beginning of this year, we took concrete action with regard to sport management and development in our province. On 15 January, we officially launched the Free State Sport Confederation. We are the second province in the country to have done so. The official launch of this body follows the meeting which convened late last year where all the stakeholders who are the constituent parts of this Sport Confederation met to adopt a Constitution and elected the Executive Committee.
The Free State Sport Confederation is the macro structure for the management and control of sport and recreation in the province. The main objective of this structure is to ensure proper and well coordinated sport programmes in the province, good governance and intensified partnerships amongst all stakeholders. The structure comprises of Provincial Sport Federations; Local and District Municipality Sport Councils; the Free State Academy of Sport; tertiary, school and Disabled Sport bodies. A strong link between the Department and athletes, whose objective is the promotion of sport and recreation, will be enhanced by this structure. I want to assure this august House and the people of the Free State that with this structure, towards and beyond 2010, we will begin to see a revolutionary shift in sport development at grassroots level in this province.
When we launched the Free State Sport Confederation we also deemed it fit to honour our athletes who have performed well at various levels of sport competitions. We further acknowledged the Berlin three who have done us proud on a global scale during the 2009 IAAF World Championships.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, our goal is to ensure mass participation in sport and recreation. As I hinted earlier, sport and recreation has a developmental role to play in our society. With the economic downturn out of which we are just emerging, the social, psychological and physical burdens of underdevelopment and poverty on the shoulders of communities cannot be underestimated. The resultant social ills of crime, alcohol and drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, women and child abuse and sexually transmitted diseases resulting from unsafe sex practices, are to be expected as communities feel disempowered by their material conditions. The consequential impact of these social ills on the fiscus is evident from the increasing needs of the police, social development, health and various other departments.
Whilst we cannot assert that sport and recreation is the panacea to all these problems, undoubtedly this function has a tremendous role to play in alleviating the above social and economic challenges. Sport and recreation must be empowering to communities even in the face of the most disempowering economic climate. A conducive environment must be created for the masses of our people to actively participate in sport and recreation for psychological and physical empowerment. As the saying goes, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop a child in sport is a child out of court.
Ke ka hoo re tlo kenyang selemong sena sa ditjhelete mabala a dippadi tse fapaneng a robedi ka hara profinsi re kenyeleditse hara dibaka tse ding Mokwallo (Vredefort), Lehaeng labana la Leratong (QwaQwa) Ntha (Lindley) Van Stadensrus (Naledi) le dibaka tse ding tse re dumelaneng katsona dikopanong tsaka le bo masepala. Re sebeletsa le ho Kenya di multi-purpose center tse pedi ka hara Foreistata.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, through the Mass Participation Programmes in the department, namely Siyadlala, School Sport and Club Development, we made it possible for the province to promote sport and recreation activities in communities and schools using the mass participation conditional grant. The purpose of this grant is the promotion of mass participation within communities through a number of selected activities and the empowerment of communities and volunteers to manage these activities in conjunction with stakeholders.
The impact of the grant is that communities throughout the Free State province were provided with an opportunity to participate in sport and recreation activities, of which the benefits are:
1) to reduce the level of crime, the health bill and create a culture of sport and recreation
2) to enhance self esteem through life skills programmes and to empower coaches, administrators, managers, technical officials and athletes
3) to achieve overall improvement of physical fitness and increase the number of participants, in line with the vision of our province to keep our communities active and well informed.
During the current financial year, significant gains were made in our sustained efforts to realise the objectives of sport and recreation. Some of these gains can be illustrated as follows;
1) Dihlopha tse pedi tsa profesional, eleng Bloemfontein Celtic le Free State Stars, each received one million rand as financial support from the department. Afican Warriors le yona re tla efa R1m ele khothatso ha e finyella ho kena PSL ka di play off tse qalang Venda ka laboraro. Re se re hlophisitse dibese ho isa batshehetsi.
2) Dihlopha tse leshome le metso e tsheletseng tsa Vodacom League and National First Division, eleng Maluti FET College, Botshabelo FC, Tower United, Bloemfontein Young Tigers, Harrismith United, Liverpool BTX, Milan United, Mangaung City, Super Eagles, Welkom Real Hearts, Moving Spurs, Free State Arsenal, Roses United, Sasol Juventus, Hellas FC, Harmony FC, African Warriors, Karara FC and United FC each received approximately R52 000.
3) The Civil Servants Games were held during November 2009 at the Mangaung Outdoor Sport Centre. The department hosted the Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts and Culture as part of the initiatives undertaken to promote and sustain inter-governmental relations and the wellness programme for employees.
4) The Provincial Indigenous Games were held during August last year in Zastron where a provincial team was selected to participate in the national competition.
5) The OR Tambo Games were held in Matjhabeng during October 2009. 1 800 athletes participated in these games.
6) Furthermore, the elderly had an opportunity to participate in the golden games under the theme “Celebrating active ageing” at the provincial level. These games for the elderly culminated into a national competition held during October 2009.
The department will continue to support and partnerships with sport clubs and federations will continue to be our torchlight towards enhancing mass participation in sport by our communities.
To ensure full and meaningful participation in sport and recreation by all communities we continue to work towards having Hubs in all 84 towns of our province instead of only the 33 hubs that serve as centres for community participation in localities. We are also assisting the Sport Councils with resources to realise this objective of mass participation in sport and recreation.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, yes indeed the 2010 FIFA World Cup is upon us. In the words of Honourable Premier Magashule in the State of the Province Address, I quote: “The road to 2010 has been long, starting with the heartbreak of losing the 2006 World Cup bid to the elated celebrations when the 2010 winning bid was announced. Finally, Africa and South Africa, will take its rightful place to stage the world’s biggest sporting event”, close quote.
We are confident that, even towards the last few weeks before the kick-off, our ability to stage major sporting tournaments will stand the test of time when we host this tournament. The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the litmus test for our readiness. We emerged unfazed by the challenges. Despite our successful staging of this event, as well as the draw held in Cape Town, Afro-pessimists remain unmoved.
In our Province we were able to experience the passion of our people for the 2010 FIFA World Cup during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. We staged the 2010 World Cup Mass Mobilisation campaigns during May 2009 in the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality. We further successfully staged the Confederation Cup Public Viewing Areas at Phakisa in Welkom and Charles Mopedi Stadium in QwaQwa during June 2009.
As part of our programme to create hype about the 2010 FIFA World Cup we are currently engaged in the 32 Schools 2010-Mini Soccer World Cup, which involve schools from across the province. The programme was launched in October last year at Phakisa. The official opening ceremony for these games was held on 5 February 2010.
Honourable Deputy Speaker, may I again extend my condolences to the family of Motlalepula Ntsala, a Grade 11 learner at Boitumelo Secondary School in Ficksburg. Mr Ntsala suffered a critical injury during one of the matches played as part of this 32 Schools Mini World Cup tournament. I hope the family of Mr Ntsala, who are here with us, have found comfort in the knowledge that their son passed on while doing what he enjoyed most that is playing soccer.
As part of our mobilization campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup we have also introduced the Dlala Ntombazana Mini Soccer World Cup for girls. This tournament will certainly add more flavour to the 2010 soccer fever that has engulfed our country.
Deputy Speaker, true to the call to action, we also started this year with a landslide move regarding sport science services in the Province when we opened the first Local Talent Development Centre and the District High Performance Centre in the province. These two centres were opened last month at the Charles Mopeli stadium in QwaQwa. We are on track to open the Local Talent Development Centre in every Local Municipality and the District High Performance Centre in every District Municipality of the Free State.
Through these centres, we want to address the challenge to systematically identify, develop and retain the raw young talent that must eventually represent not only the school or sport club, but also the Free State province and, eventually, the country at various levels of sport competitions.
Honourable members will recall that we have for years been battling with the fact that sport science and injury rehabilitation services could not be accessed by many of our people, as these services have only been available at the Free State Sport Science Institute in Bloemfontein. Through the District High Performance Centres we are therefore decentralising these services to the district level in order to be accessed by our athletes.
These centres are opened in collaboration with the following partners: the Free State Sport Academy; District and Local Municipalities; Provincial Sport Federations; District and Local Sport Councils; Corporate Partners; National as well as International Partners.
It is important to note that there will be a link between the Local talent Development Centre, the District High Performance Centre as well as the Free State Sport Science Institute. This is the result of the fact that the operation of these institutions will be guided by a talent development strategy, which is informed by a talent development continuum. According to the talent development continuum, an athlete will move from a particular lower level of identification and development to a higher level of sport science development and participation which will be located at the level of the Free State Sport Science Institute.
The Free State Sport Science Institute will be the pinnacle of sport science development for our athletes who have to perform at an elite level. The Institute has continued to play this pivotal role as it has done during previous financial years. Several provincial sport teams have received sport science assistance at the Institute. These include, amongst many others, Vodacom Cheetahs, Amateur Free State Cricket team, Free State Women’s Hockey, Free State Stars Football Club and the Roses United Football Club.
Individual athletes have also received assistance at the Institute. Amongst many of these outstanding athletes are the cyclist H Stroebel, Springbok rugby players Jongi Nokwe, Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussouw as well as the boxer Nelson Ntsali.
The sport participation and achievements that we have mentioned here speak volumes about the role of sport science in the lives of athletes. Sport science will therefore continue to be the dominant feature in our programmes. The fact that 2 335 provincial athletes receive sport science services at the Institute also is testimony about the quality and value of this service to individual athletes.
Conclusion
Honourable Deputy Speaker, as we commit ourselves to the programmes I have presented, we are mindful of the enormity of the challenges that are confronting us. Economic pressures of the recessionary environment that the entire world has been subjected to, will obviously not make it easy for financial and other necessary resources to be fully allocated to implement all our programmes at once. The reality of the backlogs that we have to address under these circumstances require of us to become more creative and innovative so that we ensure that our urban disadvantaged communities as well as rural and farming communities continue to benefit from the expansion of our quality services.
Mindful of these challenges, we draw strength from the achievements we have recorded so far. We take a resolute stand that we will continue to build on these achievements. I have faith and confidence in our stakeholders who have stood side by side with us during the better part of this journey. My bones are usually reliable, sometimes I confuse intuition with instinct but have since learnt that intuition tells me what’s likely to happen and instinct tells me what’s likely to happen if I am not careful. So I always endeavour to work for the best interest of our people by not engaging in a popularity contest or doing things that are popular. My focus has and will always be on matters of substance.
With support and encouragement from all of our stakeholders I have no doubt that we will succeed in our vision to champion social transformation. After all, Deputy Speaker, the famous Mohammed Ali said; “Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, and a vision.”
Deputy Speaker when you do not know where you are going any road that you take will take you there and you will not recognize or know when you have arrived or not.
I thank you.
