Sport and Recreation: Minister's Budget Speech

VOTE 17: SPORT AND RECREATION BUDGET SPEECH BY MINISTER M.A. STOFILE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY,

27 MAY 2008

KE NAKO

MADAME SPEAKER / HONOURABLE CHAIRPERSON
CABINET COLLEAGUES
HONOURABLE MEMBERS
ESTEEMED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

“We the people of South Africa, Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity”. (Preamble to the Constitution of the RSA)

This Constitution enjoins us to “Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights”. And the nail is sealed in Section 33 of our Constitution where this foundation to our democracy enjoins us that: “National legislation must be enacted to give effect to these rights”.

While Parliament adopted our Constitution in 1996 by a unanimous vote of all Political Parties, what is not unanimous it seems to me, is how to achieve the ideals articulated in the Constitution; the dream for whose attainment so many great sons and daughters of our land sacrificed so much for so long. The prize for which the ship of the struggle for freedom scoured every rock and withered every storm!

As the term of office of this Parliament and Government is approaching its end, it is most opportune for us that we take stock of the gains that we have made since the last financial year in making sport accessible to all; providing sports facilities; empowering young persons with requisite skills and, of course, evaluate progress made in the transformation of sport in particular, but also of society in general. We have persistently and correctly said that sport can forge social cohesion. What we now need to ask ourselves is how far have we progressed in attaining our stated goals on these issues? During this time, we must also say what we will further do or do differently to speed up the attainment of our goals.

At his State of the Nation Address, President Thabo Mbeki said “More than at any other time, the situation that confronts our nation and country, and the task we have set ourselves, demand that we inspire and organize all our people to act together as one, to do all the things that have to be done, understanding that in a very real sense, all of us, together, hold our own future in our hands”.

Our sport has in the past year experienced mixed fortunes. The glorious moment of winning the IRB World Cup in France last October is an event that has reverberated across the world. The success of our Cricket Team in their recent games in India and at home has been quite impressive. Our Wheel-Chair Basket Ball team has had another successful season. So have our Men’s Hockey Team, our Swimming Team and a number of other codes that won major championships. Individuals like Trevor Immelman and James Kante have also made us proud in Golf. James Kante’s success in the Sunshine Tour’s Seekers Pro – Am at Dainferny, Spain, where he shot a pair of 68’s and 67 for a 203 total to pick up the first prize is very significant. The last black South Africans to achieve similar successes are Papwa Sewgolum who won the Dutch Open three times (1959, 1960 and 1964) and Vincent Tshabalala who captured the French Open in 1976. This was some 50 and 30 years ago! We also wish to congratulate Annie Kloppers on being accredited by IFNA, as an International Netball Umpire. This gives South Africa its second person in that category after Maggie Du Plessis.

At the level of School Rugby, the Grey College in Port Elizabeth has selected young Bethe to become their first black captain in 150 years! Mr Peter De Villiers became the first Black National Rugby coach in South Africa since the 19^th century! Surely, these are some positives in the transformation of things in South Africa. They should make all of us proud and motivate us to do even more.

We warned last October that our annexing of the World Cup in Rugby should not be squandered like in 1995. There is no indication that anyone listened. Even as the route of Honour of the World Champions was arranged, it needed political intervention to avoid being a totally elitist affair. Power relations in the economy as well as ideological resistance to change were starkly glaring in the arrangements.

The selection of the Cricket Team to Bangladesh and India gave rise to an ugly spat on transformation issues. This, exposed what we have always been arguing, that most of our sports federations do not have a transformation agenda, except on paper only. In the process, players were manipulated to make anti-change statements which, I am sure they hardly understood as they were not statements from the heart. Our players and administrators need to know that transforming sport is not negotiable. It is part of our Constitutional mandate and Government agenda.

Our soccer Teams have not done well. The spark of brilliance of Bafana Bafana is still not where we want it. Banyana Banyana continues to be the Cinderella of Soccer, just like their counter-parts in Rugby and Cricket. Our Junior teams show great potential. But the malaise of non-availability of players when coaches want them refuses to go away and frustrated coaches have to do with makeshift teams. This is unacceptable. The nation is bigger than the club. “The tribe must die for the nation to live” as Samora Machel would say.

We take this opportunity to welcome Mr Santana, the new National Soccer Coach. We wish him well in his work. We hope he will rub off some of his coaching expertise on local coaches. The successes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Supersport United and Mpumalanga Black Aces show that there is talent here too. We appreciate that SAFA complied with the Laws of our land in appointing him. May other federations follow suite. The Laws are for the protection of our people’s jobs. This is also necessary for skills development and self – pride.

Madam Speaker, We must congratulate our athletes who have qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games. After an outstanding performance in the African Championships, our athletes should do better than in Japan. Of course, the highlight of their qualification is the victory of Oscar Pistorious for all people with disability. The decision of CAS is to be welcomed and opens to athletes with disability, the opportunity to compete with able – bodied athletes. Good Luck to Oscar.

THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP
Madam Speaker,
We can repeat here what FIFA said last week; South Africa is ready to host a memorable World Cup in 2010. While some stadia are three (3) or five (5) weeks behind, in their schedules, overall, the construction of roads, stadia and other support structures is on track. The reason why both FIFA and ourselves are confident that everything is on track, is because we know that we can still make ALL the stadia ready well on time for the World Cup. Even the Confederations Cup Tournament will have the requisite stadia ready at least five (5) months ahead of the tournament. Considering that we do not have special rules for Africa, this progress is more than average.

The current attack on Africans coming from neighbouring states is to be roundly condemned. It is an affront to our attempts to unite Africa and South Africa around sport and the 2010 World Cup. Clearly, there is a great deal of ethnic prejudice around these issues. Not a single non-African foreigner has been attacked. Instead, we see attacks even on South Africans who belong to ethnic groups that had always suffered prejudice under Apartheid. The Greek word Xenophobia means “fear of the stranger”. Not fear of African strangers.
 
The Local Organising Committee and the Departments as well as other spheres of Government, are in full gear in implementing legacy projects. These range from positioning our people to benefit in trade, tourism and management opportunities. Schools and Communities are being mobilized to build a firm support base for this Tournament. This is important for marketing South Africa and Africa in the long run.

The work done by the 2010 Unit in our Department is critical for the co – ordination, guidance and monitoring of these Government projects. The Co-Coordinator of this Unit, Dr Joe Phaahla asked to terminate his contract in April. This was to free him following his chosen career in business and politics. We thank Dr Phaahla for his work in leading the Unit and sometimes Acting as Director General of the Department. His humble approach to conflict resolution will be solely missed. We wish him well in his new life. Of course, we still reserve the right to ask him to assist or to accept his offer to assist.

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Madam Speaker,
We have completed the integration process of our staff. Most funded posts have been filled. We boast of a youthful Department with 34% of the senior managers being female. Obviously, there is room for improvement here. Although we comply with the Government target for people with disability, we believe we can improve our intake. A number of policies have been developed during this financial year. More could have been done with a better chemistry among top managers. The DPSA is assisting us, since last year, with Change Management.

Last time I reported that some of our managers had opened grievance procedures against us. They thought the integration process should have simply promoted them. We are pleased to announce that they all lost their cases with the Public Service Commission. We did our best to educate them on the Laws Governing these things. But they also had other advisers who politicized a simple administrative issue governed by Law.

Our attempts to forever seek the best ways of delivering on our mission continue. The 2008 – 2012 Strategic Plan highlights these. To improve our Mass Participation Programme, we are consolidating the old “Hubs” to coincide with municipal boundaries. This will assume certainty on what happens where and who participate. It will also deepen the culture of integrated planning as Mayoral Tournaments must be part of the national mass participation effort. This will then benefit from the scientific support which will be provided to talented athletes. Our Scientific Support Services must, of course, be delivered in partnership with available facilities and skills / expertise in Regional Tertiary Institutions. This is an improvement from the previous practice of just concentrating on Teams representing South Africa in international championships.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
South Africa continues to play her leadership role in Africa and in the World. We are current Chairs for the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa for Zone VI. We also chair the Governments of the World component of the World Anti Doping Association. Our political position is highly respected at both levels. Our scientific expertise makes an impact through our SAIDS members. We are an important component of consolidating the African Agenda and Regional Unity and Development. We are proud to have participated in the events commemorating the Battle of Cuito Carnavale. A battle that changed the route of the struggle for our freedom. A battle that forced the regime to accept that they could no longer stop us being first class citizens in the only Country that belongs to us.
CONCLUSION
Sport has become a big business. It has also become an important element in the marketing and economic development of towns and cities. All this cannot take place without facilities and a conducive environment in society. This is why we continue to insist that sports infrastructure funds be taken out of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) so that together with our share of the National Lottery funds, these resources can assist our development plans. Let us all eat from the same dish guided by a parent with plans and a vision for all.

Change cannot come sua sponte (on its own volition). Our constitution does not expect it to be automatic. President Mbeki correctly points out that market forces are not sympathetic to the poor. This is what motivates our actions as a developmental state. That is why we get irritated when the anti – democratic forces of the past regroup and distort our agenda. This is what worries us when the SARU and the IRB entertain a one – sided and distorted view from some protectors of apartheid privileges.

Our Department will respect Human Rights. But we will also access them to the marginalized communities of our land. Nothing can stop us from that. Posterity deserves this from us.

We thank the co-operation received from Deputy Minister Oosthuizen, Members of the Portfolio Committee for Sport and Recreation; MEC’s from the Provinces and their Premiers; Leaders of the Sport Movement; NGO’s and the Media. But above all, we thank our Managers and Administrators; our Foot Soldiers and Implementers.

“KE NAKO”