Programme Evaluation for 2000; Progress Report of Sport & Recreation SA: briefing

Meeting report

SPORTS & RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTE
1 November 2000
PROGRAMME EVALUATION FOR 2000 & PROGRESS REPORT OF SPORT & RECREATION S A: BRIEFING

Documents handed out
Programme Evaluation of 2000
Sport & Recreation SA 2000/2001 Budget Update

Chairperson: Ms N Bhengu

SUMMARY
The Chairperson provided a thorough evaluation of the Committee's work this year, highlighting achievements and shortcomings for future improvement.

The Department of Sports and Recreation (renamed Sports and Recreation SA) presented a detailed progress report on its activities, projects and budget.

MINUTES
Committee Evaluation
The Minister for Sport & Recreation, Mr Ngconde Balfour, applauded Ms Bhengu and the committee 'for working tirelessly' throughout the year. He stated that consultations with other sports organisations and federations were not easy but this committee had been very productive in their consultations.

Ms Bhengu praised the committee for their 'team spirit' and working relationship which transcended political ideologies resulting in an excellent work ethic for meeting their goals. She then proceeded with the Programme Evaluation for 2000 (See appendix 1)

Legislative work
Consultations with the broadcasters and the Minister of Communications was held regarding the broadcasting of sports events of national interest. Negotiations with the broadcasters is to be finalised in the first half of 2001.

Greyhound racing raised strong objections from the public and the SPCA and indications were that the Dept of Trade & Industry would oppose legislation. The SA Boxing Bill was introduced. Public hearings were held. However the Bill had to be referred back to the Minister for it to be split into provincial-related and national related competences as previously it was a mixed bill covering both sections 75 & 76 of the Constitution. The changes are now awaiting the approval of the Speaker.

Provincial Study Tours
Tours were planned for the Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West and Kwazulu Natal. However the Kwazulu Natal tour did not take place as there were
changes in the parliamentary programme and the province was not ready for a visit. A visit is now planned for February subject to the Chief Whip's approval. Ms Bhengu stated that information from study tours would assist in the processing of legislation. She stated that not all political parties were involved in the study tours and a lack of representivity could lead to distorted perceptions.

International Study Tours
A visit to Cuba was planned for February 2001 as it was felt that much could be learnt from the development of the successful Cuban sports programme. It was envisaged that there might be visits to Nigeria and the Ivory Coast as well as Brazil , however budget constraints would have to be considered.

Presentations
The Committee found that South Africa was 'more than ready' for the 2006 Soccer World Cup bid. The All Africa Games final report was to be considered and assessed. A report on the King Commissions findings would be requested on finalisation of the process. The Minister will be asked to report back on SAFFA and PSL (Professional Soccer League) resolutions. A presentation was made by USSASA and it was found that there was a need to workshop on federations performance to develop feedback strategies.

Ms Bhengu stated that SARFU's presentation on transformation did not address the issue of too few black players, expensive tickets and issues of broadcasting. A task team from the Committee would be set up to develop strategies on transformation. However, SARFU's acceptance of the Committee is in itself a major achievement. Interactions with federations have been very positive as reflected 'in the Springbok team that was announced by Mr Viljoen last week'.

Budget Programme
Ms Bhengu stated that the budget allocation was R258,582, with an expenditure of
R123,749 leaving R134,832 available. It was suggested that available funds be utilized for international and provincial study tours before the end of the financial year in March 2001.

Discussion
Mr Mlangeni (ANC), Advocate Swart (DA) ,Mr Frolick (UDM), Ms Xingwana and other committee members all commended Ms Bhengu on her hard work, initiative and energy in driving activities forward. Mr Frolick stated that the evaluation and planning processes served as important tools in fulfilling their mandate.

Advocate Swart mentioned that evaluation could perhaps take place on a bi-annual basis rather than quarterly. Mr Ferreira (IFP) said that almost 50% of the budget was left. Remaining funds could be usefully employed in a provincial tour to Kwazulu Natal and a trip to Cuba in February, before the new financial year. Ms Xingwana (ANC) supported the Kwazulu Natal visit so that the rest of the provinces could be focussed on next year. She also stated that the Cuba visit would be beneficial as Cuba is a developing country with a small budget and yet excels in sport, drawing many parallels with South Africa.

Ms Xingwana emphasized the need to push through legislation on the Boxing Bill and reiterated the necessity for training for women and clearly articulating gender related issues. She added that the Committee should aim for greater press coverage next year.

Mr Ferreira wondered if sub-committees would be that effective as the sub-committees had not produced issues related to their areas of focus. Mr Fihla (ANC) said that school sport should play an integral role in developing trainers and coaches. Ms Bhengu stated that popular sports people from the community should 'be brought back' to use their skills in training the future generation.

Ms Southgate (ACDP) suggested it might be useful to have a copy of the report of the
All Africa Games before the Minister presented it. She also said that the Department of Trade & Industry needed to inform members on the Health & Racquet gym facilities for recreation which could benefit the community and staff. Ms Bhengu agreed that this should be followed up.

Mr Morkel (DA) stated that Formula 1 Grand Prix activities were not included in activities and that the relationship between USSA and the Ministry of Sport should be clarified.
He also suggested that more could be done to promote sports on beaches and improve safety measures for swimmers. Ms Bhengu stated that training life savers in the township, as had been successfully done in Durban, would create job opportunities and serve to improve safety.

Sports Recreation SA (Dept of Sport & Recreation) Progress Report
Professor Denver Hendricks presented a progress report on the Department (see Appendix 3) outlining administrative, legal and market related issues. Ms Elsie Cloete dealt with the financial situation of the Department. Mr Greg Hendricks addressed funding, policy, monitoring and international liaison.

Professor Hendricks emphasized the need for the Department to work with other government departments involved with sport so that work was not duplicated. The Technical Intergovernmental Committee (TIC) had been created for this purpose and consultations with them were already a vital component in many projects.

He said that major stakeholders should unite. He commended the Paralympics in that there was great unity of focus and said much could be learnt from this in overcoming personality differences and organisational conflicts. Ms Bhengu stated that the Paralympics 'had rescued South Africa' and that as much as possible should be learnt from them on their return.

It was essential to develop comprehensive plans for facilities in consultation with the community to promote support and a sense of pride as well as help stop vandalism. Planning programmes should be initiated with the department, provincial and local authorities.

SRSA Budget
Ms Cloete presented the budget update of SRSA (See Appendix 2). She stated that SRSA requested a total amount of R34 192 000 but the actual expenditure till the end of September was R25 948 000. She said that the variance was due to vacant posts in SRSA and transfer payments that could not be paid out to the SASC and other federations.

An additional amount of R105,83 million was requested of which R15 million was recommended by the Treasury. These funds could be used for the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport, hosting of and participation of international events and school sport.

The budget was found to 'be in line with the overall objective of the South African government on sports'. Ms Cloete stated that the SRSA was in the process of outsourcing the internal audit function, restructuring the audit committee in accordance with requirements in the Public Finance Management Act.

Administration
Professor Hendricks noted that draft policy documents had been developed on HIV Aids positive staff and family support, Smoking Policy, Job Evaluation Policy, overtime and leave control and SRSA bursary scheme (See Appendix 3).

Effective career pathing with the implementation of CORE for SRSA officials has been partially completed. Training for SRSA officials is ongoing and a skills plan is to be developed. Affirmative action policy in compliance with the Employment Equity Act is being actively pursued with all appointments to date aimed at representivity.

Legal Services
The revised Boxing Bill should be tabled in the first session of Parliament next year. Legislation services on matters such as Boxing Regulations had been hampered by staff capacity problems. The small staff complement of the SRSA, particularly legal advisors, had a negative impact on the processing of legislation. A preliminary draft is in place on the Sports Sponsorship Bill to promote an equitable share for all in sponsorship in sport. Other projects initiated were the Code of Ethics and Fairplay Bill and the International Sports Relations Bill.

Marketing & Communication
The SRSA had been very active in the publication area. Two issues of their internal newsletter A re Bolele were published in the year 2000. The first six monthly issue of SRSA report for 2000/1 financial year had been published. Next year quarterly publications would be available from mid-January 2001. The SRSA 1999/2000 annual report informing stakeholders on SRSA projects and activities for the financial year and effective management of the SRSA would be published by the end of November 2000. An SRSA information brochure on the structure, functions and interrelations with other role players will be published in December 2000. The re-activation of an SRSA website will also to take place before March next year.

There was ongoing involvement by the SRSA on promotions of national awareness activities such as HIV/AIDS. The procurement of more relevant premiers, memorabilia and gifts to foreign guests would be investigated. There were ongoing SRSA functions, seminars and workshops which this year included the send-off functions for the Olympic, Paralympic, World Cup Soccer Bid delegations. Mr Greg Fredericks (SRSA) invited the Committee to the welcoming breakfast and Press Conference for the Paralympic team scheduled for Sunday by the SRSA.

Indoor and outdoor publicity events that the SRSA were involved in this year included the Admiral launches in six provinces and Vodacom network exposure. The SRSA initiated the Presidential Sports Award. The first award ceremony is scheduled to take place on 2 March 2001.

International Liaison
Mr Greg Fredericks stated that a framework had been drafted for International Relations Policy. This would promote the sharing of expertise, skills and knowledge through international exchanges and visits by experts in sports. Issues that have been discussed include sport for the disabled, hosting of national games, sports science and coaching. . Ms Xingwana supported international liaison as it could provide innumerable benefits for job and business opportunities as well as tourism.

International agreements that have been signed include Canada, Flanders, Algeria. Draft agreements have been made with Cuba, Egypt, Malawi and Norway (see Appendix 3) Professor Hendricks mentioned that three students (from Northern Province, Free State and Western Cape) had already been accepted by Cuba for a doctoral degree in Sports Science.

The NATCCOM project has been established to enhance the co-ordination from a government perspective on international sport and recreation events hosted in South Africa from a government perspective.

The SRSA has also made recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs for visas and work permits to ensure effective, efficient and transparent issuing of documents in accordance with Home Affairs policy. A database has been set up to monitor movements of foreign players after document expiry.

A Brand SA project has been set up that will use major international sporting events to market South Africa. The SRSA has served on an interdepartmental task group on Brand SA and on the IMC.

Policy
Mr Fredericks stated that policy on the elimination of racism in sports on a national and international level was being planned with promotional material such as banners at major sports events already being displayed on racism and HIV/Aids. A document has been drafted to facilitate relations between the Dept of Education and the SRSA to improve school and tertiary education sporting opportunities.

A policy on the hosting of major international sport and recreation events in South Africa has been initiated. A national indaba is being planned to set up a strategic plan to develop national sports policy for South Africa.

The SRSA also intends to monitor government policy in sport and recreation through visits to national federations who have performance agreements with the Minister. The policies of other government departments are also to be evaluated. The SRSA has participated in Director General cluster meetings and task teams so that SRSA policies may be developed in consultation with national government and other government departments. This should result in government's approach to integrated planning and delivery becoming more effective.

Funding & Monitoring
The SRSA has published procedural guidelines for accessing government funds. It is in the process of finalizing effective and transparent funding policy to increase accessibility to sport thereby enhancing performance of South Africans in international competitions. Transfer payments have also been monitored through development of monitoring schedules.

Conclusion
Ms Bhengu commended the SRSA for their comprehensive, well-structured presentation and on the extensive work and activities undertaken this year by the SRCA.

She emphasized that the evaluation programme for the Committee will play a pivotal role in identifying areas for improvement for next year ensuring that future objectives were met. She thanked the Committee once again for their continued co-operation and hard work in meeting goals for this year.