Lottery Fund Distribution Agency: briefing; Committee Business Plan: consideration

Sport, Arts and Culture

24 August 2004
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Meeting Summary

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Meeting report

SPORT AND RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE

SPORT AND RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
24 August 2004
LOTTERY FUND DISTRIBUTION AGENCY: BRIEFING; COMMITTEE BUSINESS PLAN: CONSIDERATION

Chairperson:
Mr Kompela (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Committee Business Plan

SUMMARY
The Committee discussed the distribution of Lottery funds. The Chairperson did not see the Western Cape as a particularly deserving recipient of funds.
The Business Plan was then examined. It was proposed that foreign study tours should be included. World Cup 2010 should be given the emphasis it deserved. The 'Zero Tolerance' drugs policy should be given greater prominence.
The discussion on the KwaZulu-Natal study tour on the meeting's agenda, was postponed until the next meeting. It was proposed that the South African rugby team should be invited to parliament to acknowledge their achievement in winning the Tri-Nations tournament.

MINUTES

Debriefing on Lottery Fund Distribution Agency Presentation
The Chairperson wanted the Lottery Fund Distribution Agency to provide more detailed information on where funds were being distributed. This would enable the Committee to find out exactly what the Lottery was doing in the Eastern Cape. He disagreed with the 14% that was allocated to the Western Cape because of the relative prosperity of this region. There were more deserving regions, such as the Northern or Eastern Cape.

Mr T Lee (DA) said that the Provinces should be made aware of the funds available, as it was ultimately their responsibility to apply for grants.

Mr S Masango (DA) said that the Lottery should be given criteria for the allocation of funding. The organisation should give detailed reasons for its allocations.

The Chairperson said that KwaZulu-Natal should be used as an example for other Provinces. There was a major problem in that the public did not understand why there were huge grants being given to rugby when people were starving. The Lottery Funds Distribution Agency (LFDA) needed to inform the public by holding roadshows throughout the country. The LFDA should show the Committee how it proposed to deal with such concerns.

Mr Lee said he gathered that the LFDA wanted to reshape sport. It seemed they were more worried about the structures.

The Chairperson said that the requirement that municipalities have two-year audited reports in order to receive funds was unreasonable. There were many municipalities who were unable to apply for funding because of this. This issue needed to be discussed in the Joint Portfolio Committee.

A Member said that many of the sporting facilities had been donated by the private sector. He wanted to know which department should be in charge of developing new facilities. Local government might have the funds, but it was unclear whether it had the capacity. Delegation to public works could be examined. The stadiums were funded by companies such as Anglo-American. These companies were reluctant to extend 'their hand of friendship' to the townships, so ways to encourage companies to do so should be looked at.

The Chairperson said the Committee needed to check whether municipalities were capable of rising to the challenge of developing new facilities.

A Member said that they knew to which provinces the Lottery funding was allocated, but the LFDA should be asked to provide Members with further and more precise details.

Business Plan briefing
Ms Keswa (Division Manager: Legislation and Oversight) said that the document was just a draft guide. She provided background on the reasons for the document. Committees might provide a programme that was so wide that they were not able to deal with it in one year. In developing the programme, there were several sources of reference. There should be a broad framework of oversight that could be fleshed out by the President's State of the Nation Address. The Budget Speech would also assist in picking priority areas. The Strategic Plan would prioritise goals for the Committee for three years, and also prioritise legislation. The Minister of Finance's 'Medium Term Budget Statement' referred to Committees. After looking at the sources of reference, then resources needed to be made available. If there was too broad a framework, then budgeting was almost impossible. The Committee needed to ensure that they worked together to ensure there were no unnecessary tensions in governance.

A Member said that sport seemed to be a main priority for the President. For the administration to input figures, they needed to ask many specific questions. They should engage with the relevant stakeholders.

Mr Lee said that the biggest budgetary expense for the next five years would be preparing for the 2010 Football World Cup, and this needed to be prominent in the Business Plan. Although other Committees had engaged in foreign study tours, this Committee had not since 1994. They needed to see how other countries were performing in sports development and be empowered themselves.

The Chairperson said they needed a framework and a budget for international tours should be accommodated. The emphasis should be placed upon visiting other African and developing countries. He did not see there being a major conflict of interest if private companies were to pay for their visits abroad.

A Member said that they needed to identify the main reasons for travelling abroad.

Another Member said the subject of investigation should determine the destination. For instance, they could visit successful rugby nation such as Australia or England, but different countries regarding football.

The Chairperson stressed the importance of encouraging the success of sport in other African countries.

Mr Lee emphasised that South Africa was totally against its athletes using illegal substances and this issue should be particularly highlighted.

Ms Keswa said they had been promoting the notion of workshops to produce well thought out business plans, held at the beginning of the five-year term and then again every year. The Department did not have a problem with where the study tours went, so long as they were linked to certain goals. She was happy with the attempt that had been made with the Business Plan. The 2005-2006 Budget could be formulated from this. The Committee's Business Plan approximated the kind of document that should be produced.

Mr A Mlangeni (ANC) said that providing facilities was not one of the Committee's objectives. Only the Department or the provincial government could do this. The Committee did not have the required funds.

Ms Keswa said that the Business Plan needed to be refined. The budget had to be produced by the end of August.

Mr E Mtshali (ANC) said that they needed to 'beef up' the Business Plan with strategic objectives.

Mr C Frolick (ANC) said Committees had more pressing functions than producing business plans.

The Chairperson said this Business Plan was a good attempt considering the time available. While there were several flaws, Members should not be too harsh given the circumstances.

KwaZulu-Natal Study Tour
Mr Frolick proposed that the delegation should meet with the Committee to flesh out the inconsistencies. The new report should be discussed next week

Mr Lee agreed. He also apologised to the Chairperson for missing the visit. The Committee agreed to postpone the discussion until next week.

Visit by South African Rugby team to Parliament
The Chief Whip had proposed to the Chairperson that the South African rugby team be invited to Parliament to acknowledge the Tri-Nations tournament victory. The Chairperson said that Members were free to not be involved this visit if they wished.

The meeting was adjourned.

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