Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport & its entities: 2021/22 Annual Reports

Meeting report

Opening Remarks
The Chairperson opened the meeting and greeted everyone present. He introduced himself, and announced that he is the new Chairperson of the Standing Committee, having taken over from the previous chairperson, Mr R Allen (DA), now Western Cape Minister of Community Safety.

He asked the Members in the chamber to introduce themselves, and then asked the Members attending virtually to follow on, followed by those sitting in the gallery. All the Members present at the meeting introduced themselves.

The Chairperson asked all those who did not have a copy of the Annual Report to please contact the procedural assistant, Ms Mary-Anne Burgess, to ask her for a copy. He further invited the present Members to stay behind for lunch at about 13h00, so as not to let the money go to waste. He acknowledged the presence of the Auditor-General.

The delegation from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport consisted of the following officials:

-Ms Carol Van Wyk, Chief Director: Cultural Affairs, DCAS;
-Dr Lyndon Bouah, Chief Director: Sport and Recreation, DCAS;
-Mr Kurt Blacker, Director: Enterprise Content Management, DCAS;
-Ms Nomaza Dingayo, Director: Provincial Archives and Records Service, DCAS;
-Mr Paul Hendricks, Director: Sport Development, DCAS;
-Mr Thabo Tutu, Director: Sport Promotion, DCAS;
-Ms Jane Moleleki, Director: Arts, Culture and Language Services (DCAS);
-Ms Colette Scheermeyer, Deputy Director: Heritage Resources Services Management
-Mr Michael Janse van Rensburg, Director: Museums, Heritage and Geographical Names Service (DCAS)
-Ms Jacqui Boulle, Chief Director: Youth and After-School Programmes;
-Ms Cecilia Sani, Director: Library Services, DCAS;
-Ms Shaun Julie, Director: Strategic and Operational Management Support, DCAS;
-Mr Deon Burger, Deputy Director: Office of the Head of Department, DCAS.

During all the introductions, Mr P Marais (FF+) implored the officials not to speak so fast when giving their names and titles because it makes it difficult to note them by hand.

The Chairperson echoed the comment, and assured Mr Marais that everyone would speak slower. He added that Members could refer to the DCAS organogram found in the annual performance report.

Delegates from the Western Cape Cultural Commission and other guests introduced themselves:
-Adv Mandla Mdludlu, Chairperson, Heritage Western Cape
-Ms Bernedette Muthien, Western Cape Cultural Commissioner, Provincial Representative to the National Arts Commission;
- Mr Melvin Arendse, Commissioner, Western Cape Cultural Commission;
- Mr Mark Roman, Guest;

The Chairperson reminded everyone of the translation services available. He said that accessing the service is slightly more complicated when attending the meeting online, but said that the IT support could assist whoever wants to access the service. He also acknowledged the presence of the Sign Language interpreter.

He congratulated one of the delegates for winning an award in the previous week, at the Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards. He commended the Department for continually giving recognition to artists. These awards cannot make up for the ‘beating’ that the sector took during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recognition given to these artists is so important – not just for their efforts and contributions in their respective industries, but also for inspiring young and upcoming artists, cultural affairs practitioners as well as sportspeople so that they can see themselves performing on big stages.

He then handed over to the Minister to conduct the opening remarks, before

The Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ms Anroux Marais (DA), said she wished not to make any opening remarks and would rather reserve the time for the deliberations.

Annual Reports
The Head of Department (HOD), Mr Guy Redman, greeted everyone and mentioned that the Department’s work was premised on prioritising the recovery of their sectors and also aligning their work with the Western Cape Recovery Plan in the areas of job safety and well-being. The year under review presented some unprecedented complexities because of the effects of the global pandemic on their sectors. The country moved from adjusted Level Three to adjusted Level Four from 16 June 2021 to 12 September 2021, and reached Level One in October 2021. This had a huge impact on their sectors. There was also the curveball of the Constitutional Court judgement in the fourth quarter. The team was up to the challenge and showed resilience. About 98% was spent on the budget in the year under review. The Department maintained its ‘clean audit’ status for the tenth consecutive year, as did all three public audits.

He then presented the DCAS Annual Report for the 2021/2022 financial year.

The Chairperson proposed that everyone follow the following format for the day: start with the entities, take the Western Cape (WC) Language Committee, then the WC Cultural Commission, Heritage WC and then go into the annual reports. He proposed a short tea and refreshments break at 10h00.

There were no objections, and Members agreed with this proposition.

He then asked if Ms Genevieve Lentz, Chairperson of the Western Cape Language Commission, was present, and asked if there were any opening remarks that the official wished to make in tabling the report.

Ms Lentz said that she did not have any remarks to make.

Western Cape (WC) Language Committee Annual Report 2021/22

The Chairperson invited Members to ask questions for the WC Language Committee. In doing this, he reminded everyone to reference the page numbers of the annual report since they will be covering it in its entirety. It would be unfair to expect someone to remember the entire document from cover to cover.

Ms D Baartman (DA) first commended the world-class language translation service in the WCPP. She then referred to page four of the annual report to ask her question. She said that she knew there is work done with the University of Cape Town (UCT) on the endangered language Khoekhoegowab, but she did not see the progress in the annual report. Is there further progress? The second question is for next year’s report: now that the report is in the three official languages of the WC, perhaps next year, they can consider adding Braille as a language, too.

On page 15, regarding the isiXhosa spelling competition held in February 2022, how many schools and children were involved in this competition? Since the Department wants to include Afrikaans, Khoi and San language, what plans are in place to include the aforementioned languages in next year’s competition?

Mr Marais remarked that Afrikaans had been listed as an official language. So, before one can discuss the Khoi languages, what efforts have the Department made to promote Afrikaans to a diverse society and not just the coloured people? Is the Department prepared to say what efforts they have made to encourage Black people to learn Afrikaans? Also, to teach coloureds and Whites to learn isiXhosa, how has the Department progressed in this regard? Are we taking a backseat in the dispute over the recognition of Afrikaans in the WC, which is a language spoken by 90% of coloured people?  

Mr D Plato (DA) started by applauding the contents of the report and said it was well-written. He regarded the preservation of all languages as very important and further suggested that they pay more attention to the indigenous languages, and consider the history. There is fortune in having many people operating in this field. One thing the Department could do is to pay heavy attention to the first-nation languages, maybe of those living in the Northern Cape and the WC. Can we see and hear more on this?

The Chairperson referred to page 13. He noted that there is an outline of the key policy developments and legislative changes focusing on the Khoisan Leadership Act. The recommendation is that the Department must take a more systematic approach when addressing the Khoi and the San languages. How would the Department characterise its current approach?

HOD Redman stepped in to answer some of the questions. He thanked the Member for bringing up the suggestion of including Braille. They are at the stage of experimenting with South African Sign Language (SASL). The programme director of the award ceremony could actually Sign; he did a very good job and nobody lost any detail. Since SASL is on the brink of becoming the twelfth official language, the WC government is thinking about what they can do to incorporate this.

He wished to address Mr Plato’s questions. The Department is promoting all three official languages of the WC (isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans), with special efforts to promote languages of the Khoi and San people since these languages are endangered. A few years ago, the Department worked with a certain speaker (lady) of the Ncu language. The Department did a programme with her, covering her story with the Artscape.

Ms Moleleki addressed the questions concerning Khoekhoegowab, questions on multilingualism, and the questions on the school competitions. She said that the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Act is a Governance Act that resides with the Department of Local Government in the province. However, the language and cultural aspects and the motion thereof are then dealt with by the entity under discussion at the moment. Since 2009, they have mentioned the use of the Language Policy, which promotes the use of all three official languages, Sign Language and the endangered languages. The Language Committee and the Department have collaborated with UCT to promote the Khoekhoegowab language. They work with UCT because they work with a credited certificate programme. The said programme has an in-house programme for the language and an outreach programme, and the materials are used within the programme.

Regarding promoting Afrikaans, she said that the WC Language Committee executed the WC Languages Act (Act 13 of 1998), emphasises the importance of promoting all three official languages. Each year, on 21 February, the committee hosts a National Mother Tongue Languages Day celebration. The Department works closely with different organisations to promote all three languages, including Afrikaans. One of the organisations is the Afrikaanse Taalraad. They have worked closely with the Afrikaanse Taalraad to assist from a governance perspective and to implement the Act. They have also worked with the Indigenous Languages Action Forum, the Iziko Museum of South Africa, and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB). Through this programme, they ensure that they get all these different entities together, in their fields of specialty, to foster the development and promotion of the language.

With regards to the spelling bee, she said that it occurred on 18 February and had 60 participants, including high school learners, university students and those from non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Another delegate was next to answer. She mentioned that there is always much improvement to make regarding promoting indigenous languages. They are going into further partnerships with Khoekhoegowab, and a member of theirs is working closely with Ms Baartman.

Regarding getting black people to learn Afrikaans: this is something worth working on a lot more. Translanguaging is a modern term being thrown around now, and there is a strong mandate on translanguaging and inclusivity. In fact, in her own Master’s dissertation, she stressed that translanguaging is one way to reach everyone. At the institution where she teaches, English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans are the languages most used. Students feel more confident expressing themselves when done in their mother tongue languages.

Ms Baartman asked a follow-up question regarding Khoekhoegowab. Do you know how many students are enrolled in the course on average? If not, please forward the necessary information. With regards to the spelling bee, were 16 students or 16 schools participating? Have you considered streaming online? The advantage of doing this is that those indigenous languages will remain there forever.

The Chairperson contested the previous speaker’s notion of ‘forever’ and further requested a budget for service space, archival space and printing the report in Braille.

Mr Marais addressed specifically the Minister and the officials. He said that the biggest tribe are the ‘Griqua’ and the ‘Nama’. They are the biggest in terms of population size, and these people have stated that the Griqua have adopted Afrikaans as their own language. It is an indigenous language derived from Dutch. The Saartjie Bartmaans have turned Dutch into Afrikaans so that it is indigenous. The Khoekhoegowab language should also be considered indigenous. What is the Department’s intention with the Khoisan languages? Will they just be learnt at a basic communication level, or will it be a deeper education of the language? If it is the former, it will have no academic value. It runs the risk of dying out like Latin.

HOD Redman responded to some of the questions. He said that the focus right now on Khoisan languages is saving those languages because they are disappearing. When the language disappears, the culture disappears too. They are training people to speak the language so that they can save it. They cannot yet get it to the level of isiZulu and isiXhosa.

Ms Moleleki next responded by saying she will provide a list of the 60 schools participating in the Spelling Bee.

Dr Bouah interjected with a comment on the translation of languages. One exciting project he has recently embarked on is the translation of rules of codes of sport into isiXhosa. This includes chess, cricket and netball. At the end of November, they will launch the boxing rules. Next year, they will launch the translation of rules of cycling.  

Ms R Windvogel (ANC) asked regarding page 15, paragraph 3.2.2: what progress has been made in this regard? On page 14, what has been done to ensure the report has been translated into all languages, and where are these translations?

Minister Marais piggybacked on the previous question and asked if getting a translation on all the languages online is possible. This would probably cost a lot of money.

The Chairperson commented that everyone should think of more cost-effective and better ways to print the reports. Legislation requires that it be done in a certain format, which is difficult. In future, the budget team should find a way to transfer the reports in short videos and sound bites because not everyone likes to read.

The HOD confirmed that all the reports are translated into all the official languages and are available on the DCAS website. He liked the idea of the video, sound bites, or any audio file for the reports. He said that they will look into it, and they are also looking into working with the Children’s Commissioner. And one of their commitments is to prepare a special annual report for children to engage with.

Ms Windvogel was asked to repeat her question for Ms Moleleki to respond to, and she did so.

Ms Moleleki responded by saying this question in the third paragraph on page 15 refers to Khoekhoegowab. This reminds her of something she said earlier about UCT, and whatever terminology and teaching methodology used are correct, in order to advance the language. Regarding Nama and Khoekhoegowab, because there are very few speakers, it poses a challenge. But what they have done within the language committee and UCT is include persons who speak and understand the said languages. Two individuals have been identified as fluent speakers of Nama, and they sit on the language committee, looking at the development of terminology and teaching material with the University of Cape Town.

The Chairperson said that the discussion on the Western Cape Language Committee Annual Report has been concluded. The agenda moved on to the Western Cape Cultural Commission. He asked someone to make any opening remarks for the new section.

Western Cape Cultural Commission Annual Report 2021/22

The Acting Chairperson for the Western Cape Cultural Commission (WCCC) mentioned that she was standing in for both the chairperson and deputy, who were away travelling. She emphasised that they are a new commission building on the legacy of the previous Commission. She mentioned that they are very excited to embark on their missions, and that it was a privilege to be there. A new round of questions then followed.

Mr Marais remarked that culture cannot be separated from language. Culture is a very broad term. He mentioned that the culture has, after not being contaminated in the metropolitans, is to be found in the rural areas of the Western Cape. What has the Department done to preserve the culture in these mission stations that stem from 1909? Are they being protected from outside influences? What is the Commission doing to ensure that the culture in those areas is not being destroyed, and that the residents are allowed to live the lifestyle they prefer – without the municipality allowing development that inconveniences them? This really bothers him.

Ms Baartman asked with regards to pages 16 and 17 – the tables of the events that the Cultural Commission held. She noted the seven events, and said that her calculations approximated R210 000, in general. She thought the Griqua Royal House date was wrong and should be 2022 not 2021. She asked if the average amount they receive per year for these events is R210 000, or if they usually get more. And is it usually separate events? Then, on page 17, paragraph two: are there case numbers for some of these break-ins? How much was the cost of the fence due to the break-in? On page 21, regarding revenue collection: is this the total amount lost due to the pandemic restrictions upon building closures?

Ms Windvogel’s question was about page nine, on the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Act. What has been done to monitor the implementation of this Act in the province? What is the update on the implementation? What has been done to advance the objectives of the Act?

HOD Redman responded by saying that the province has indeed made much progress. The Department of Local Government has stated their intentions to present the Act to Cabinet, including cost implications (of which there are none at the moment). The Commission on Khoisan Matters began its work when it put out a call for recognition in March 2022. They are given two years to do their work and then make recommendations afterwards. That work is currently underway, and there is not much to report on except for administrative matters.

Mr Michael Janse van Rensburg, Director: Museums, Heritage and Geographical Names Service, responded by reminding everyone of a fire that took place a few years ago [somewhere in the Western Cape], and Heritage Western Cape (HWC) has worked closely with the affected community members and a church within the community. HWC has approved permits for the rebuilding of the various structures in the community. The entity’s committee members have done a lot of site visits to the area.

On Elam, he said the Department supports them through another affiliated museum. They have given the said department beneficiaries to ensure that the museum remains open to the public, and to make sure the culture and heritage are preserved. The Department has another affiliated museum in Genadendal to which they provide funding and staff. With Pniel Museum, they are not affiliated despite having had discussions with the board there. But they are still being assisted through another affiliated museum – Stellenbosch Museum.

An official from WCCC agreed with Mr Marais that language, culture and lifestyle are indeed all interconnected. Regarding the rural and urban divide: six members are currently based in those areas. The Commission has a very strong rural representative with people who come from the performing arts and heritage sectors. There is even a pastor, and there is a gender balance. They are working on social cohesion and nation-building.

Ms Moleleki mentioned that different places spell ‘Griqua’ differently. In this case, they have taken their ‘q’ from the ‘The Griqua Royal House Consciousness Movement’; they prefer to spell it in this manner. The Department is supporting the Cultural Councils Act. The members can file applications should they require support for conferences and research.

Regarding vandalism at the facilities, all broken-in facilities were reported to law enforcement. The lighting has been increased and so has armed security increased at these facilities. The adjacent farmer removed the fence at Koekenaap. And unfortunately, the Department had to replace that fence for security reasons. The cost was R2 400 000.

The Chairperson suggested that he and another member go and approach this farmer to ask if the farmer can pay a portion of the cost. He then asked if there was an error regarding the date for the ‘The Griqua Royal House Consciousness Movement Conference’ on 05-06 August 2021 or 2022 (page 17). To this, Ms Moleleki confirms it is for the year 2021/2022.

Mr Marais had a follow-up question regarding the Traditional Leaders and Khoisan Bill. Since it is the prerogative of the Premier to decide whether they recognise the senior leaders of the Khoisan, have they yet determined what the entry level for acceptance is?

Ms Baartman spoke Latin; her statement translated to “Now, the only mode of transport is a leap of faith”. She had a follow-up question on page 17. She noted that an amount of R210 000 is the total cost for the events for this year. Was it the same as last year? If so, is more or less being given this year than last? Regarding the high cost of rebuilding the fence discussed earlier, she did not understand why someone would just take down a neighbour’s fence for no reason.

Mr M Xego (EFF) had a follow-up question. With regards to the fence: was the taking down due to a dispute or on perimeters? What could have possibly caused that? How did this even come about? This is a concern because of the legal implications.

Ms A Bans (ANC) requested an update on page nine on ‘The Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Act’ (TKLA). What is the progress on the implementation of the Act?

HOD Redman addressed Mr Marais’ question on the recognition of seniority among the Khoisan. He said that there is a Commission on Khoisan matters, which has stipulated criteria that the members who want to be recognised as senior members will have to meet and follow the criteria. They have to fill out application forms. This is an opportunity to get the Khoisan to be recognised as a people. The Department respects all those who identify as various leaders of communities. Should the Premier support what the Commission states, they will escalate it to the National Minister to do the official work. The TKLA is being led in the WC by the Department of Local Government not the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. And the Department of Local Government has already tabled the report to Cabinet.

Ms Brenda Rutgers, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), responded to Ms Baartman’s question by saying that the reason for the under-correction is because of the pandemic on the cultural facilities. However, in the previous financial year, there was an additional transfer of R1 500 000 to compensate for the loss of revenue. There was an increase for the current financial year but not a big increase of R500 000 extra.

Ms Moleleki responded to the issue of the fence at Koekenaap. The farmer did not remove the entire fence – only the boundary side between his farm and Koekenaap. The farmer said the fence was extremely dilapidated and would therefore be risky. An assessment was done, and it led to the total replacement of the fence.

Ms Rutgers interjected by saying the R210 000 is a budget of which they allocate R30 000 to each organisation, based on an application process.

Ms Moleleki added that the Department has 34 registered Cultural Councils on its database. And the ones reported in the annual report were those who applied for and were allocated funds.

Heritage Western Cape Annual Report 2021/22

The Chairperson moved on to a new section and also a new booklet. He then invited the chair of the section to make some brief opening remarks.

Mr Mandla Mdludlu, Chairperson of Heritage Western Cape, made some opening remarks. He said that they endured a lot during the pandemic and are only now starting to find their feet, before they had to have only virtual meetings. As recently as the previous week, a bridge near George had just been launched. Those who travelled to Gqeberha might have seen a bridge in that area.

Everything has been running well so far, especially by the administrative staff. The entity deals with property, specifically land, an emotive subject for most people. He might be dealing with a demolition of property, which would result in a dispute.

The Chairperson was the first to ask a question on whether there is work being done to approach the provincial Treasury and the budget chairperson to increase the salaries of the staff members in this entity. If this is not addressed, there is a risk of losing them to the private sector.

Ms Bans referred to page four, paragraph three, and sentence four, where it discusses the discrepancy in staff salaries. What are these discrepancies? How much additional funding is required for them? Was this matter raised with the Department? If yes, what was the response?
Then, on the last paragraph of page 19: what are the details regarding this decision, and what are the updates on the eight rulings made?

Lastly, on page 23: what are the details of the proposed settlement, and what are the updates regarding the application? Who paid those legal fees? And did HWC incur any loss regarding this case? What is happening with the Black River?

Ms Windvogel asked about page seven. What causes these projects to be delayed?

Mr Marais asked about Robben Island. He said that many people spent time on this island and yet it seems to be monopolised by one political party. People of other races have also been there, yet they are not being recognised or mentioned. Why is that?

Ms Baartman asked how the online application process in going (page 7). On page 24: will the site inspections increase now that the pandemic has eased, or is this the target to be expected, going forward? On page 27: the ‘other operating income’ has been decreasing, and the transfer payments have been increasing. What is the exact collection process?

Mr ShaunJulie, Director: Strategic and Operational Management Support, pointed out that the entities are handled differently from the public entities. There is control of salaries paid. There have been initiatives in the WC to increase salaries. They are currently not permitted to go outside the salaries that are allocated.

Mr Janse van Rensburg added to what the previous speaker said, saying that HWC has developed a service delivery improvement plan, which has stemmed from engagements with the Premier. Many steps have been taken to improve the capacity, one of which is that they received additional funding for additional posts, which will help with the salaries. In the year under review, they have employed an additional eight heritage officers, which helps create a better organisational environment.

Regarding the legal matters that Ms Bans brought up, the case's background is that the plaintiff sought compensation from the state. The plaintiff claimed that the declaration of the provincial heritage sites sterilised their rights to develop that area. The court found the declaration was lawful and did not amount to constructive appropriation. The plaintiff then approached HWC about a tentative settlement. The Department intends that this matter be settled outside of the court.

Regarding River Club: this matter came before HWC as an environmental authorisation application in terms of the National Environmental Management Act. As such, HWC was a commenting authority, not a permitting authority. Various meetings were held and the HWC decided to provincially protect the River Club site. This decision was appealed to the ministerial tribunal, and which required that the HWC council hear the matter; this was done, and various parties were invited to the tribunal. The tribunal upheld the provisional protection of the site. Following that, the two-year provisional period expired. This is what was challenged in court. The case is still ongoing, and an interdict was recently granted; the interdict sought to hold the building activity on site. This is subject to change, however.

Regarding Robben Island: this is a national, provincial heritage site with a museum. The Department does have some synergies with the site. They work with them in terms of the Resistance Liberation Heritage route. They also have some synergies concerning the World Heritage Advisory Committee.

Regarding Ms Baartman’s questions: during the pandemic, HWC had to quickly move from a manual application system to an online one. This helps them remain accessible to the public. They tried to make sure that the application numbers did not drop substantially. In fact, they increased in the year under review. Automation was identified as a key component in improving service delivery. HWC needs a database management system that can help automate the process. The entity concluded a memorandum of agreement with a service provider. The entity’s team is being trained to migrate to a national database system to process heritage application and store related information. This transition should be complete within the next year. The QR (quick response) codes are still in the pipeline but should offer the museums an additional tourist offering.

On the transfer payment increase on page 27: there were three transfer payments to HWC. These were R550 000, R348 000 and R1 000 000.

Regarding legal liability, there was one case called the Monster Building case of 2013, where HWC was one of four respondents, but they unfortunately did not win the case.

The Chairperson opened the floor to members of the public to ask questions regarding any of the entities.

Mr Mark Roman asked about a previous question which he felt was not answered properly. It is the question about certain political parties monopolising Robben Island and excluding other races and parties. May this question please be answered properly now?

Mr Arendse asked a question about section 25b, relating to heritage governing bodies, to the CEO, Mr Janse van Rensburg. He was asking because Korana people are not exclusive, after centuries. They have intermarriages, and other cultures are part of their culture. A section 25 criterion is unclear on how it makes provision for specific inclusions, because the definition is either white, black or yellow. Other than the required documents such as constitutions and demographics, it is unclear about how it reflects diversity and inclusivity in managing those mixed estates. He would like to get some clarity on that.

Adv. Mdludlu responded by saying that Robben Island generally belongs to everyone. He had spoken to a prisoner of the monument, who commented that the place is heritage of its own kind. It carries its own rich history, including the fact that officials from two different political organisations were imprisoned there in the 1960s – politicians from the Pan-African Congress and the African National Congress. These people are more attached to Robben Island and its historical significance. There are political veterans from countries like Namibia who speak fondly of the island. These were not the only people imprisoned there. A Xhosa chief named Maqoma was imprisoned there as well. That is the reason why these political organisations are so attached to the monument.

The Chairperson fondly recalled times when the Committee visited Robben Island. He said that the island is not just a prison but a national treasure and monument. It also has a lot of landlords and owners. One of the Members suggested that the island be free to minors so that children can experience more about the history and culture of Robben Island. The Committee will be updated in this regard.

Mr Janse van Rensburg addressed the question regarding the conservation bodies. He said that anyone with heritage-related matters can apply to register at the Conservation Body with HWC, and they can go through the process with the applicant. This can be further discussed during the tea break.

The Chairperson reminded everyone that nominations for the entities go out annually. When vacancies arise, the Department struggles to get people to apply and show interest. Yesterday, a list of nominees was compiled. These entities belong to the people of the WC. He advised everyone to be vigilant on the website for any opportunities and vacancies that may arise. The Department has a very active Facebook page.

There was a short tea break.

Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport Annual Report 2021/22

The Chairperson referred to the Department’s annual report. He recounted that the HOD had made opening remarks and that the Minister had asked to be allowed to comment later in the meeting. He gave the delegates from the various entities permission to leave the meeting if they wished to do so.

The Chairperson then tabled the annual report in its entirety, but said they would break it up into different parts. He asked Members to ask questions and indicate the page numbers and sections they were referring to. The questions should be confined to the context.

Ms Bans had a question regarding page nine, paragraph two: may they please give a detailed update regarding the Netball World Cup 2023 preparations? How many netball facilities have been built or upgraded, including in the working-class communities? Can they all discuss expenditure breakdowns? On the same page, on paragraph four: given the scope of this Department’s mandate, all can agree that it is one of the most underfunded departments. Has the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) met with Treasury about increasing the budget? If yes, how many meetings were held? What was the response from Treasury, and what will be done in future about underfunding?

On page 11: what is the number of public libraries that do not have any access to the internet? And how many have not connected to free internet access thereof? What engagements has the MEC had with the Premier regarding this?

Again on page 11: what is the ‘geek economy’, and what are the objectives? What were the opportunities created, and what was the nature if these opportunities? What measures are put in place to support struggling artists?

Lastly, on the youth who were first given work opportunities: how many of those opportunities are there? Has this made an impact in decreasing the very high youth unemployment rate? What is being done to assist youth forced into a life of crime?

On page 28: youth development is not taken seriously and should not be handled by junior employees. It needs to be handled by a senior director. Who is responsible for liaising with other departments about youth development programme, and how are they monitored?

Minister Marais was the first to respond. She said it was very difficult for them to go through this process, but they always tried their best. She briefly spoke in Afrikaans. It is all about the fiscal environment. The HOD can further elaborate on that.

HOD Redman responded by saying that they make a case for DCAS every year, and they improve the budget process. In fact, just last year, they were able to secure an additional R15 000 000 for the youth programmes during the holidays. He acknowledged the difficulties of a balancing act with regard to the budget. The Department’s case is being heard. They are not at all happy with the allocation but they have made the case and it is being heard. The matter of youth has been allocated to DCAS to coordinate on behalf of the WC government.

Ms Boulle responded to questions about the youth. The WC government has been ahead of the national government in youth development programme, which started in 2015 as a flagship programme. The national youth service provides part-time work two days a week or 16 hours per week. The WC government has exceeded that by having two-thirds of their youth working full-time not part-time. In the year under review, there were 1 385 youths who benefitted from the programme. Currently, 3 000 youths are benefitting from the programme. The said programme provides a bridge for young people to other studies or work. They work on 12 competencies. In the end, they get a glowing reference letter and a competency development report. They are assigned a mentor and then supported on their journey, going forth into other studies or work. They have realised that many departments run youth programmes but not all have the same impact. They are currently in the process of assessing all the programmes to see what improvements can be made.

HOD Redman clarified that the ‘geek economy’ are artists who rely on live performances to earn an income. Since the pandemic closed off live performances, the Department was able to secure funds to assist the artists to still make money even with the national restrictions.

Ms Moleleki responded that they were able to support artists in six festivals. The value of what was spent by the Department is R1 860 000. The geek economy is a short-term arrangement for freelance work done by artists. They fund this work through organisations that run these festivals.

Ms Cecilia Sani, Director: Library Service, DCAS, addressed questions regarding library internet connection. Currently, there are 43 library points without internet connectivity, and this is for various reasons. They are working closely with the Broad Band Initiative. Of the 229 libraries on the rural connectivity, 200 of them are connected through Broadband. Broadband is assisting with providing Wi-Fi in the libraries.

Dr Bouah addressed questions on the Netball World Cup 2023. The venue is the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and the tournament will occur between 28 July 2023 and 06 August 2023. They are currently in advanced stages of preparing for the World Cup. The Department has contributed to 48 courts that have either been renewed or upgraded. Provincial Treasury has made available R8 500 000 to assist with this. They are well on schedule. The Southern Sun, Stay Easy and the Western are among the hotels that will host the guests. They have written to all the municipalities in the WC, and most responded that they want to host a fan park or viewing centre. The local schools will be asked to adopt a country and host that country.

Mr Plato expressed his excitement at the upcoming World Cup. He thanked the Department, and said that he hoped everything would go according to plan. He applauded the Department for its excellent work. He then asked the Department if there was anything different that they had done in all the preparations. How did they manage to persevere through the struggles of the pandemic?

Ms Baartman complimented the Department on its tenth consecutive year of a clean audit (which is referenced on page 10). Given that the Department is notorious for being underfunded, what amount is considered ‘enough’ to fund the programmes?

Then on page 13, regarding the ‘roll-over’ funds have been requested. What is the status regarding this? Have the funds yet been approved? Is it in the current budget? Lastly, she congratulated the Department on ‘The Year Beyond’ Project, which seems to be going well.

HOD Redman mentioned that what they did differently was immediately pivot to online platforms for work purposes and other purposes. Even the training was all done online. As a result, costs were reduced. They continued to encourage other communities to move towards being digital to make operations easier to run. This has proven to be successful. He said that the highest risk they face at the moment is libraries. The libraries make up a large portion of the DCAS budget, and they cannot really afford them. The budget for DCAS on everything is currently sitting at R900 000 000. They have R600 million just for their libraries, and the Department only gives them 10%. They owe a lot of people money. They wish they could get over R1 000 000 000 so that they can do more. They cannot risk any of the libraries being closed.

Ms Sani confirmed that the roll-over funds have indeed been approved but they are awaiting the final confirmation letter for the funds before proceeding.

Mr Xego referred to page 12, and asked that the delegation be more specific in explaining the nature of the project that resulted in the non-spending of the funds.

On page 28, he noted two vacancies within the organisation and asked for an update regarding that. If they have not been filled, what could be the hiccup? The question is coupled with Ms Bans’ question about youth representation within the organisation. The programmes are commendable, but clarity about the representation needs to be provided.

Regarding the Netball World Cup, he expressed that it is something to be proud of as South Africans. Hopefully, all will go well. He requested an update on the inter-departmental relations on the state of preparedness. “We cannot be failed by issues such as crime”, he added. How will this event benefit the people of the WC? “We had a FIFA World Cup here in 2010, but the aftermath of it did not benefit us. People today are still complaining, as their expectations were not met.”

The Chairperson asked with regards to the Liberation Heritage Route programme. From his initial understanding, this programme includes different sites where liberation heroes stopped off or interacted with. What is the Department doing to ensure visitors go to those sites? In the annual report, it says that this is linked to creating safe and cohesive communities. How will this happen, because some of these sites are not geographically located within the communities?

HOD Redman responded to some of the questions. He said there were funds allocated to them that allowed them to do feasibility studies on three sites that form part of the resistance and heritage route in the WC, two of which are Robben Island and Madiba House. The Department gave them the necessary permissions to conduct the work. One needs a physical experience to understand Robben Island – even though the place seems inaccessible. There are ways in which they can have the island experienced in other ways and on other platforms, by way of satellite. With the Cradle of Human Culture, they are going in the direction of satellites. They anticipate that Madiba House will have a lot of visitors, although it cannot withstand that capacity. They have developed a way of visiting the Diepkloof Rock Shelter site by way of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The steep hills will make that site easier to reach for fit people.

Mr Janse van Rensburg confirmed that their province is way ahead of the other provinces. There was some leftover money, which they tried to return to the NFC. But the NFC said they do not want the money so the Department will use the leftover funds for an exhibition of the 27th Freedom Race that will be in Madiba House.

Dr Bouah assured Members they would not disappoint anyone with the upcoming World Cup. They have a meeting next week about a document of their carbon footprint, at which they have to present to the officials of Environmental Affairs. Representatives from every department will go in to assist with the preparations. It is expected that they will be visiting presidents of countries. They have quarterly meetings with the tournament director and her team. They will plan for milestones which need to be achieved. The trophy will arrive in June 2023, and they need to plan where that trophy will be placed. They regularly meet with the City of Cape Town too.
 
Regarding economic benefits, the people residing in the Fan Park area are working with the municipality to sell some goods and earn an income in this manner. The Department is committed to one Fan Park per distance as a minimum. They are using the World Cup to contribute to local economic empowerment.

The Chairperson asked how they would get the people to the Liberation Route sites.

HOD Redman responded by saying they have a good relationship with Robben Island. They also have a good relationship with the current Head of DCAS. There would need to be a well-structured programme; they are currently working on this. The projects they have done for the Cradle of Human Culture are projects, which they will do again for the Resistance and Liberation. With the Madiba House, there has to be a satellite, as there are too many people.

They need to make libraries make sense to municipalities so that they can legally fund them.

Ms Bans had some follow-up questions. Regarding the question she asked about the youth flagship, the Department said that they are long-standing and they are leading. She wants to know: if they are the ones leading, how will they do so without a directorate? The 395 disciplines – where are they geographically based? How are the youth programmes coordinated across the Department? Are there youth coordinates? She also wants to know what the total amount of beneficiaries is. She also asked for a list of all the beneficiaries.

HOD Redman began responding by saying that DCAS is a youth Department. Everything that they do primarily covers the youth. They therefore decided that DCAS would cover the youth initiatives.

Ms Jacqueline Boulle, Chief Director of the After-School Programme, further responded that they use a partnership model for their youth work. They have partnered with several donors who are responsible for some of the support that is provided. They also have a network of 53 NGOs that they work with and who provide mentors to young people. In the year under review, they had young people working in the no-fee schools –about 150 schools. They have young people working in libraries, museums and community hubs. She is happy to send a list of where all 315 young people are working.

The HOD added that the other programmes also employ the youth. The EPWP in DCAS predominantly has youth representation. The entire province has about 614 opportunities in the programme, specifically targeting the youth.

The Chairperson started a new section. He tabled part b, pages 31 to 41.

Mr Marais asked if the work on youth is a pain tablet, a band-aid or as a result of a need for a more incisive surgery. There are still problems of youth gangsterism, murders, alcohol abuse and drugs within the province. He acknowledged that the Department is working hard but questioned if the hard work was being effective. He then spoke in Afrikaans.

Mr Plato commented with regards to issues such as gangsterism, unemployment and drug abuse. The Department cannot solely be held responsible for eradicating those issues.

The Chairperson wanted to know if the Department can provide an effort to update on the provincial youth development strategy.

HOD Redman confirmed that there is synergy, which has helped to set up management committees (mancos). There is a safety manco (focusing on the preventative and social protective factors), a jobs manco and a welding manco (focusing on mental health and general well-being of youth). Their aim is to identify synergies and make the necessary connections. DCAS does not support the notion of ‘anti’; their battle is a positive one to empower the youth. There is a misconception that the youth they have in their programmes are not at risk. This is not true. The youth in their programme are really struggling, but they choose to be part of the programme despite all their struggles. Doing this helps them stay out of trouble. There is a particular department that deals with those youth who are currently on drugs.

Ms Bans referred to page 43, under priority two (Transformation and Job Creation). How many work opportunities were created per programme? On page 45: given the serious problem of racism faced in the province, what are the steps taken by the Department, since the sixth administration began, to deal with racism? Is there a budget to deal with racism in the province?

Mr Xego referred to page 47: how many jobs has the Department managed to create in the year under review? Can the Department elaborate on internships being job opportunities? Regarding the rural library community project: can they understand this clearly? What is being done to rectify the areas where the Department does not have total control of the libraries?

Ms Baartman asked regarding page 47: how many learners have been supported through the ‘Home Learning Homework’ support? And how many teachers are serving in this programme?

Mr Paul Hendricks, Director: Sport Development, began with the responses to questions. Regarding job opportunities, he indicated that 769 jobs were created as of end of September 2022. They will send out the exact breakdown of jobs in each programme.

Ms Boulle responded that 46% of the youth transitioned out into jobs, 26% transitioned into full-time studies and 27% went into the informal economy – all in the year under review. A total of 133 youths worked on the ‘at-home’ programme. In the year under review, 26 000 learners were supported in street activities. Every youth is assigned at-risk learners to take care of.

Ms Sani addressed the issue of footprint in the library. There are 270 libraries in the rural areas. As DCAS, seven points across the province support rural library services. As long as one is a member of the library, they can access the e-books services and audiobooks. It is the province’s mandate to fund public libraries. They are currently updating the provincial legislation.

Mr Janse van Rensburg responded regarding the museum exhibitions. He said that they cover the national symbols. They have the ‘I am the Flag’ educational programme. All their exhibitions are geared toward creating social inclusion. The exhibitions speak to the legacy of Apartheid and racism.

Ms Moleleki responded to the questions about the arts and culture programmes. She indicated that they are all-inclusive, which addresses the segregation issue. There is inclusion of social advocates appointed by the national Department. In addition to racism, there is a strong focus on social justice and, in other issues, the rights of single biological fathers. They give attention to these issues.

The Chairperson asked if there is work being done to establish a library to accommodate theatre enthusiasts in the province.

Mr Marais said that he had just been made acutely aware that there are still talks about the post-Apartheid legacy. He asked members to stop talking about it and rather focus on the fraud that had taken place after Apartheid. He recalled the days when he was younger and working on projects to stop the youth from turning to drug abuse and a life of crime. He was more interested in the after-school programmes. He is shocked at how the youth of today has turned out to be worse than the youth of his time. Do the after-school programmes have a moral factor?

Ms Bans had a few follow-up questions regarding job opportunities. She recounted that about 1 000 safety ambassadors were retrenched, and the MEC had committed to assisting these young people with other opportunities. How far are they with this commitment? How many young people have been assisted? What interventions were put in place to address this challenge?

Minister Marais addressed Ms Bans’ question about Department’s commitment. She said that the previous Minister’s contract for the safety ambassadors relapsed. It was time for them to leave, not that they were kicked out. About 50 ambassadors were taken up in the Overstrand Municipality, and about 30 were in the Saldana Municipality. They received contract positions. She does not know what happened after she left and when the new Minister took over.

Mr Hendricks addressed the type of messaging through the code and genre development programme. He said that there is a set curriculum, which the coaches have and said type of messaging is explicit and implicit. The focus is life skills and social skills.

Ms Boulle added that the youth work with small children in the programmes they have. The youth go through personal and professional development curriculum and are trained to run workshops with both learners and parents. They also train practitioners on how to run a quality after-school programme.

Ms Sani spoke about the libraries. She said that she is not aware of any theatre collections. She will take the suggestions back to her team for consideration.

Ms Bans asked about the last paragraph on page 56: what is the purpose of this initiative, and when will it be expanded to include all drama youth groups? What support is given to drama youth groups in townships and rural communities? On page 70, paragraph one, and the last sentence: how much has the Department contributed towards provincial government initiative? Lastly, on page 70 – under ‘provincial archives’: are there any backlogs on documents that need to be archived? On page 79, under paragraph three: how many physically-challenged organisations received funding? How much was contributed per organisation? On page 77, last paragraph: what is the breakdown of the supported clubs per area code and municipality?

Ms Baartman asked on page 64: earlier it was said that, by end of September this year, 769 jobs were created, but she calculated it to be 918 jobs based on information given on page 64. Is her calculation correct, or was there an error? What is the amount for the period under review?

HOD Redman responded by saying that the work opportunities under ‘sport and recreation’ are not represented in the figures on page 64. Only those in: libraries, archives, arts and culture and museums are.

Mr Thabo Tutu, Director: Sport Promotion, responded that, in the year under review, they supported 180 clubs: 33 from Eden, 37 from ‘Metro’, 11 from Central Karoo, and 37 from Cape Winelands, amongst others. The list is readily available that can be supplied to Ms Bans. On organisations dealing with physically challenged individuals, he said they work with an organisation that is part of the Commission of the Western Cape Provincial Sport Federation, whom they send funding. That funding is given to the confederation to distribute to the various commissions.

Ms Nomaza Dingayo, Director: Provincial Archives and Records Service, DCAS, confirmed a backlog of the documents. Their main challenge regarding the backlog is inadequate space due to the rooms being filled to capacity. A survey done in August 2021 revealed that there are about 27 258 documents in total, dating back to about 20 years ago.

Regarding dealing with the risk on page 145: they have engaged with the Department of Transport and Public Works. At some point, there was funding allocated to the Department, but in 2019 the project was discontinued indefinitely. Since then, they have been engaging on different platforms.

Ms Moleleki addressed the question on drama: the purpose of the drama programme is to give effect and support those who are studying or performing under drama. On page 56, a ‘smaller scale’ is discussed. Before the year under review, the focus was on the garden route region, with a focus on Dysseldorp, George, Knysna, Sedgefield, Albertina, Heidelberg and Plettenberg Bay areas. They give them lessons on script management and managing themselves on stage, etc. They also expose the rural areas to performing on professional stages such as Baxter Theatre. About 141 youths are participating in this programme. Additionally, they fund organisations that focus on drama development. They fund drama organisations from across the province.

Ms Sani responded by saying that they do not contribute to the broadband initiative; they are a recipient of it. They look after the inside of the library, such as the computers.

Ms Baartman asked a follow-up question. Her calculations on the sports section left her with four indicators, with 2 997. She needs guidance for the whole of DCAS: what is the number of job opportunities created in the year under review?

Ms Windvogel asked about page 63, programme 4.2. There was a lot of interference here so it was hard to make out what she was saying. Why was the target not met, and how does it affect the Department? On page 68: how much of the compensation of employees' funding was not spent?

HOD Redman responded that he would rather have that in writing for the number of job opportunities so that they know the exact number. How EPWP (expanded public works programme) works is that it is a stretch target. People get work opportunities whilst still in the programme. And when that person moves on, it creates a new work opportunity. Before the pandemic, the turnover was very high but after the fact, the turnover decreased because of an increase in unemployment.

The Chairperson then moved on to part C, pages 78 to 141. He asked Members to ask questions.

Mr Xego referred to page 133, and he pointed out that the number of new libraries with funding that are projected is zero. Is there clarity on this? On page 134, under ‘number of library upgrades with funding’, it still shows zero.

Ms Bans had questions regarding the last paragraph of page 80: every year, issues of facilities in need of repair are raised to no avail. What are the plans to maintain sports infrastructure? How much funding was allocated in the year under review? What conditional grants exist for sports facilities? How many grants is the Department applying for?

On the last paragraph of page 83: can the Department provide details of all pathways per sporting code? Are there any pathways created for soccer? On page 91, row six: why was this target not achieved? On page 95: what are the plans to increase the budget with this programme? On pages 100 to 132: of the transferred funds, how much of the funds have been earmarked to respond to the challenge of drugs, gangsterism and other social ills? Is there any monitoring of the expenditure? What is being done to ensure all the funds are used for their intended purpose? Are there any instances where organisations misused funds? On the last row of page 135: what are the challenges regarding handling of posts? On page 137: what are the reasons for underspending here?

HOD Redman responded by saying the target for zero libraries; they have built one. Regarding the target that was not achieved for the athletes: it was because of a new variant (Omicron) that arose during the pandemic. Travelling was restricted.

Dr Bouah responded to the question about facilities. He said that they are a local government competence. The DCAS just assisted in the upgrade or construction but on a very small scale, as this is not a constitutional mandate for them. They therefore incur a small amount of money for that. They work with the national Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. The national Department avails funds, and then the provincial DCAS applies the norms and standards in evaluating and endorsing the facilities. DCAS also works with COGTA Funding – a national fund that the national Cabinet has availed. For that funding, municipalities need to apply. DCAS assists in evaluating those applications. They assist the municipalities but the final decision is taken by national government. They attend monthly meetings in Worcester. They usually have 50 athletes each year. The competition was postponed just as they were set to go to Hawaii. This is why the target was not achieved.

Mr Hendricks responded that there are 16 national priority codes, and the pathway from each of them – from the schools to each of the federations – are either on a subcommittee level or associate member level. The school sport structures fall under their respective federations. When busy with next-level participation, the trials and the officiation is done by those federations for their school sport structures. The same applies for the football area with SAFA (South African Football Association).

Mr Tutu responded that the Department relies on particular sports federations that take their athletes on a certain pathway. DCAS is responsible for facilitating this process. They also provide funding where possible.

Dr Bouah interjected, saying that, regarding drugs and gangsters, they participate fully within the provincial joints. They are identifying a safety plan. They work closely with other departments on those provincial joints. Last year, they started with the metro federations to establish projects and clubs. They will be monitoring them to ensure that they continue with that. The process they have for funding is an involved but necessary one. There is funding online, which one can apply for. Every August, there are funding workshops that take place. There are trilateral meetings at the start of the year. He has no knowledge of any sport entity that has not fully used its budget. They are currently in the process of filling the two community coordinator posts.

Ms Sani elaborated on the mechanisms in place to ensure that the monies sent to their beneficiaries are used for their intended purpose. Extensive reports are written about the various activities done. Before doing any money transfers, they request audited financial statements.

There was a very long dispute between the Chairperson and Ms Windvogel about when she put up her hand and whether she could still ask a question. The Chairperson proposed giving the members of the public a chance to ask questions.

Ms Bans had some follow-up questions regarding sports infrastructure. She said she understood that it is not the Department’s primary mandate to look after sports facilities. What is the relationship between the Department and the Department of Local Government regarding sport infrastructure?

The Chairperson disallowed Ms Bans from asking any further follow-up questions.

Dr Bouah responded that they have a very good relationship with the Department of Local Government. Every month they continue to meet with one another with all the municipalities represented, and assistance is provided on both sides whenever it is required. In cases where facilities are decaying, the Department escalates such matters immediately to the municipalities so that they may set budgets for repairs. According to the Constitution, they acknowledge that this is part and parcel of their responsibilities.

Ms Windvogel mentioned that she has ten questions to ask but will only ask two, for compromise. On page 86, paragraph one: the ‘mock’ programme is such a brilliant concept. What plans have been made to expand said programmes, and what engagements have been had to acquire additional funding for such? She acknowledged that the Department has a good relationship with the Department of Local Government. Concerning page 133, row one, she asked why this target was not achieved.

The Chairperson advised the Department to prepare their responses. In the meantime, everyone else could start preparing questions for the new section. He instructed everyone only to ask one question to give members of the public a chance to ask questions.

HOD Redman responded on the ‘mock’ programme, saying that they have reached the ceiling on their budget, but the model does work and they are ready to scale. They are also ready to partner with NGOs.

Dr Bouah mentioned that they now have a body of evidence to help them identify what worked, what did not, and what is important. As soon as one decides to scale up, they also need to add their intention.

Mr Hendricks mentioned that what they have done now is to look at the schools surrounding the ‘mock’ centres. And this is done to try and get schools to play against one another. The schools currently stand at 134. They have looked at establishing ECD (Early Childhood Development) centres. They have established CARES (‘Culture Arts Recreation Education Sport) complexes. The youth come together to play at these facilities, creating a safe space for them.

Ms Sani addressed concerns about municipalities having trouble filling posts. They are dealing with underfunding and some physical constraints. Because they are given a conditional fund and not permanent, they are more and more reluctant to fill positions. They are continuously meeting with them to get assurances from them and to make plans.

The conditional grant for 2021/22 was provided to the Department very late, and this is why the target was not met. The conditional grant alone is not enough to fund upgrades.

The Chairperson moved on to the last section.

He did not note any raised hands, so he asked a question instead. Regarding the Department’s staffing structure, he noted that there is a ‘major events’ team within the Department. Does the said team organise events all across DCAS, or does each part have its own team to do this?

Ms Windvogel asked about page 157, paragraph one: in Part B. She noted a lot of under-expenditure due to several delays. She asked to be taken through the various challenges experienced, and an indication of how many posts have not been filled. What went behind the decision not to fill posts?

Ms Bans asked about page 169: what are the plans to create more job opportunities for women, especially African people? Is the Department meeting its employment targets? If not, why not?

Mr Hendricks responded that the reason for the delays in filling posts is because of the many procedures that have to be followed, such as making sure the posts are still reflective of what it initially showed. They try to speed the process up as much as possible, but other factors come into play – such as capacity challenges.

HOD Redman addressed questions regarding events. In sports, they have a section dedicated to major events and a Central Western Cape Events Forum, which Dr Bouah chairs. They have about 120 major sports events. The Department takes employment equity very seriously. At any given opportunity, they make sure to meet all their targets.

The Chairperson opened up the floor to members of the public to ask questions, and he reminded them of the rules of the House. And since there is no way to identify them, they will have to be named after colours, which are not colours of the rainbow (as they have all been used now).

Mr Arendse noted that a few national programmes are running, but the WC government has no access point. What are the synergies? To what extent are they being extended from national to provincial level in making these programmes functional? Is there work being done from the national side to build these relationships? As the public, they do not see any clear direction from the government on access to these programmes.

Mr Roman asked regarding the Netball 2023 World Cup: how will the smaller groupings be involved with the roll-out process towards the Netball World Cup?

The Chairperson repeated the questions to make sure he had a full understanding of them.

Mr Tutu responded by recounting that, when South Africa received the right to host the Netball World Cup, one of the pillars they had to deal with was legacy programmes. Part of the legacy programmes was to build 20-30 netball courts across the WC. The other component of the programme was to create awareness about the World Cup. Because of this upcoming event, DCAS has committed itself to rolling out legacy programmes. To date, they have been flooded with community requests and engaged with WC Netball District structures on how they will fulfil their commitment. Netball structures steer them in the right direction as to where activations should take place. For example, two weeks ago, they were in Delft doing an activation there. They are getting requests from various communities.

HOD Redman responded regarding the tool programmes. He acknowledged the lack of synergy with the tool programmes. Since the Khoi-San Heritage Route, they have been more involved like with nominating those three sites. He promised to bring up this matter at the next meeting with the HODs and Director-General.

Closing Remarks

Minister Marais gave the closing remarks. She said the Department fosters identity, builds communities and gives a sense of belonging. Sport is a great way to show society that socioeconomic status does not define you. Arts and culture preserve culture and heritage, passing along the compass to future generations. She thanked the Department for all their hard work and contribution. She gave special thanks to Mr Paul Hendricks, who planned to retire on 30 October 2022. She showed appreciation to the teams and delegates of the entities. She thanked the Chairperson and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to appear before the Committee.

The Chairperson expressed his gratitude and happiness with the work done in the year under review. He thanked the Minister and HOD for leading the team. He mentioned a few upcoming events, and invited everyone to lunch.

The meeting was adjourned.