Department of Sport, Arts and Culture 2023/2024 Annual Performance Plan; with Ministry

NCOP Education and Technology, Sports, Arts and Culture

31 May 2023
Chairperson: Mr E Nchabeleng (ANC, Limpopo)
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Meeting Summary

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Sport, Arts & Culture

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) Annual Performance Plan prioritised:
- increased market share and opportunities in the sport, cultural and creative industries
- diverse socially cohesive society with a common national identity.

Committee members asked about the implementation of the DSAC programmes in rural areas; accessibility to learning materials for disabled persons and connectivity within libraries; the Sports Ambassador programme; prioritised sports promoted by Department programmes; sports development programmes within primary school education; oversight over provincial equipment procurement; the Art Bank project and incubator programmes for emerging artists. The Chairperson highlighted the importance of digitising archival material and the need for DSAC to collaborate with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

Meeting report

In response to the Chairperson noting her presence, Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu stated that the Minister is running late but will join the meeting.

Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) 2023/2024 Annual Performance Plan
Dr Cynthia Khumalo, DSAC Acting Director-General, outlined the key priorities:
- increased market share and opportunities in the sport, cultural and creative industries
- diverse socially cohesive society with a common national identity.

Bills and Regulations currently under review include the South African Geographical Names Council Amendment Bill of 2021, the Heraldry Bill of 2023, and the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill of 2021.

The core interventions for an increased market share and job opportunities in the sport, cultural and creative industries were listed with their outcomes:
● Enabling researched, regulated and funded SAC sector → An integrated funding model, Cultural and Creative Master Plan (CCI), Economic Reconstruction & Recovery Plan (ERRP), Intellectual Property Development.
● Support a range of cultural and creative sector initiatives to promote the diverse creative industries → Mzansi Golden Economy Programme, Films and Documentaries, Flagship & Cultural events, Emerging Creatives Programme, Visual Arts - Art Bank acquisitions, Publishing House.
● Expansion in new and traditional creative industry markets, cultural diversity and heritage → Market access programmes, international engagements, touring ventures, cultural diplomacy
● Increased economic participation by historically disadvantaged groups → Job creation, targeted procurement spends, Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP)

There was the projection of 2209 new job opportunities in Programme 2 (Sports and recreation), 4800 new job opportunities in Programme 3 (Arts and culture), and 4235 new job opportunities in Programme 3 (Heritage) for 2023/24.

Similarly, the core interventions and associated outcomes for a diverse, socially cohesive society with a common national identity were outlined:
● Increase awareness of charter of positive values and national symbols → Moral Regeneration Movement projects, National symbols, Heraldry Services
● Equalising opportunities, inclusion and redress → Target groups’ programmes, social compact, initiatives against gender-based violence, living human treasures publications, transformed and standardised geographical names
● Increase interaction across space, race, and class (by facilitating opportunities for people to share space and experience) → National Days’ celebrations, participation in sports and recreation, advocacy platforms on social cohesion, community conversations, provincial community arts development programmes, youth-focused arts development programmes, sports and recreation promotion campaigns and events, Africa month, International Cultural Seasons, Arts and Social Development programmes, community and school SAC programmes.

Mr Israel Mokgwamme, DSAC CFO, outlined the budget allocated to each programme for the MTEF as well as the conditional grants allocations to provinces such as the Mass Participation and Sport Development Grant and Community Library Services Grant. He drew attention to the compensation of employees ceiling.

Discussion
The Chairperson thanked the Department for the detailed presentation. He emphasised the need for this department to collaborate with the Department of Basic Education. He asked in which year the White Paper was established, as the presentation made reference to relying on guidance from the White Paper.

Dr Khumalo clarified that it was adopted in 2019.

The Chairperson commented on the need to digitise archival material, drawing on the example of the January 2022 fire in Parliament where archival material was lost.

Ms S Luthuli (EFF, Kwa-Zulu Natal) referred to the Sports Ambassador programme that has currently 21 sports ambassadors. She asked for the gender, sport discipline and provinces of these ambassadors, as well as what school sports structures are being set up at a community level with the help of these sports ambassadors.

She asked what was preventing the Department of Basic Education from signing off on the  Memorandum of Understanding for the Integration of Sport, Arts and Culture Plans. What is the current update? How will a signed memorandum ensure the goals they set out to achieve?

Ms Luthuli referred to the social cohesion programme that facilitates community dialogue. DSAC states in the presentation that they intend to teach capacity building and leave communities with tools to sustain dialogue so that there is continued impact after DSAC has left. Can they elaborate on how they will facilitate this development of capacity for dialogue in communities?

Lastly, Ms Luthuli noted the National Youth Service programme which aims to increase civic participation of youth and for gaining employment skills. What is the provincial footprint of this programme? She asked what the available job opportunities are for youth that participate in this programme.

The Chairperson asked that each Member pose only three questions at a time.

Ms D Christians (DA; Northern Cape) referred to the project for building more libraries and extending current libraries. Will the Department ensure connectivity in these libraries for students and other patrons, especially in rural areas, and what is the timeline for this?

Ms Christians asked the Department to elaborate on the social cohesion programme. How will the programme be rolled out and will it be rolled out in all public entities across the country?

Ms Christians asked the Department to elaborate on the success stories of the bursary programme, including how many students have thus far received this bursary and how many have completed their course. Are these students later placed in employment successfully?

Mr M Bara (DA, Gauteng) thanked the Ministry for their involvement in this committee meeting. He referred to a media report that claims that the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation has failed to outline exactly the type of equipment purchased for over R70 million in the past three financial years. He asked DSAC to provide clarity on how it provides oversight on the procurement by provinces of equipment for sports, arts and culture.

Mr Bara stated that the reason that primary schools do not have sufficient sports and arts development programmes is due to a lack of resources, coaching and curriculum. Is there a working collaboration between the DSAC and DBE in order to ensure successful realisation of sports activities within primary education?

Mr Bara requested an update on the development of the Sports and Recreation Policy. Will it achieve finalisation by March 2024?

Ms S Lehihi (DA, North West) spoke to the library programme which aims to extend libraries to include measures for those that are visually impaired, or those who read differently. How will the mini library support those that are differently abled? Who is determining the needs of those who are visually impaired or read differently to ensure libraries suitably provide this?

Ms N Ndongeni (ANC; Eastern Cape) addresses the department's commitment to beautifying public spaces, involving youth, and increasing international engagement and cultural diplomacy within sports, arts and culture. She asked for a progress update on the development of an International Relations Strategy for sports, arts and culture and the benefits achieved through such a strategy. Why has such a strategy not been developed before 2023/24?

She referred to the development of a music policy and design policy for implementation in 2024/25, as well as a book and publishing policy. What process is being followed in the planning, development and implementation of these three policies? What reasons have delayed these policies from being developed and implemented sooner?

Ms Ndongeni noted that the Department intends to expand the sector for emerging artists, including through the Art Bank project. How will Art Bank SA ensure that emerging artists, especially those in rural areas, access skills training and nurturing from it?

Ms Ndongeni spoke to the incubator and training programmes for artists that DSAC intends to facilitate. There is a budget allocation for companies that have achieved a reputation for the training of emerging artists to ensure access to such programmes and allows artists to receive national accreditations. What training programmes have been developed thus far, and why are these not being developed and implemented by the Department of Higher Education and DBE?

The Chairperson noted the arrival of Minister Zizi Kodwa and welcomed him to his first meeting.

DSAC response
Dr Khumalo noted that questions will be answered by the various programme directors.

Ms Mandisa Tshikwatamba, DSAC Deputy Director General: Institutional Governance and Corporate Services, replied about the strengthening of community dialogue. The Community Conversation programme will work twofold. Firstly, it will answer to the call of communities dealing with problems and facilitate the appropriate dialogues. Secondly, the Department will go into communities proactively to understand the issues that exist within these communities. Part of this programme is looking at working with community leaders, and traditional leaders. This programme intends to equip others within communities to continue to facilitate dialogue, and this project is in partnership with the UNDP.

Ms Tshikwatamba spoke to the scope of the social cohesion programme. It will be facilitated by representatives from communities within provinces, and resources are given to these representatives. Engagement between this community representative and the Department will guide the Department as to what tools that community may need, and there is an exchange of information and knowledge. These representatives are also put into contact with facilitators in other provinces to ensure cohesion. Not all provinces have facilitators, but an analysis is being conducted in order to identify new facilitators in these provinces.

Ms Sumayya Khan, DSAC Deputy Director General: Recreation Development and Sport Promotion, clarified that the Sports Ambassadors Programme consists of seven female ambassadors and 14 male ambassadors. As a pilot programme it was confined to Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng. It is now being developed into other provinces and the number of ambassadors is intending to grow. The sports are confined to football, netball, athletics, rugby and boxing - those offered within the school curriculum. They are also offered life skills training and motivational talks.

There are school sports structures at national and provincial levels and this is being implemented with the Department of Basic Education. This is established in the existing Memorandum of Understanding with DBE. However, the new memorandum intends to see how DBE can further ensure these sports structures are being implemented in schools. Challenges the Department faces are that educators in schools are not resourced to implement these structures, they cannot be properly remunerated, and the overtime they will have to provide to the school.

The new Memorandum of Understanding includes all areas of sports, arts and culture, and heritage, not just limited to sports. A review is being done by the Minister, especially on sports. This is the reason the Memorandum has not yet been signed. Once this review is done, and any changes made, the memorandum will be signed off by both parties.

Ms Khan spoke to the progress and finalisation of the Sports and Recreation policy. Sports codes are being revised and prioritised, considering that DSAC must prioritise those sports that will bring international competitiveness and participation in prestigious events. As consultations with various federations take place, the policy is slowly being developed. This roadmap will be followed before it will be taken to the Cabinet.

Ms Khan reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to working closely with DBE. The Memorandum of Understanding serves to better outline the role of each department in this partnership.

Mr Puleng Kekana, Acting Deputy Director General: Heritage Promotion and Preservation, addressed the status of the Heraldry Bill and South Africa National Geographical Names Bill. Comments have been received by the public and the state advisor and these are currently being incorporated into the Heraldry Bill. Similarly, the South African National Geographical Names Bill has received comments, and is currently undergoing a socio-economic impact assessment, after which it will go through the cabinet cluster process in the third quarter.

Mr Kekana noted the importance of the Chairperson’s comments on the digitisation of archival material. This process has been upscaled, with the French Audiovisual Institute, through attainment of PESP funding, and further funding has been received to digitise archival records.

The connectivity of libraries is a priority of the Department within library extension and building programme. Connectivity is a priority when establishing the locations of libraries.

Mr Kekana replied about the progress of students currently enrolled in the bursary programme. Many students are new in the programme, but there are ten returning students completing Masters and PhD. The process of placing graduates within employment is currently underway. Twelve students have been placed within the department.

On the mini library project for the visually impaired and those that have different reading abilities, this project has thus far established 290 mini-libraries which aim to provide resources including braille and other audio-visual materials.

Dr Khumalo answered that the National Youth Service programme will be implemented through NYDA under the National Young Footprint programme. There will be 250 artists who will be placed in art centres across the country, including in rural areas. They will be placed in workplaces in order to increase job opportunities.

Dr Khumalo clarified that the music policy was a part of the revised White Paper. It is in consultation processes with the advisory team and should be finalised by 2024. The theatre and dance policy must go through the cabinet committee. The book and publishing policy has not gone out for public comment yet, but is currently in consultation with stakeholders from the sector.

The Art Bank is a project driven by the National Museum in Bloemfontein. Calls for submissions are sent out by the National Museum, after which the Art Bank purchases items and artists get fully remunerated. These artworks are then used for diplomatic ventures, gifting and display within various government projects.

Dr Khumalo replied that DSAC works with the Department of Higher Education on the training and incubator programmes.

The Chairperson noted the time constraint and requested further questions be sent in writing to the Secretary. He welcomed again the Minister and asked him to ensure that communications from the Select Committee are answered by the Minister, as previously slow communication had caused delays in the Committee’s work. He allowed the Minister to make closing remarks.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture comments
Minister Zizi Kodwa apologised for his late arrival. His wish was to attend swiftly to communication matters and he will confer directly with the Chairperson.

Minister Kodwa sees DSAC as a catalyst for nation building and social cohesion. All events should be catalysts for change. He expresses his wish that Select Committee members attend celebrations of national days organised by the Department. The two Bills currently on the table aim to create accountability and better cohesion for the Department as a whole.

Lastly, the Sports Ambassadors programme is central to the focus of the Department, as a roadmap to the building of national sports teams, and school sports programmes should also form the basis of this aim.

The Chairperson thanked the Ministry and Department and excused them from the meeting.

The Committee adopted the Committee Reports on the DSAC Budget Vote 16 and 17 as well as the minutes from 24 May 2023 meeting. Thereafter the meeting was adjourned.

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