Mass Sport & Recreation Participation Programme grants: 1st quarter 2010 Provincial expenditure reports

Meeting report

Mass Sport & Recreation Participation Programme grants: 1^st quarter 2010 Provincial expenditure reports
National Treasury (NT) Report on spending
Mr Edgar Sishi, Director, National Treasury, said that National Treasury (NT) had isolated the sports and recreation aspects of provincial spending. Total expenditure was used where possible, but only KwaZulu-Natal had a provincial Department of Sport and Recreation. In other provinces, the sports and recreation function was coupled with other responsibilities, typically arts and culture. Some of the provinces were spending faster than they had managed for the corresponding period of 2009, while others were slower. NT was expecting to see a net under-expenditure, projecting figures in this regard of R7 million for the Eastern Cape, and R3.1 million for the Free State. The only province where over-expenditure was forecast was KwaZulu-Natal, which would over-expend to the tune of R3.4 million. Overall, 16.5% of the total budget for the conditional grant had been spent by provinces by the end of June.

Mr Sishi then turned to transfer payments. These funds were carried through the vote of the National Department of Sports and Recreation (SRSA) and then transferred to provincial counterparts. A total of R426 million was budgeted. Of this, R123 million had already been received by the provinces, of which R70 million had been spent. North West was the province showing the least spending, at 29.5%, while Limpopo had spent 109.3% of its transfers. He presumed that this meant that Limpopo had supplemented its transfer payments with money from other sources. In general payments were not being moved as fast as they were received.

Mr Sishi said that various reasons had been offered for the under-expenditure. Certain provinces had been involved in restructuring programmes. Some federations were not properly registered as business entities or non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Business plans had been signed late. Performance had been low in terms of the number of athletes being produced. In some cases no performance had been reported. This represented cases where communities, schools and clubs had no access to local sporting facilities.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked when NT had made the transfers to provinces.

Mr C de Beer (ANC, Northern Cape) asked who was reporting on non-performance.

Mr B Mashile (ANC, Mpumalanga) asked about the flow of reports to NT, and asked that Mr Sishi comment on the quality of the reports.

Mr T Harris (DA, Western Cape) asked if the quarterly reports were providing too much information, or if the information provided was complementary.

Mr Sishi replied that the national Department made the transfers, and not NT. Provinces had to submit cash flow projections. SRSA drew from the National Revenue Fund in accordance with the approved schedule. The first transfers for the current financial year (FY) had been made in the second or third week in April 2010. SRSA had to determine if the provinces had the capacity to use the funds allocated to them.

Mr Sishi said that reports varied from being very simple to very detailed. The quarterly reports should go to Parliament. NT could provide copies. The provinces should send quarterly performance reports within thirty days of the end of the quarter. SRSA would compile a consolidated report. The quality of the reports did vary, and some had gaps. NT was engaging with provinces on this issue.

Ms Sumayya Khan, Chief Operations Officer, National Department of Sport and Recreation, acknowledged that there were challenges in the reporting system. SRSA was trying to address this. A forum had been created for the managers of the conditional grant in each province. A workshop was planned. SRSA had met with the Heads of Department (HoDs) from each province in the previous two days.

Mr Mashile found this situation worrying. He asked what the quality of the business plans was. He asked if there was not merely an exercise being done of cutting and pasting, in order to ensure compliance.

Mr S Montshitsi (ANC, Gauteng) asked if there had been a roll-out of facilities used by schools. He asked if funds were being used effectively. This was why good quality reports were needed.

Mr de Beer agreed that reports were important. The Committee was part of the budget review process. Reports must be submitted before a review could take place.

Ms Khan said that the business plans and targets were crafted by the provinces, with SRSA playing a quality assurance role. These targets were aligned to the objectives and the purpose of the grant. There was an issue with performance information, which SRSA would address. The reports sent to NT were only based on the information received. SRSA did sometimes refer reports back to the provinces. Sometimes the information was not forthcoming.

The Chairperson asked if there were new challenges, pointing out that this particular grant had commenced in 2004.

Ms Khan said that some of the challenges were not new. One of the outstanding issues was the question of volunteers and contracts. Where volunteers were paid stipends from the conditional grant then they were normally appointed on contract. There had been litigation in some provinces. Some of the volunteers had won their cases. SRSA was discussing the human resource needs and a task team had been put in place.

Provincial departmental presentations: Western Cape presentation
Mr Brent Walters, Head of Department, Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) said that the implementation of the grant was intended to provide for life long participation in sport. Sector capacity would be improved as well as partnerships between the different spheres of government. The number of participants would be increased. School and community links would be improved. There would be better access to resources, and communities had been mobilised for the World Cup.

Mr Walters said that the 2009/10 FY had marked the seventh year of conditional grant funding, the fifth year of the school sport mass participation programme (MPP), the fourth year of the club development programme and the third year of the football development programme.

Mr Walters said that the Western Cape had spent 96.1% of its budgetary allocation in the 2007/08 FY, 95.8% in 2008/09 and 99.5% in 2009/10. This was a good trend. He expected that the Western Cape would reach close to 100% expenditure again during the current FY.

Mr Walters said that the expenditure for the first quarter of 2010/11 only stood at 38%, but he explained that R11 million had been allocated to public viewing areas (PVAs) during the World Cup. Orders had been raised in June but could only be paid at the end of the World Cup on 11 July, which was a date falling within the second quarter. All expenses incurred during the World Cup had now been paid. The PVAs had been put out on tender to the private sector, but the tenders submitted were three times the budgeted amount. DCAS had therefore decided to run the PVAs themselves and could only pay the expenses on completion of the tournament. Other reasons for the underspend included logistical challenges regarding the school sport MPP. School activities could only occur after school hours and some re-organisation had been required. Clubs and federations had not responded timeously to the club development programme.

Mr Walters said that DCAS had established a Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. Monthly finance Focus meetings were held to check on cash flow, evaluate expenditure trends, adjust projections, and correct allocations. A differentiated management team structure was in place. He believed that this approach enabled monitoring at the lowest levels.

Mr Walters said that one of the capacity constraints was the size of the province. Four regional offices had been established. Activity coordinators and sport assistants did not understand what was expected of them. Federations had been slow to respond with reporting. In order to address the constraints, more vehicles had been purchased and allocated to the regional offices. An induction training programme had been implemented for activity co-ordinators. This was backed up by monthly and quarterly meetings. Federations had been connected to regional offices. This had improved communication and reporting lines.

Free State Presentation
Mr D Kgothule, Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Free State Province, said that the Free State had performed well. The province’s programmes were aligned with the quarterly reporting cycle for sports development. The province had rolled out local talent development centres. They were linked to the Free State Sports Science Institute, which served as a high performance centre. A development centre for boxing had already been handed over. In the next FY the programme would be expanded, first to netball and then to other codes. The talent development centres would develop talented individuals who had emerged from the Mass Participation Programme (MPP).

Mr Kgothule said that one of the reasons for the province not spending its budget was the low spending on activity co-ordinators, several of whom were not yet appointed. Court cases had been heard in Gauteng on this issue. Where activity co-ordinators had been re-appointed for several years there was an expectation of permanent employment. The courts had accepted these arguments. The school sport programme had been affected. When activity co-ordinators were not appointed, teachers had to take over the programmes. He criticised the current situation of school sport. Sustainable programmes were needed. He believed in what was being done.

Mr Harris asked if the talent development centres were being financed from the MPP grant.

Mr Kgothuli replied that they were not. The province’s own funds had been used. Three had been established in the provinces, but there was a desire to establish centres in the other two districts. The talent development centres were not part of the business plan, so the conditional grant could not be used.

Mr Tjoko Kambule, Head of Department, Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation (DSACR), said that the word “Recreation” had been added to the Department's title to put more focus on a campaign to get the Free State active. This was under the banner of the Siyadlala Mass Participation strategy. There were currently 33 hubs but the intention was to get all 82 towns in the province involved. A recreation sport league programme would be introduced involving all towns in the province. Each team would provide teams in netball, volleyball and football. The “Golden Games” would operate on similar lines but would cater for the elderly. A programme of indigenous games would be promoted during holidays.

Mr Kambule said that there were two main programmes under the Legacy Mass Participation Strategy. The provincial civil society support programme would strengthen local and district sport and recreation councils. The provincial club development programme would focus on support being given to registered clubs.

Mr Kambule said that the new strategy regarding the School Sport MPP was to capacitate educators, as coaches and organisers, to implement the programme. This would create a sustainable environment for the MPP. Other schools would be given an opportunity to become involved. At present 146 of the 1 500 schools in the province were part of the programme. Programmes would be introduced to build the capacity of educators as coaches, administrators and technical officials, including general sports administration and first aid. Wednesday leagues would be established, which would culminate in local and district festivals. This would keep learners more active more often.

Mr Kambule presented figures on the Siyadlala MPP. In the first quarter, 18 045 people had participated, against a target of 19 350, a variation of 7%. Targets had not been set for several activities that would be activated during the remainder of the FY. No volunteers had been trained during the first quarter. Nothing had been planned. There were still 48 volunteers from the previous year who would be appointed to specific projects. A target of 10 000 World Cup projects had been reached. This related to the supply of 10 000 blankets in the form of the South African flag.

On the Chairperson's advice Mr Kambule did not present details of the implementation plan for the remainder of the financial year.

Mr Kambule said that R156 000 had been spent on compensation of employees during the first quarter, against a budget of R2.6 million. A further R97 711 had been spent by 20 August. The total variation was 90.3%. For goods and services, the first quarter expenditure was R305 105 against a budget of R4.9 million. Another R1.2 had been spent by 20 August. The total variation was 68.2%. R100 000 had been budgeted for capital expenditure but nothing had been spent on this aspect to date. The total budget for the MPP was R7.6 million of which R460 351 had been spent. This amounted to 6.0%. Spending had been slow due to restructuring. New programmes were still in the planning stage. However, spending had picked up during the second quarter. The total expenditure had now risen to 18.8% and he was confident that the Free State was now on track.

Mr Kambule said that few targets had been set for the first quarter, in terms of legacy mass participation. Most of the plans would be implemented later in the year. One target that was set was 43 000 participants in the MPP, but nothing had been achieved. There was a target of 4 000 programmes related to the 2010 World Cup. This was the provision of 4 000 replica South African football jerseys. Some volunteers had been appointed, although no targets had been set.

Mr Kambule said that the total budget under Legacy Mass Participation, for compensation of employees, was R1.3 million. R58 441 was spent during the first quarter and a further R172 572 by 20 August. This was a variation of 82.6%. For goods and services the budget was R11.6 million. First quarter expenditure was R1.2 million and a further R3.8 million was spent in the second quarter by 20 August. This was a variation of 56.3%. R130 000 had been budgeted for capital expenditure. Nothing was spent in the first quarter but R146 had been spent during the second quarter by 20 August. This was a variation of 99.9%. Of the total budget of R13.0 million for this programme, R1.3 million (10.1%) was spent during the first quarter and a further R3.9 million (33.9%) in the second quarter by 20 August. Total expenditure for the FY thus stood at R5.3 million (40.6%). Slow spending was attributed to the restructuring process. The planning process had been completed and programmes were now being implemented. R1.8 million was still expected from FIFA.

Mr Kambule said that few targets had been set for the first quarter in the School Sport MPP. A target of 7 260 participants had been set, which had been exceeded with a figure of 8 301. There was a target of training 28 volunteers but the change of emphasis to capacitating educators had meant that no volunteers were trained. There were 28 volunteers still in the programme whose contracts would last until March 2011. The province was cooperating with the Department of Basic Education. The football jerseys were purchased for learners from farm schools.

Mr Kambule said that the budget for the School Sport MPP was R7.5 million. R835 243 was spent during the first quarter. A further R1.7 million had been spent in the second quarter by 20 August. This was a variation of 65.8%. Once again the slow spending in the first quarter was ascribed to programmes not being implemented. Now that plans were in place and programmes were being implemented, expenditure was increasing.

Mr Kambule presented Members with an organagram. A new post had been created for a manager responsible for monitoring and reporting. Across the programmes there was a total budget of R28.2 million. Of this, R2.6 million was spent during the first quarter (9.3%) and a further R7.1 million had been spent to date in the second quarter. The total expenditure to date in the current FY was R9.7 million, a variation of 65.7%.

Discussion
The Chairperson felt that the province had done nothing in the first quarter. It seemed that it had only succeeded in buying promotional material. The staff had seemingly been paid for doing nothing. He asked how the material had been distributed. It seemed that some of the material had been meant for the farm school learners. It was good to see that plans were in place for the second quarter and for the rest of the year. It would be prudent to reserve further comment until the second quarter results were reported in October.

Mr de Beer said that the Free State's first quarter report covered the period from 1 April to 30 June 2010. The World Cup had only started on 9 June. It seemed that there had been no activity for the seventy days before the start of the soccer. The talent development centres were a good idea and he would like to see them in operation. NT had reported that Free State had under-spent by R3 million but the HoD felt that they were on track. He noted that the School Sport MPP covered 146 schools, and asked what was happening in the rest of the 1 500 schools in the province. He asked what the plan was as the grant was already in its fifth year. Something was very wrong.

Mr Kgothule replied that it was true that expenditure in the Free State had been low. However, the decision to delay the implementation of programmes until thorough planning was completed was for the betterment of the programmes. He was confident that 50% of the annual budget would have been spent by the end of the second quarter. The provincial department would not implement the programmes in the wrong way. He felt that the current club development concept was wrong. There was information regarding the training development centres on the Department's website.

He added that when the first quarter of the FY had started in April, the Free State had started with procurement for the World Cup. The province had had plans to make 2010 the best World Cup. Mangaung had been named as the best host city.

Mr Kgothule said that 146 schools were involved in the School Sport MPP. He could not take the blame for past mistakes as he had only been appointed as MEC recently. There was a need to correct the historical problems. Schools should stay in the MPP for two years and were then replaced. Programmes had to be sustainable. Other schools would be brought in for the next two year cycle. Financial and other support was needed. Schools were being provided with boreholes. A vegetable growing programme was in place at schools with more than 1 000 learners. Time was devoted to the preparation of the land. Children could sell their produce on a quarterly basis.

Mr de Beer noted the comments of Mr Walters that it took five to six hours to travel from one side of the Western Cape to the other. In his province of the Northern Cape the distance from one end to the other was 1 300 km. The NT had given a budget figure of R40.5 million but the Western Cape was reporting on R38 million. He asked what the gap was. He asked how many schools were in the province.

Mr Walters replied that there were approximately 1 500 schools in the province. DCAS realised that they could not reach them all. A cluster approach was being followed. These were aligned with the 49 Education Circuits in the province. Two centres would be established in each circuit. The priority was to reach the schools in the poorest quintile.

Mr Mashile asked the Western Cape delegation if it had had any problems with the transfer of funds from SRSA. He asked if the lead times were acceptable. Some constraints had been listed in the presentation, but this department still expected to spend close to 100% of the budget. He asked what the impact of the constraints would be on the grant. He asked if interventions on the Cape Flats were making any impact. Many children were not being accommodated at their schools. They needed to have sport available in their community.

Mr Walters was satisfied with the lead times associated with transfer funding. There were 44 MPP hubs in the province, of which one was located in Gugulethu and two in Khayelitsha.

Mr Mashile told the Free State delegation that the Free State provincial department must translate its plans into reality. There was some consciousness of what needed to be done. He asked for an explanation of the term “contracted volunteer”. He welcomed the move towards using educators. He asked how the province saw the difference between contract and permanent work.

Mr Kgothule replied that the creation of decent work opportunities was based on how programmes were structured. In most cases people could not be appointed, but on some programmes it was possible to appoint people on a full-time basis. One of the programmes was the appointment of coaches in three codes. The plan was to appoint a dedicated coach in each of these codes in each region. These coaches had already been appointed. If the province had re-appointed volunteers, as had been the practice in the past, this would have amounted to contempt of court.

Mr Montshitsi was excited by the Free State's plans, but these were not yet implemented. This was of concern. The DSACR had a staff complement of 315. He would like to see what the staff budget was.

Mr Kgothule replied that it was difficult to specify the budget for the 315 staff members. Money was going to pay stipends rather than towards programmes. The DSACR had been forced to revise its employment strategy after the court ruling.

Mr Montshitsi asked where the regional offices in the Western Cape were located. He asked what codes these offices dealt with, and if the codes reported to the province. He asked how many federations were involved in the training programmes. He asked which codes were linked to the regional offices. He asked if the province kept data on its facilities. He noted that some municipalities did maintain a database. He asked if there was a partnership with the provinces.

Mr Walters replied that the regional offices were in Oudtshoorn, Cape Town, Vredendal and Paarl. There were 122 active federations within the province. There were also three defined regions, namely Boland, Western Province and South Western Districts. The regional offices kept contact with all federations active in their region. Six codes had been prioritised, and thirty codes for the School Sport MPP. The conditional grant did not cover facilities although the province did make a small contribution. This had been the preserve of the former Building for Sport and Recreation Programme (BSRP). The province was planning to carry through programmes to train football coaches and referees, and to maintain the “Stars in their Eyes” project.

Mr Kgothule said that the transformation of the BSRP to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) had been at the cost of sports facilities. There was a backlog at municipal level. A sick society was being created. He requested the Committee to investigate the blockages.

Mr M Makhubela (COPE, Limpopo) asked both provinces if anything had been provided by FIFA-affected programmes. NT had said that money was not being spent. He had not heard any reaction to that comment. He asked why performance was relatively low.

Mr Kgothule replied that 32 schools had been involved in a mini World Cup. Nine players had been identified by Premier Soccer League teams as having potential. Free State had finished second at the recent netball inter-provincial tournament. Each provincial government department had been asked to contribute R1 million towards World Cup funding. He was confident that by the end of September all programmes would be at 50% of expenditure for the FY.

Mr Makhubela observed that there was a lot of fine print in the Free State presentation. He asked if talent was being discovered despite the lack of facilities and equipment, and also asked where the money was coming from. He asked how many Golden Games events had been held in the previous FY. No targets had been set for the Siyadlala MPP in the first quarter. He asked if programmes were being implemented without a plan.

Mr Kgothule replied that the Golden Games had been introduced in the 2005/06 FY. They were organised on a ward basis, moving up to provincial level. With regard to the Siyadlala MPP targets, he said that the Department first had to consult with the affected people after the re-alignment of the programme. There had been no complaints in the province.

The Chairperson asked the MEC to concentrate on the present situation.

Mr Kgothule replied that the Golden Games programme would have health benefits for the elderly.

Mr Makhubela noted that under-spending in the Western Cape was attributed to late payments of World Cup related expenses. He noted the constraints of distance. He asked how many vehicles had been purchased. He asked if any progress had been made with the induction programme, and if this would be a continuous programme.

Mr Harris noted that the Western Cape's figure of R38 million was the figure for 2009/10. The capacity constraints offered by the province were a massive problem. The activity co-ordinators were the people at the coalface. Radical action was needed. Induction training had been offered as a solution. He asked if this was enough. The Western Cape seemed to have a different approach on the question of repeated contracts.

Mr Walters confirmed that R38 million had been the budget in the 2009/10 FY. The induction programme had been set up. It was only for newly recruited members. The follow-up came in the form of monthly and quarterly meetings.

Mr Harris said that the Free State presentation differed from the NT numbers. He was unimpressed by the spending figures. Only 8.2% of the transfer funding had been spent. This was based on the business plan. The big question was the mobilisation of the community. He had been excited to read about 10 000 projects, only to find out that this referred to 10 000 blankets, and he asked how the provision of blankets could support the objective of mobilising the community, or of building the community. The same applied to the football jerseys. He asked where they had been manufactured. No targets had been set and yet the province had bought the shirts. He asked if the expected R1 million from FIFA would supplement the budget. He noticed that the budget for capital expenditure was low. He asked if the programmes provided for facilities, or if there was some other channel for this purpose.

Mr Kgothule replied that the blankets and all other merchandise had been made in South Africa. The blankets had been provided to protect spectators against the expected cold weather.

The Chairperson asked if the DSACR had also bought tickets.

Mr Kgothule replied that the Department had entered into partnerships in identified areas. Municipalities had provided transport. Distribution teams had been put in place to distribute memorabilia to the children invited. Tickets had also been procured at a cost of R6.1 million. The province had met NT and provided a report. The money had been spent properly. If anything the Free State had been too open on the matter. It had nothing to hide. Teams competing in the mini-World Cup had been promised tickets. This was for the teams reaching the last 32 in the competition. The tickets given to farm school learners were separate. When some of these learners had been unable to use the tickets they had been passed on to municipal officials.

The Chairperson asked the Western Cape delegation about its achievements against the targets. He asked how many athletes had benefited. He asked how the purchase of vehicles had been financed.

Mr Walters undertook to provide a written answer on the Western Cape's achievements. Seven vehicles had been purchased from conditional grant funding. Performance was acceptable despite the constraints, but the Western Cape was still working on the constraints in order to improve service delivery.

The Chairperson asked the Free State delegation how many athletes had benefited and in which codes. The province had spent R5 million by 20 August. He asked if this included money spent on the World Cup.

Mr Kgothule said that one of the legacy aspects was the provision of multi-purpose courts. These were being procured. They would cater for twelve different codes although only eight would be used in the province. They had synthetic surfaces, were half the size of a soccer field and had a twelve year lifespan.

Mr Mashile asked both provinces if they had contributed to the poor standard of reporting.

Mr Walters replied that the Western Cape's reports had been submitted on time.

The Chairperson asked the Free State about the difference between spending patterns in the first and second quarter.

Mr Kgothule replied that R12 million had been rolled out. The budget for each of five PVAs was R10.5 million. This had prompted the Department to make use of mobile broadcast facilities rather than incurring that expense. R12 million had been spent of which R600 000 still had to be paid. The rest had been paid during the first quarter.

Mr Montshitsi reiterated that the Free State had devised good programmes but there was no implementation. Another strategy was needed.

The Chairperson asked the Free State if a better second quarterly report could be expected.

Mr Kgothule confirmed this.

Northern Cape Presentation
Mr Faisal Aysen, HoD, Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), Northern Cape, said that the province had received R23.9 million in conditional grant funding for 2010/11. This was divided into three programmes. The legacy programme had R6.2 allocated to it, R11.6 million was allocated to the Siyadlala MPP, and R6.1 million to the School Sport MPP. In the previous FY the province had been short-changed and had only received R19.8 million. The Department had spent 98.4% of its allocation in the 2008/09 FY, and 99.1% in 2009/01. The under-spending was due to non-delivery of equipment that DSAC had ordered. A roll-over had been approved.

Mr Aysen said that R4.8 million had been spent from the conditional grant during the first quarter of the current FY. This amounted to 20.1% of the annual budget. Spending on the legacy programme amounted to R2.3 million (37.4% of the annual budget), spending on the Siyadlala MPP was R1.9 million (17.0%) and spending on the School Sport MPP was R526 000 (8.6%). R1.3 million had been spent on compensation of the 240 employees, R3.5 million on goods and services, R10 000 on transfers and subsidies and nothing on capital assets.

Mr Aysen presented a different view on the first quarter expenditure. He compared the spending of R2.3 million on legacy programmes to the projected R1.5 million, R1.9 million on Siyadlala MPP to the projected R2.5 million and R526 000 on school sport MPP to the projected R896 000. This made a total of R4.8 million spent, compared to a projection of R4.9 million (98.3%).

Mr Aysen explained that overspending on the legacy component was due to “My 20910 Schools World Cup Programme”. Additional costs had been incurred by sending a team to the national tournament. The result was that the Department would scale down planned legacy activities for the rest of the FY to remain within budget. Under-spending on the Siyadlala and School Sport MPP activities had been caused by MPP programmes being postponed to later in the year due to the World Cup. Some of the volunteers had also resigned.

Mr Aysen presented the adjusted spending plans for the remainder of the FY. He told Members that a managing team had been put into place to monitor each of the three programmes. Support staff would provide support in terms of finance and administration. A Project Management Unit would be established by November 2010. He had information available on performance. He presented a breakdown of capital expenses. Most of these were in respect of libraries.

Eastern Cape Presentation
Ms Xoliswa Tom, MEC for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Eastern Cape, presented an organagram of the staff allocated to administering the conditional grant. The grant had grown from an initial R1 million to R66 million. There were pressures and challenges on providing facilities to foster growth. There was a structure for administration in each district. The Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) needed to beef up the administrative officers at district level.

Ms Tom said that the province was divided into seven districts. Inside these districts, 152 hubs had been established which serviced 588 schools and 84 clubs. At grass roots level, 296 staff were deployed on the Siyadlala programme, 293 on the Schools MPP and 61 on the living legacy programme. Of the latter, most were occupied with club development. She presented a set of targets set for the first quarter. All of these had been exactly achieved except in terms of FIFA volunteers trained for the host city. The actual number was 350, compared to a target of 300. One of the provisos was that volunteers must be drawn from all over the province.

Ms Tom listed some of the province's achievements. The DSRAC had assisted with the staging of a fun run on 1 May that had resulted in the establishment of six new clubs in the Border area. Twelve first aiders had been trained at a Needs Camp and had been used during the rugby test against Italy in East London. Four activity co-ordinators were selected for the South African team at the Women's Rugby World Cup. All fifty cluster co-ordinators had been trained. Sixty sports assistants had been trained to run school programmes. The Department had trained 136 activity co-ordinators. Here the DSRAC was working with the federations. Sixty officials had been trained in monitoring and evaluation. The Department had trained 350 World Cup volunteers. DSRAC had run seven PVAs during the World Cup. The drop-a-ball campaign had delivered 3 000 balls to 396 schools.

Ms Tom went through the progress against the business plan for the first quarter. There were 84 clubs in the club development programme (against a target of 84). Training had been given to 157 people for the Siyadlala MPP (against a target of 200), and 109 hubs had been mobilised for the World Cup (against a target of 149). Both these activities had been affected by the DSRAC changing its focus to mobilisation for the World Cup. Fourteen MPP administration officers had been trained (which was on target). Two workshops had been organised in support of the School Sport MPP (double the target number). One educational conference had been attended (which matched the target). Seven districts had been mobilised for 2010 (against the target of seven). In terms of World Cup volunteers, 350 had been recruited and trained (against the target of 300). The Department had transported and accommodated 58 volunteers (on target). The following targets had all been met : for the living legacy programme, nine programmes had been implemented , and seven partnerships had been forged. 61 sports co-ordinators receiving stipends were appointed, corresponding to 61 clubs. Four sports programmes had been implemented against a target of six. Other opportunities had not been taken up due to World Cup related programmes.

Ms Tom listed the codes supported under the different programmes. Not all codes were covered, and there were different priorities within the different programmes. She listed the different communities that were targeted for the living legacy programmes.

Ms Tom said that there were some challenges. The first was a delay in the replacement of co-ordinators. This continued to plague the Department. The court action taken by volunteers compounded the problem. The DSRAC would closely monitor exits and replacements at least three weeks after resignations. The Department needed to monitor how quickly volunteers disappeared and were replaced. The federations were picking them up.

Ms Tom said that the second challenge was the delay in implementation of the stipend increment. The corrective action was to decentralise the process to the districts. It was a question of paying a living wage. The final challenge was a delay in procurement and payment processes. The corrective action was to devolve functions to the districts. Clear allocations would lead to efficiency.

Ms Tom said that the total budget was R66.5 million. Of this, R14.1 million had been spent in the first quarter. She disagreed with the NT figure of R13 million. This amount was made up of R4.3 million on compensation of employees, R9.3 million on goods and services and R553 000 on machinery and equipment. She outlined the spending against targets. The total expenditure of R14.1 million was some R5.7 million less than the projected figure of R19.9 million.

Ms Tom said that the MPP was changing schools and communities for the better. There was significant improvement in terms of participation, sport and recreation programmes, skilled volunteers, junior sports people with fundamental skills, solid links between clubs and schools and partnerships with other stakeholders. The schools were doing well.

Mr Bubele Mfenyana, HoD, DSRAC, Eastern Cape, said that the emphasis was on the resuscitation of sport. The basis was the MPP, which represented an opportunity for those with expertise.

Discussion
Mr Mashile noted massive underspending on school sport in the Northern Cape. He feared that, unlike the slogan adopted by the province, a lot of children were suffering because of the deficiencies in the programme.

Mr Mashile asked if the Eastern Cape was funding itself. It must find a way to sustain its programmes and retain its people. This was also a continuous challenge elsewhere.

Mr Mfenyana said that the uncertainty regarding contract workers was affecting expenditure trends. This was increasing its staff debt. Replacing members who had resigned was a problem. The solution would be in obtaining clarity on the lifespan of the conditional grant. If it was added to the equitable share there would have to be a mechanism to protect the use of funds for sport. It would be better to appoint workers on a permanent basis.

Mr Harris felt that the Northern Cape had made a good presentation. He asked what the provinces had spent on World Cup tickets and paraphernalia. There were contractual issues.

Mr Mfenyana said that the Eastern Cape had bought World Cup tickets from the conditional grant. This department had bought 226 tickets at a cost of R278 000.

Mr Makhubela asked how many tickets had been given to senior officials.

Ms Tom replied that every Department had taken a conscious decision on this, and people who had worked on behalf of the DSRAC without payment should get a chance to go to a World Cup match. No tickets had been given to top officials. Activity co-ordinators, members of local sports councils and officials at the lowest level had been given tickets. Some tickets may have been re-allocated where beneficiaries had found themselves unable to attend at the last minute. She had a full list of beneficiaries from all districts.

Mr Aysen said that the Northern Cape had bought 140 World Cup tickets at a cost of R2.17 million. These were suite tickets. A further 500 tickets had been bought at a cost of R356 000. The total cost of R2.5 million had been disclosed in the Annual Report. The tickets had been paid out of the province's equitable share and not the conditional grant.

Mr Makhubela asked how many of the tickets had gone to top officials.

Mr Aysen replied that nineteen tickets had been for senior management. These officials had been on the technical team.

Mr Harris said that the Eastern Cape budget had been increased. He asked if its experiences were similar to other provinces. He thought that devolving authority for making payments to the districts would improve the situation.

Mr Mfenyana said that the Eastern Cape DSRAC had found that centralised financial control had proved to be counter-productive. Districts would now be accountable for their expenditure.

Ms Tom added that her Department had enjoyed a clean audit record. The process of devolution would assist with capacity development at district level.

Mr Makhubela noted that the Eastern Cape had trained 350 FIFA volunteers. This was more than the target. Some programmes had not been completed.

Mr Mfenyana said that he could not give a detailed list of all the programmes at short notice. Of the 152 hubs, the DSRAC had planned to involve 149 in mobilisation activities prior to the World Cup. Not all had been covered. Some activities had to be moved due to 2010 preparations. Programmes were now being implemented.

Mr Makhubela noted that the project managers in the Northern Cape would be appointed in November. He asked how they would influence the performance of the Department.

Mr de Beer asked why tennis was not included in the codes supported by the Eastern Cape Department. Tennis had been one of the codes supported by Gauteng. The NT had indicated that there was a growth of 80% in the region. He asked if this meant that there was an 80% ability to spend. He asked how the fortunes of the province could be turned around. He asked how many schools were in the province. The figure of 588 could not include all schools in the Eastern Cape.

Mr Mfenyana said that there were 6 200 schools in the province. The programme had started with 58 schools. It was a question of how to work with the Department of Education. Perhaps only 1 000 of the schools had regular sporting activity. He could not give an intelligent response to the figures presented by NT. Spending was at a lower level than at the corresponding time in 2009 but he thought they were still doing well. The original projection would indicate this. The lower level of spending might be due to strike action. The Eastern Cape wanted to spend its total grant.

Mr de Beer said that the situation in the Northern Cape was that school sport was in decline. There were fifteen schools in his constituency, but only four of these had any form of equipment. The Department was threatening to cut its programmes. This needed to be reviewed. He asked how many schools were in the province. He said that it was matters not included in the document that that needed explanation. R100 million had been allocated to the Northern Cape, in compensation for the province not hosting any World Cup matches. This decision was made before the budget had been tabled. Nothing had been seen in the province except for the Uruguay team being based in Kimberley. The schools had not benefited.

Mr Aysen said that he had just been appointed as HoD, about forty days previously. The R100 million allocation had been used judiciously. Money had been spent on tarring roads in Kimberley, especially those on Uruguay's route between their accommodation and practice venue. R40 million had been spent on road construction. R12 million had been allocated for a theatre. The tender was still out. R12 million had been spent on the AR Abbas Stadium. This was part of the sports precinct. The Department of Public Works was busy with this project. R10 million had been spent at fifty schools. These were schools experiencing challenges. In some cases facilities were being upgraded and in others new facilities were being created. Some schools were being twinned to make better use of facilities.

Mr Aysen continued that there were 600 schools in the province. Of these, only 85 were currently active in sport. An outreach programme was in place.

Mr Montshitsi noted that the Committee had not seen details of training programmes in the presentations of either province. There was a simple question. He asked how many contests had been organised during the current FY, and in which codes. He asked what personnel expenses were relative to programmes. Contests should be organised by the districts. Personnel were employed at district offices and should be paid there. He asked what the ratio of fund allocation was, between personnel and programmes.

Mr Mfenyana said that about 30% of the Department's budget went towards compensation of staff.

Mr Aysen said that the Department had targeted seventy events. These had taken place. It had set a target of 420 inter-schools events, of which 227 had taken place. There were 230 MPP events and forty legacy and club events planned. Personnel expenditure amounted to R13 million. This was 36% of the budget.

Mr Montshitsi was happy with the explanations. FIFA would be giving the country R500 million for development. He asked how NT and SRSA would position themselves on this matter. He asked what type of relationship would be forged with schools. He wanted to see the money going into the development of grounds. The slogan of “Sport before jail” was a good one. Soccer was far beyond other sports. It had to be brought to the same level as rugby. There were light years of difference between the codes. Children in the rural areas had to be given chances to succeed.

Mr de Beer asked about the transformation process. Griqualand West Rugby had been forced to explain their stance on transformation. There were moves to work this out. He would report back to the Committee later.

Mr Aysen said that the establishment of the Northern Cape Sports Federation would enable an investigation of the subject.

The Chairperson returned to the question of World Cup expenditure. The Committee had held meetings the previous week with other provinces. Only the Eastern Cape had said that purchasing tickets was part of its business plan. The Western Cape had said nothing on the subject. The other seven provinces had purchased tickets despite these not being included in their business plans. There was perhaps a need to call the other provinces. It seemed that some had gone against the guidelines and instructions passed on by NT. There was an impact on service delivery. Tickets were handed out to those in positions of power. FIFA had promised tickets to Members, but nothing had happened. The Committee would discuss this issue. Provinces would be called to answer to the Committee.

Mr Walters said that the Western Cape government had not purchased any World Cup tickets.

Mr Chaane said that there were serious problems with volunteers and casual workers. He did not understand why government should continue to call for volunteers. They were initially paid stipends and then later salaries. Departments were creating problems for themselves. Once people were paid they could no longer be regarded as volunteers. Workers could be appointed on a casual basis. In some cases people were permanently employed on contracts for more then twenty years. Unions were taking employers to court. If the private sector could get their contracts right, he asked why government could not do so as well. There had been a problem in Gauteng. KwaZulu-Natal had managed to find a way around the contracting problem. Government would have to pronounce on the issue.

Ms Khan said that the grant framework had an output of mobilising the community. Provinces needed to have business plans in place. High level information had been provided, but no detail. The term “volunteer” was perhaps not correct. They were not really volunteers as they were paid stipends. Some province referred to such people as activity co-ordinators or other similar terms. They were paid between R1 400 and R2 500 depending on the work they were doing. If they were paid from the conditional grant then they could not be employed for more than the term of the grant. This implied a one year limit to the contract.

Ms Khan said that expectations were not being realised. A task team was in place and discussions were under way. The Director General of North West had promised to have a one on one meeting with SRSA. SRSA was interacting with provincial grant managers the following week. There would be a meeting with HoDs before the next MinMEC.

Ms Khan said that provinces could appoint permanent staff. The salary bill had to be a maximum of 6% of the conditional grant. Provinces did have reservations about these arrangements. There must be a clear exit strategy. Engagement on this had started. A better percentage of the conditional grant was possible. If the grant was moved to the equitable share then measures would have to be taken to ensure that funds for sport were ring-fenced. There was no assurance at present. She had expected to hear more performance information and statistics. SRSA would have to give direction to the provinces.

The Chairperson also wanted to touch on the exit strategy. The conditional grant would not go away, but it might migrate to the equitable share. This would help provinces to create permanent employment opportunities.

Mr Sishi said that Ms Khan was absolutely correct on the exit strategy. Should the conditional grant come to an end and be absorbed into the equitable share, the question was what would happen at provincial level. There were strong needs in the provinces. A political resolution to the problem was required. Sport was an important aspect of government expenditure. There had been a similar situation with the conditional grant in education with the early childhood development programme. Cabinet had made an explicit statement in this regard. It was a leadership issue.

Mr Sishi said that the figure of 80% quoted in the NT report was a programmatic amount. Either there was an overall reduction in the budget or funds had been reshuffled. With regard to the devolution of functions, a move to take decision-making closer to the areas of service delivery could be very successful, provided that the required capacity was in place. Making all decisions at headquarter level was less than ideal. Departments needed to look at the amount of their budgets which was taken up by administration, as this competed with service delivery.

Mr Sishi said that some provinces were growing faster than others. The Minister had asked the Auditor-General to investigate the purchase of World Cup tickets. Extremely important questions had been asked. NT had said that the conditional grant did not cover the purchase of tickets. The purpose of the grant was to build communities through sport. Money had to be budgeted before it could be spent. It was not just a matter of what was right or wrong. Expenditure had to be according to a plan. There were so many delays, but there had been no delays when provincial departments had gone out to buy tickets. This created the perception that government departments could work when they wanted to.

Mr Kgothule said that the conditional grant had been in place for three years and was then withdrawn. Provinces had said that they could not fulfil the programmes required by the grant and that the grant would in fact be a burden. Provinces had not planned for the grant. NT had a different interpretation. The provinces had never had the same understanding.

The Chairperson reminded the Free State MEC that this was an official meeting and everything was on record.

Mr Kgothule said that for three years leading up to the World Cup, the province had been told that it could use the conditional grant for tickets.

The Chairperson said that the conditional grant had been instituted in 2004 and had never been stopped.

Mr Kgothule said that the nature of the conditional grant meant that there was no stability of planning. The second issue was who could decide whether the allocation of funds was right or wrong, whether this was the provincial department or NT. The Free State had included the World Cup tickets as part of its business plan. There was a decision at the MinMEC meeting that this was correct. Now the NT was saying that the purchase of the tickets had been wrong.

Mr Sishi said that there was a legal framework in place. Nothing was specified in the business plan.

The Chairperson said that there were reasons why a business plan should be in place and funded. Government departments could not deviate from their plan on a whim. He was looking at what was planned. It would cause serious chaos. Provinces could share their ideas. It was a concern about how things had been done. Expenditure was not in the interests of the poor. The MEC had told the meeting that tickets that had been bought for farm learners had been passed on to members of the municipality when these learners could not attend. The MEC must not mislead the meeting.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would meet in October to review second quarter expenditure.

The meeting was adjourned.