The Speaker, Honourable SW Lubisi
Deputy Madam Speaker, Honourable VS Siwela
Premier of our Province, Honourable DD Mabuza
Members of the Executive Council
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, Ms SP Mjwara and other Heads of Departments
CEO of Mpumalanga Sport Academy, Mr BH Skhosana
Leaders of cultural groups
Language experts
Leaders of various religious formations
Leaders of various sporting organisations
Traditional leaders
Traditional healers
Representatives of the Creative Workers Union of South Africa
Comrades and friends
Members of the media
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Today as I stand before you, we are left with 27 days to go before we host one of the biggest sporting events ever, the 2010 FIFA World Cup; and this is the year for us Africans to stand tall and celebrate our achievement. Words have been said with some quarters casting doubt over our ability to organise the World Cup but with few remaining days to go before the first whistle blows, we have proved to the rest of the world that we are indeed ready to host this glorious event and we will once more showcase our ability as organizers of high standards by delivering a World Cup that will make the rest of the world proud and leave a lasting legacy throughout our beloved continent.
As the province, our state-of-the-art Mbombela stadium is ready to host the World Cup and teams that are going to play their first-round matches in the stadium will have the luxury of playing in a world-class turf that will no doubt allow them to showcase their talent much to the delight of supporters. We have worked hard on the pitch and it now boasts a lush green world-class turf and it will indeed be the envy of many across the globe.
We will today be officially handing over the Fan Park in Hoerskool Bergvlam to FIFA and this also shows that our readiness is beyond doubt. The Fan Park is strategically located and previous concerns due to misunderstandings have been addressed and all people in the province have come to the realization of the importance of having a Fan Park so that those who cannot make it to the stadium, do not miss out on the electrifying vibe brought upon by the beautiful game.
The 2010 Ehlanzeni District Disaster Management Centre, which will be the location for all 2010 Disaster Management operations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Mpumalanga, will officially be handed over to the Host City on Saturday, 15 May. This is a state of the art centre equipped with modern disaster management equipment and is 100 percent ready for use for the 2010 event.
We will also officially open the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday, 16 May by hosting Bafana Bafana when they play against Thailand as part of their preparations for the World Cup. The mere fact that tickets for this match sold out within a 48-hour period shows that our people are hungry for international soccer. We have never as a province hosted a full international match and we will use this match to showcase our readiness for the World Cup. Football fever is felt all over the province and this is epitomised by the interest people have shown in embracing the Fly the Flag and Football Friday campaigns.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must also make use of this opportunity to urge all those people who do not as yet have tickets for any of the games to be played in Mpumalanga, to buy their tickets now! I am informed that there are still a number of tickets available for the matches of Chile against Honduras and Australia against Serbia. Do not miss out on this exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the world's best footballers in action.
We have a comprehensive transport plan in place and agreements have been entered into and signed with local bus and taxi operators who will be used to transport people to and from the stadium on match days, as well as for the duration of the event, especially when it comes to the Fan Park. Most of the signage will be going up in the next two weeks and an intensive communications campaign will be launched to inform the public of the transport plan.
Honourable Speaker, accommodation was never an issue with our province as we had adequate accommodation available to suite the pockets of all the guests who will be visiting our shores. We easily reached the FIFA specification of 19 000 beds and we are more than ready to welcome visitors to our shores whether it be in backpackers, bed and breakfast, bushlodges or exclusive upmarket hotels.
As the department, we have realised that the stadium and the Fan Park are located in the host city and thus are not accessible to all our people hence we have organised Public Viewing Areas (PVAs) in all the three regions of Mpumalanga where people will come together and watch soccer live on giant screens and be entertained by our own local artists.
The PVAs will be held in Thulamahashe Stadium in Bushbuckridge Municipality, eMbalenhle Stadium in Govan Mbeki Municipality and Themba Senamela Stadium in Steve Tshwete Municipality and entrance is free. We are encouraged by the private sector, more in particular Boxer Super Stores, for organising a Public Viewing Area in the Nkomazi Municipality and we urge other companies to follow suit and create Public Private Partnership with us so that we can organise more PVAs for our people.
Chile has chosen our province as their base for the world cup and we need to extend our support to them and make them feel comfortable while they are busy with their preparations. Our facilities are world-class and Chile will have the added advantage of being surrounded by people with warm hands who will go out of their way to make them feel at home in our province. Respected statesman, Tata Nelson Mandela, must have had Mpumalanga in mind when he said the following about South Africa during his presidency and I quote: “I know that my people will be delighted to welcome you and I think you will be enchanted by their warmth and hospitality. I am equally sure that you will enjoy our culture, our cuisine and the warmth of our people."
Honourable Speaker, this is exactly what awaits football supporters who will descend on the province to follow the fortunes of their teams. It is also these qualities that convinced the Chilean National Team to choose Mpumalanga as their base camp. As the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, we have identified and selected young people who will serve as volunteers during the world cup. The volunteers will be based at the PVAs where they will help with logistical arrangements and they will be paid a stipend and gain valuable experience that they could use to enter the job market when the World Cup ends. A total of 600 volunteers have been identified and there will be training sessions in all the regions of our province so that our volunteers can be ready for the world cup.
As the department, we are hard at work to deepen democracy in our country and ensure that sacrifices that were made by those who came before us were not in vain as the democracy that prevails today in our country was achieved through a struggle that was led by resilient warrior men and women of our population. We host the 2010 FIFA World Cup today due to relentless efforts by a generation of heroes and heroines who compromised their youth and gallantly fought to liberate our country and deliver it from the evil that the apartheid regime stood for.
We have moved throughout Mpumalanga in the last financial year taking our mandate to vast areas in the province and even though we would have loved to extend our services to every corner of the province, we could not achieve this due to budgetary constraints. However, even though we were faced with gauging winds that came in the form of the recession, Honourable Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our efforts of building a literate society are taking shape. We promised to build three new libraries in Msogwaba, Phumula and Siyabuswa and renovate a further two in eMzinoni and Wesselton last year and we achieved this.
Honourable Speaker, during our policy and budget speech last year, we promised to establish an interactive Museum which focuses centrally on the socio-political life and history of the late Mozambican President, Samora Machel. I am indeed pleased to announce to this august house that we unveiled the Samora Machel Museum as promised so that people can learn about the life and times of this African leader who died under mysterious circumstances when his plane crashed in our province.
It is a known fact that a country that forgets its heroes and heroines will not be able to tell its history and we unveiled the museum as part of preserving our rich heritage in the province and the continent. There are so many South Africans who lost their loved ones during the liberation struggle and some families to date still do not know the whereabouts of their brothers and sisters and we need to reach out to these families and assure them that we share their pain as those who perished were fighting for a non-racist, non-sexist and a democratic South Africa that will give opportunities to all who live in it and never allow one group to dominate the other. In this regard, the department of Culture, Sport and Recreation honoured one of the liberation struggle heroines, Nokuthula Simelane who was killed by the apartheid security forces but her remains have never been found to date. A life-size statue of Simelane was erected in her hometown of Bethal to honour her and we unveiled the statue in the last financial year as we promised this August House during our last policy and budget speech.
Honourable Speaker, as we promised in the last financial year, we successfully completed the permit guidelines and the directory of services for film and video projects in the province. We have great locations for the film industry and these guidelines will improve controls with regard to the services and infrastructure the province can offer to local, national and international film expos and also inform and attract film makers to Mpumalanga.
Achievements in culture, sport and recreation sectors
We are a province of achievers and we are proud to announce that we have excelled in various fields. Our very own Nothembi Mkhwebane was bestowed with the National Order of iKhamanga in Silver by Honourable President Jacob Zuma during Freedom Day for putting Ndebele music on the world stage. A KaNyamazane-based artist, Jinda, also recently won a South African Traditional Music Award for best traditional album in SiSwati. We are proud of these achievements as a department and we encourage other artists in the province to continue working hard so that they could also scale the same musical heights.
Our representative in the Absa Premier Soccer League, Mpumalanga Black Aces showed the true Mpumalanga fighting spirit when they retained their PSL status after going through rigorous National Play-Offs and we rallied behind them as the department of Culture, Sport and Recreation and we have discussed with them aspects that we are not happy with and we hope that the team will double their efforts in the new season.
Our rugby teams in the province also did us proud and Currie Cup action will no longer elude our province as our provincial team, the Pumas, has qualified for the Premier League and this will see well known teams like the Sharks, Blue Bulls and Stormers coming to the Atlantic Stadium to play against our team and we urge our people, black and white, to support the Pumas.
The Matsulu rugby team also did Mpumalanga proud by contributing 10 players to the Pumas Ladies Team for the 2010 ABSA Currie Cup season. The team and the players showed the rest of the country that Mpumalanga has a rich rugby tradition. Ons is die beste want ons werk die hardste. Deur saam te werk, doen ons meer. Somlomo, Kuliciniso kutsi tihlakaniphi tivela eMpumalanga
Archives, library and information services
Honourable Speaker, in the current financial year, we will continue to work towards eradicating the backlog of libraries in the province as the ANC-led government is committed to improve the literacy rate of our people and in this regard, we will be building four new public libraries in Hluvukani in Bushbuckridge Municipality, Silindile in Msukaligwa Municipality, Botleng in Victor Khanye Municipality and Driefontein in the Mkhondo Municipality and also upgrade libraries in Nelspruit, Mzinoni, Middelburg, KwaMhlanga and Ermelo.
The department has budgeted an amount of R25 million for this purpose and the libraries will go a long way in assisting learners and adults to improve their literacy rates. The department will this year host the National Oral History Conference which will look into recording and preserving the history of historically marginalised communities in the province and the country at large. The province has a rich history which is still not yet documented. A programme of teaching ordinary members of the community on how to research and record the oral testimonies and accounts of their communities as well as their genealogy is unfolding.
Cultural Affairs
We have set aside an amount of R900 000 to help six groups from the province to record their albums and we will also help to market these groups as we are committed to groom and expose local talent. The groups were identified during the Tjhagalani Kusephuka Tidzindzi Arts and Culture Festival that the department hosts annually in Bethal to identify talent in the province.
Honourable Speaker, we will as the department convene an Arts and Culture Indaba in August this year where we will discuss together with the arts and culture fraternity ways that we can develop and take the industry to new heights in the province. We will involve the Creative Workers Union of South Africa in the indaba as we value them and appreciate their contribution in the industry. The Indaba will be used to get a fresh mandate from artists across different genres on developing the industry and we have set aside R400 000 for this purpose. We are encouraged by comments made by local artists and crafters in the Ziwaphi edition of 29 January 2010 when they said art is more than an artistic expression as it helps to keep the wolf from the door; and we agree with this approach.
Mpumalanga Provincial Geographical Names Committee
The province of Mpumalanga continues to register significant progress second to none across the country in the area of standardising geographic names.
Honourable Speaker, our department has achieved what is called in football terms a “brace”, in that for two successive terms, we were able to successfully facilitate the transformation of 43 national geographic features across our province during the 2008/9 and the 2009/10 accounting periods. The features transformed during the 2009/10 accounting period include the following key geographic places, (one) Nelspruit to Mbombela, (two) Piet Retief to eMkhondo, (three) Belfast to eMakhazeni, (four) Machadodorp to eNtokozweni and (five), Waterval Boven to Emgwenya.
Heritage and Museums
Honourable Speaker, I am delighted to inform the House that our provincial Cabinet has endorsed a proposal by the National Heritage Council to write Mpumalanga Provincial Chapter of the National Liberation Heritage Route and identify, document and protect heritage sites linked to our Liberation Struggle and submit them to UNESCO for consideration as part of the African Liberation Heritage Route.
Our department will be the lead implementing agent of the National Liberation Heritage Route in the province. The following sites have been proposed as priority sites for the province: Gert Sibande Legacy project which commemorates the courage and defiance of this great leader who was in the frontline of the Defiance Campaign and other struggles of the national liberation; the entire Samora Machel Heritage Site and Pixley Ka Isaka Seme legacy projects which seek to memorialise and commemorate one of the founding members of the South African Native Congress (later called African National Congress) who also served as the President of the ANC in the period 1930-36.
Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa has won the rights to host the 2012 World Gold Panning Championships following the successful bidding that was made last year and this shows that the rest of the world has confidence in our hosting abilities. Dit is met trots dat ons kan aankondig dat Mpumalanga in 2012 weer eens die internasionale goudpan-kampioenskappe gaan aanbied. Die internasionale lede van die Wereld-Goudpanvereeniging het eenparig hierdie spoggeleentheid aan Mpumalanga en Suid Afrika toegestaan.
Sport and Recreation
Honourable Speaker, kulomnyaka timali lesikuwo sitawenta lucwaningo kute sitfole tinhlobo temidlalo letsandvwa kakhulu kuletigodzi letintsatfu talesifundza, bese sikhetsa tinhlobo letisihlanu temidlalo lesitawugcila kakhulu kuto kulesifundza. Loku kutawulandzelwa licebo lekutfutfukisa temidlalo lelitawusita ngekutsi itfutfukiswa njani lemidlalo lekhetsiwe, kwetfulwe tingucuko, kutimbandzakanya kwebantfu,kutfutfukiswa kwetakhiwonchanti kute bantfu bakhone kuba yincenye yalemidlalo. Sibekel'eceleni imali lengu R500 000 yekwenta lomsebenti. Sitawube sine Sports Indaba lomnyaka lehlose kutfutfukisa temidlalo kulesifundza kanye nekucinisekisa kutsi emacembu alesifundza ayabonakala, ngemibala kanye nangesicubulo sesifundza.
Honourable Speaker, as the department, we have made big strides in developing all sporting codes in Mpumalanga. We have entered into a partnership with Swimming South Africa and we have trained 40 young people in swimming in all the three regions of Mpumalanga under our Train the Trainers Programme. The 40 young people upon completion of their training will further train others on how to swim. We will continue with this programme so that we can produce swimmers in our province and this will also go a long way in addressing drowning incidents that we have experienced.
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Siyadlala Mass Participation Programme
Sitawuchubeka nekwetfula lihlelo lweSiyadlala Mass Participating Programme kubo bonke bomasipala besifundza labalishumi nesiphohlongo , kantsi kutawucashwa kwesikhashana emavolontiya langemakhulu lamabili nemashumi lasitfupha (260) babongwe ngemali lengu R1 664 njalo ngenyanga kute betfule loluhlelo. Loku kutawusita kwehlisa lizinga lebuphuya. Lamavolontiya langu 260 atawuceceshelwa lemidlalo, kuphatfwa kwayo kanye nekuyihola. Loku kutawusita ekutsaneni betfule loluhlelo ngendlela lefanele.
We will also promote positive healthy lifestyles among elderly people through a programme called Golden Oldies which will allow us to encourage elderly people to participate in recreational activities and this programme for the Aged will be implemented in all the 18 Municipalities of our province in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Development and other stakeholders. We have budgeted R8,5 million for Siyadlala Mass Participation Programme and this will allow 220 000 young people throughout the province to participate in this programme and take part in various sporting codes and we will provide attire and sporting equipment in all the 18 municipalities of our province.
School Sport Mass Participation Programme
We have also set aside R8,5 million for the School Sport Mass Participation Programme and this will enable 260 schools and 67 940 learners to participate in the programme and this is an increase of 50 schools from the previous financial year. The schools will also temporarily employ 260 Sport Assistants to implement this programme and the assistants will be paid stipends of R1 644 and this will also help to alleviate poverty. We will provide schools with attire and equipment and educators will also get technical expertise through various programmes that the department will conduct in schools.
Honourable Speaker, we are hard at work to deliver much needed services to our communities and allow me to present the 2010/11 financial year budget for the Department of Culture, Sport and Creation which is vote 12. The total budget we are proposing for approval to this august house amounts to R282,253 million (Two hundred and eighty two million and two hundred and fifty three thousand rands).
The summary of the departmental budget according to programmes is as follows:
Programme One: Administration: R86,485 million
Programme Two: Cultural affairs: R42,283 million
Programme Three: Library and archive services: R105,110 million
Programme Four: Sport and recreation: R48,375 million
Honourable Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Head of Department for Culture, Sport and Recreation, Ms Sindi Mjwara and the entire staff component of the department for their continued support as we are a dedicated team that works tirelessly to service the people of Mpumalanga and we will not rest on our laurels as people in the province expect service delivery in their areas.
I also want to take this opportunity and extend appreciation to the portfolio committee for correctly playing their role and we will heed their advice and ensure that we address issues that they raise as we value this august house and we shall always account to it.
My organisation, the ANC has always supported me and I thank them and know that indeed the people of Mpumalanga have made a correct choice by giving us a mandate to govern and we will always involve them as ours is a people's government and working together with them, we will take service delivery to new heights.
I also want to thank my family for their continued support as they are always there for me and understand when we have to spend long time attending government meetings.
In conclusion, as the Honourable Premier, DD Mabuza correctly said in the State of the Province Address, time for scamtho is no more as siya deliver manje, through action, action and more action. We will always go back to our people and communicate progress and challenges to them as we value them and in doing so Honourable Speaker, we will leave to the popular words by Amilcar Cabral when he said: tell no lies, claim no easy victories.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
14 May 2010
Source: Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za/dcsr/)
