Hansard: NCOP: Unrevised hansard

House: National Council of Provinces

Date of Meeting: 12 Jun 2015

Summary

No summary available.

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Minutes

FRIDAY, 12 JUNE 2015

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

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The Council met at 09:02.

 

The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

 

h

APPROPRIATION BILL

 

(Policy debate)

 

Vote No 40 — Sport and Recreation South Africa:

 

The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, on his behalf, I would like to apologise for the absence of the Deputy Minister who cannot be here today because he is in hospital.

 

To the chairperson and members of and members of the Select Committee on Recreation and Education, MECs of Sport from various provinces, hon Members of the NCOP, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, we return to the NCOP today to present the budget allocation for the national Department of Sport and Recreation SA.

 

On this particular occasion, 2015-16, the total allocation for the department stands at R988,5 million, having increased by R18,1 million from the previous year’s allocation of R970,4 million. This constitutes a 1,87% budget growth over the previous financial year.

 

Six hundred and twenty eight comma six million rand of this budget has been allocated to the provision of mass participation opportunities and recreation under the banner of our Active Nation programme. In practical terms, this means that 64% of our entire budget is channelled towards development.

 

The budget allocation per programme is as follows: R628,6 million to support the provision of mass participation; R133,2 million to develop and maintain an integrated support system; R124,8 million for provision of strategic leadership; R92,2 million to support the development of elite athletes; and R9,2 million towards the regulation and management of the provision of sport and recreation facilities.

 

It must be noted that this budget allocation will only fund a smaller portion of the approved National Sport and Recreation Plan, NSRP. In order to implement the NSRP in full, an estimated budget of R10 billion per annum is required over the next three years. Due to other competing priorities and pressures on our National Treasury, there is currently no space for additional funding. We are however encouraged by the support which we continue to receive from our national government to ensure that sport and recreation thrives.

 

We know that there can be no transformation without development. Hence, transformation in sport remains an emotive issue to which many people have attached various interpretations.

 

Imposing quotas was seen as a way to speed up the process, but this has clearly not worked on a sustainable basis. Change has to take place from the ground up and that means it has to start at school and club level. We need to pay particular attention to issues of equity, equality, excellence, access, organisational culture and good corporate governance.

 

In addressing the deliverables of the National Sport and Recreation Plan, a pilot transformation audit was conducted on the big five national federations, namely rugby, cricket, football, netball and athletics, the results of which was published in 2014.

 

Following this successful pilot, a further 12 national federations were also subjected to a transformation review to monitor their progress, after which another transformation barometer was published in May 2015, detailing the findings of that review.

 

Because of the importance of transformation for the future of South African sport, this is an area in which we dare not fail. Internal capacity will be empowered during 2015-16 to assist national federations to implement the charter and to accurately complete the scorecard. Federations and sport bodies that fail to meet the defined and stated targets will be named and shamed but also encouraged to meet these targets.

 

As previously mentioned, the 2015-16 financial year will see 64% — which is R628,6 million of our total budget — being allocated to the provision of mass participation opportunities. This amount is allocated amongst the nine provinces as a conditional grant.

 

It must, however, be noted that, if we apply the equitable share formula to the poorest provinces, it is a given fact that those provinces will be allocated very minimal funding. Over time, we have agreed with the provinces that we will allocate each province a baseline of R20 million. We then apply the equitable share formula on the remaining amount.

 

The Eastern Cape, Free Sate, Limpopo and Northern Cape allocations were increased due to the need for increased participation in the rural areas.

Above and beyond this, the department has also allocated R11,6 million to Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal for the Club Development Pilot Project and R24,8 million to the Free State for the National Training Centre. I will expand on these projects later in my speech.

 

The R536,9 million is allocated to the nine provinces as follows: Eastern Cape, R61,1 million; Free State, R64,5 million; Gauteng, R89,8 million; KwaZulu-Natal, R89,1 million; Limpopo, R63,4 million; Mpumalanga, R44 million; the North West, R40,7 million; Northern Cape, R29,1 million; and the Western Cape R55,2 million.

 

The conditional grant to provinces is further allocated in five Focus Programmes as per the Conditional Grant Framework.

 

Forty per cent is allocated to the implementation of the School Sport Strategy. The 40% includes, amongst other, R10 million ring-fenced for team preparation for the national school sport competition, for training of educators and school sport volunteers, for purchasing equipment and attire for disadvantaged schools identified through participation in leagues, for delivering district and provincial competitions, for remuneration of circuit co-ordinators who co-ordinate and support the delivery of school sport programmes, and for supporting school sport structures.

 

Thirty-six per cent is allocated to community sport for active recreation and club development programmes. This portion of the grant is to be used in the following manner: for training in sport administration, for coaching, for technical officiating and team management, for support of tournaments and leagues, and to purchase equipment and attire for clubs.

 

Eight per cent is allocated for the establishment and development of sport academies. This is in line with the Sports Academies Framework and Guidelines.

 

Six per cent goes to the employment of permanent staff.

 

Ten per cent is divided between assisting the sports councils, branding and provincial programmes.

 

One of the major ... [Interjections.]

 

There is a cell phone ringing. Can you please increase my time? [Laughter.]

 

One of the major challenges that we are currently experiencing is that not all provinces are allocated voted funds for sport and recreation. We are appealing to provinces to ensure that voted funds are allocated for sport and recreation in the provinces in order to sustain the initiatives that we have been supporting through the conditional grant. All these initiatives are geared towards meeting the objectives of the National Sport and Recreation Plan and the National Development Plan, NDP.

 

As far as monitoring of the grant to provinces is concerned, we are working on the proper strategies to ensure that monitoring is continuous and effective. Currently we monitor implementation through monthly, quarterly and annual reports from the provinces as well as monitoring visits to the various provinces.

 

Through our various sport promotion campaigns and events that were implemented in the 2014-15 financial year, more than 30 000 people had access to sport and recreation opportunities. In this financial year, we have set aside R54,3 million to consolidate and strengthen our key community sport programmes like youth camps, the Big Walk, Golden Games, the Indigenous Games Festival and the Andrew Mlangeni Golf Development Programme.

The Big Walk will once again present an opportunity for Sport and Recreation South Africa and all the provincial departments to encourage South African citizens — young and old — to use walking as an easy activity for keeping healthy and fit without spending a lot of money. The National Big Walk will take place on Sunday, 4 October 2015 at Fountains Valley Resort in Pretoria and all the provincial departments will host their Big Walks on the same day.

 

With regard to the National Youth Camp, Sport and Recreation SA will again assist the provincial departments to ensure that the delivery of the 2015 National Youth Camp from 3 to 10 October across the nine provinces is a success.

 

The National Indigenous Games Festival will also be hosted by the department in partnership with the City of Polokwane.

 

This financial year will further see a renewed energy being brought to existing social cohesion campaigns such as the UNITE Campaign, in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture.

The Recreation Programme articulates our vision of an active nation and hence Cabinet declared the first Friday of October each year a National Recreation Day. This is not a public holiday, but provides an opportunity for all South Africans to be actively involved in recreation activities.

 

With regard to club development, there can be no viable and accessible community sport without well-run and accessible club systems. A network of club structures integrated into provincial and national sport structures spanning urban and rural areas across the country forms the basis of sports provision in any sport system.

 

In the previous financial year, we piloted the new club franchise model in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. This financial year will see a dedicated budget of R11,6 million being allocated to KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo for this club development system as the demands of implementing the pilot have established the amount of work that must be completed in order to see credible results.

 

Through the club development allocation of the mass participation grant, over 578 clubs received support in the form of equipment and attire, while more than 106 clubs received support in terms of staging tournaments and leagues.

 

Over 3 410 individuals from different sporting codes were trained on club development in sport-specific areas such as technical officiating, administration and coaching.

 

The second report of the Eminent Persons Group confirmed once again that schools sport is the bedrock of sport development. It is thus imperative that the provincial federations take a keen interest in this programme as it is the only source that will provide us with a broad base for identifying and nurturing sport talent.

 

As you are aware, the first South African Schools Sport Championship was staged in December 2012. It was a resounding success in which all nine provincial school teams participated in nine different sporting codes from under-13 to under-19 age groups.

 

This championship has gone a long way towards addressing the disjointed approach to delivering schools sport tournaments and programmes. Talented athletes were identified by national federations and are now supported through the Ministerial School Sport Bursary to pursue their sport aspirations whilst they continue with their studies. We urge all provinces to add resources so that we see more talented learners receiving this bursary and being supported with their development in sport while pursuing their schooling.

 

The 2015 edition is billed to be the biggest ever multi-coded competition. It is estimated that 12 000 athletes will participate, competing in 15 different sporting codes and nine indigenous games. The championship will take place once again in Gauteng over the period 10 to 16 December 2015.

 

We appeal to provinces and provincial confederations of sport to support this initiative by making it a point that sport in schools from local, district and provincial levels take place.

 

Working with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee Sascoc, the Free State Provincial Government and through contributions from all provincial departments of Sport and Recreation, we have set aside an amount of R26 million per annum over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period to strengthen the National Training Centre based in the Free State Sport Science Institute. This National Training Centre is an Olympic preparatory centre for Team South Africa and one of the three components of the national academy system for elite and high performance sport. It prepares national teams and athletes with regard to scientific, medical and sport-specific support. Once finalised, the National Training Centre will be a major game changer in our elite athletes support interventions.

 

One of the worst impediments to sport participation, particularly in our previously disadvantaged communities, is the issue of sport facilities. In giving true expression to our commitment to development, we will continue to prioritise ensuring access to facilities for our communities and schools. Our focus will be on facilitating the building of 380 facilities by 2019 in line with the National Facilities Plan.

 

We have allocated an amount of R5,1 million for sport and recreation facilities. We have also allocated an amount of R2,4 million for technical and management support aimed at ensuring that facilities for sport and recreation are delivered according to established norms and standards.

 

We have also completed a classification framework. In order to effectively plan for and manage sport and recreation facilities, a common, standardised classification and categorisation system is necessary. In addition, a common definition of sport and recreation facilities in terms of the types and related terminology is required.

 

We will continue to monitor the use of the 15% of the value of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant that resides with municipalities.

 

Lastly, Vision 2030 as articulated in the sports plan, places a responsibility on South African athletes and sports administrators to strive for excellence — ethically — at all costs and attain dominance and supremacy on whatever platforms they perform and compete.

 

To complement these pockets of excellence and stimulate a culture of optimum achievement, the department will still continue with its various recognition and reward programmes such as the annual South African Sport Awards, the Andrew Mlangeni Green Jackets and the Ministerial Outstanding Sports Performance Accolades Programme. The financial implications for this will be R18,9 million. We expect the provinces to also recognise the excellent performances of their respective athletes.

 

At this stage, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to takes this opportunity and express my heartfelt congratulations to all those athletes who have so dutifully flown the flag of South Africa and excelled in the sporting arena.

 

The year 2015 will be remembered as the year South Africa took back ownership of the Comrades Marathon. With their victories in the men’s as well as the women’s race from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, Gift Kelehe and Caroline Wöstmann were the two main protagonists in this ‘historic fight back’. Wöstmann’s winning time was roughly three minutes outside Elena Nurgalieva’s — the Russian twin — up-run record in 2006.

 

The Sunday’s Comrades was a race of firsts. It was the first time since 1992 that South African athletes won the men’s as well as the women’s race. [Applause.] It was the first time since 1998 that a South African woman won the Comrades, and it was also the first time since 1993 that South African women finished first and second.

 

As if this is not enough, there is still another first worth mentioning. When Gift Kelehe won, he made history because he and his brother, Andrew, are the first brothers to win the Comrades. Andrew Kelehe won in 2001. Another interesting statistic is that Wöstmann has become the first athlete ever to win the Two Oceans and the Comrades marathons in the same year.

 

Other South African men who placed within the top 10 positions in the Comrades Marathon were Hatiwande Nyamande, Joseph Mphuti, Claude Moshiywa, Sandile Ngunuza, and Thuso Mosiea.

 

Other South African women who placed within the top 10 positions in the Comrades Marathon are Charne Bosman, Emmerantia Rautenbach, and Yolande McLean.

 

Anaso Jobodwana improved on his own 200-metre track record in the United States. He ran the race in 20,04 seconds, clipping 0,02 seconds off his own record.

 

Banyana Banyana moved into the third round of the 2016 Rio Olympic qualifiers following a 5-0 victory over Gabon.

 

Our cyclist, Greg Minaar, also won quite recently.

 

We are indeed Proudly South African!

 

I want to conclude by saying that we present this budget against the backdrop of the last financial year for which the Auditor-General declared that our department had received a clean audit. [Applause.] Clean audit, for those who don’t know, is an unqualified report without matters of emphasis. [Laughter.] Meaning we accounted for every cent we spent. Secondly, the DA took me to court ... not to court ... to the Public Protector. I qualified with flying colours. [Applause.] So, please, I am not a flight risk. Together with my deputy, we are on course to implement sports and recreation. Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Ms L L ZWANE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister for Sports and Recreation South Africa, hon members, guests in the gallery, let me greet you this morning. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this debate of Sports and Recreation South Africa, a very important department because you all know that sports is everything to everybody, particularly the youth. If we want to assist the youth to refrain from alcohol and drug abuse and unprotected sexual activities, then we must increase the scope by which they are able to participate in sport.

 

The Department of Sport and Recreation is not a secondary department. It is actually a key department in that it assists us to unite the nation. It also assists us to be able to build the nation and develop talent. On behalf of the select committee, I want to take this opportunity to thank the co-operation that we have always enjoyed when we engage the Department of Sport and Recreation.

 

They came before us to discuss their strategic plan and annual performance plan and also demonstrated how they are going to align their budget to execute their mandate so that they are able to reach their target. I want to congratulate you, hon Minister, and your department for a clean audit. You actually make work easy for the committee because there are areas where you ensure that you excel, particularly the manner in which you spend the funds that are allocated for the political leadership and all officials of this department.

We are concerned as a committee about the fact that we don’t think the allocation is enough, given the mandate. We have to cover a lot of ground. There is a lot that still needs to be done before we can reach a level where we can say that now there is sufficient provision for infrastructure for sport.

 

Bafana Bafana is descending to Cape Town on the 16 June to play against Angola. During the state of the nation address, our own President said that we should support our Bafana Bafana. Let us appreciate what they do for the nation. They make us proud from time to time. To encourage them, I want to say the words of Michael Jordan when he said and I quote:

 

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I have been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

 

I would like to say: “Bafana Bafana, we are proud of you! You are going to succeed! You are going to beat Angola! We are going there and we shall reach there!” [Applause.]

 

President Nelson Madela once said the following:

 

I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free. Free in every way that I could know. Free to run in the fields near my mother’s hut, free to swim in the clear stream that ran through my village, free to roast mielies under the stars ... It was only when I learnt that my boyhood freedom was an illusion ... that I began to hunger for it.

 

The reason why today we sit in a situation where we find ourselves lacking sports infrastructure, be it in schools or in communities broadly, is because of the oppressive regime that has kept us in captive for more than 300 years. Today, with meagre resources that we have, we have to turn the situation around. We are going to do it because we have the Minister and the department that has the capability to do that.

 

We also know that Nelson Mandela was a devout athlete in the days of his youth. He was an all-rounder, spending his free time in the gym, lifting weights and also doing long distance running. He also had a keen interest in ballroom dancing. I think young people should learn a lesson. They should take a leaf21:30 in this in that we need to develop a habit whereby as young people we spend our free time constructively. We should spend our free time involved in sport and recreational activities that develop us as a nation rather than do things that are not taking us anywhere.

 

On behalf of the select committee, I also want to congratulate the department for the good stories that made us proud as South Africans - as the Minister has actually told us about all the achievements of the department. People out there are actually looking up to the department. People out there are looking up to the ANC as the leader of the society. Wherever they have a problem, they know that the ANC will eventually come to their rescue.

 

We have sporting activities in KwaZulu-Natal, in Dundee. There is a sporting activity which is horse racing. You can actually see that when those people started this sporting activity, in mind they knew that one day their horse racing will develop to a level of them being participants in the July Handicap. It is the duty of the ANC-led government to make their dream come true. I have attended that sporting activity. It was really exciting and I could see that our people have a dream and the ANC-led government is going to assist them in realising their dream.

 

In the constituency where I come from, in Ezinqoleni, ordinary citizens or tribesmen have a similar kind of activity and you can see that they know where they want to go. The Department of Sport and Recreation is assisting here and there to ensure that they develop also to a level where they say that they are champions in that particular code of sport.

 

Hon Minister, I want to say that the indigenous games need to be given much more focus or attention because we were westernised and we were colonised but we need to begin to pay attention to our own games. We should develop our own sporting codes. We need to be proud of our own sporting activities and put many resources to those games that remind us of who we were, historically. These are the games where we are able to unite and come together and say this is our own. We cannot afford to look down upon our own sporting activities.

 

When we engage the department, Boxing SA came before the committee and expressed a concern. They said that, for instance, sometimes when they go to schools they don’t get good reception in the fact that schools feel that some of the games they are promoting are meant to create bullies within the institutions. Maybe we need to conduct a bit of education in this regard. As long as teachers know the importance of that sport and how they are going to benefit from it, they need to be encouraged to allow learners to get involved in it. Learners can pursue that sport as long as it is safe enough.

 

We note with pride that there are teachers that are being trained to coach various sporting codes. As a government and as a department we are increasing the number of sporting codes in which the various schools can engage. When we were growing up, before the ANC took over, all we knew was that there is soccer and basketball and nothing else. The new sporting codes like rugby, cricket, and all the other sporting codes like volley ball are being gradually introduced. Therefore, we need to spend a lot of resources in terms of ensuring that we train teachers to do a proper job to develop learners and help them develop their talent to participate effectively and become champions and take part in international sporting activities with confidence.

 

The scouting of talent is in schools, that is why we worry sometimes about this issue MIC funding where the municipalities have to assist the communities and schools in ensuring that 15% of that allocation goes towards the development of the sports infrastructure so that schools, communities at large, traditional authority areas can benefit from the sport infrastructure that is being provided.

 

We want to say on behalf of the committee that we support the budget. Siyaqhuba, siyaphambili![We are progressing, we are moving forward!] Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr H B GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Minister of the Western Cape, hon NCOP members and guests, the DA challenge the Sports and Recreation Minister to urgently release a record of decision by the South African government related to the $10 million transfer to SA Football Association, Safa, directed fifa to pay the Confederation of North, Central American and the Caribbean Association Football, Concacaf.

 

Don’t tell us that South Africa and Danny Jordaan were not involved in one or the other way into the soccer scandal taking place during the 2010 World Soccer event in South Africa.

 

In this transaction was indeed above board. Why did the South African government and Safa agreed to unconditionally hand over $ million, originally intended for the use of the 2010 World Cup, without any plans to showcase the spending trends of financial reports from the Concacaf?

 

The DA will continue to fight for answers on this issue. It is vital that we get to the bottom of this scandal to either clear the air tarnishing the World Cup or to hold those guilty of any unethical behaviour.

 

Rugby and many other sport codes share the horrow of dismay that xenophobic attacks has greeted people whose only aim is to make a better life for themselves and their families in a country that is supposed to be an example for tolerance and freedom.

 

Hon Minister, is this the legacy of Nelson Mandela and so many others fought for us in the struggle? Is this how we repay our African brothers who supported us in fighting for our own freedom? The violent xenophobic attacks were against all the principle of ubuntu. We must all stand and condemn these violent attacks. Football very often seems to provoke the most violent and uncontrolled behaviours.

 

The only way to stop xenophobia happening on football fields is to make clubs pay for their penalties. Sport should be a fun thing, and people should go to the arenas to support their teams and not to be afraid of their own lives. Xenophobia is wrong, it’s inhuman and it does not belong in South Africa or anywhere in the world.

 

Government must communicate better on xenophobia and where the sporting community is concerned, the hon Minister should take a leading role in it.

 

Minister, how can government improve its communication in a bid to prevent further xenophobic attacks?

 

Madiba spoke of the power of sport in uniting people from different walks of life, and we want to use the power of sport to unite this continent.

 

Hon Minister, we must start working with other governments and international sporting bodies to eradicate doping.

 

We must continue supporting the work of the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport, Saids, to combat doping in sports and encourage engagements between Saids and the individual sporting bodies or federations to develop the tailor made strategies to combat drug use in sport based on the best practice models from countries around the world.

 

We support the activities of Saids to promote awareness of the negative effects of doping among our schoolchildren. We encourage the development of code of conduct for sport and recreation in South Africa, which can be used by sporting bodies as a basis to hold athletics and other role-players accountable for their actions.

 

Hon Chairperson, we could all learn from the Western Cape Mass Opportunity Development programme. The Mass Opportunity and Development, MOD, centres have allowed schools to broaden the range of sports activities they offer, provide quality coaching backed up by talent identification and further opportunities for gifted learners.

 

They introduce new sporting codes and activities to communities. In a country dominated by football, rugby and cricket, and to a lesser extent, netball and athletics, other sport codes are often side-lined. By 2016, there will be 16 priority sport codes.

 

The MOD programme contributes significantly to talent identification. The most gifted athletes are selected for high-performance training at a Sharp Centre. The most promising athletes are offered a place at the elite Western Cape sport school where they will receive high-level coaching. A total of 970 learners had attended high-performance training at Sharp Centres.

 

A feeding programme has been also successfully initiated at 101 MOD Centres across the Western Cape. All learners participating in centre activities received nutrition packs.

 

Many schools have reported better attendance and an increase in pass rates of those children in these programmes.

 

By helping to keep children and young people engaged in positive constructive activities after school hours, the MOD programme has contributed to reducing the risk posed by social ills such as gangsterism, drug and alcohol abuse, crime violence and difficult home environments. We look forward on how the programme will evolve and improve. And now, let us not forget the elephant in the room.

 

Danny Jordaan has assured South Africans that he will be able to manage both his high-profile positions. Jordaan will stay on as President of the SA Football Association after his appointment as the major of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan. The DA knows that he won’t be able to manage both ... [Interjections.]

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order.

 

Mr H B GROENEWALD: Jordaan is violating Safa’s own constitution in taking up the Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral office by being a political public representative. If he is happy to violate Safa’s constitution, we cannot expect him to uphold South Africa’s Constitution as mayor.

 

Article 13 of Fifa Code of Ethics is very prescriptive about this and states that: Persons bound by this code are expected to be aware of the importance of their duties and concomitant obligations and responsibility. Persons bound by this code are obliged to respect all applicable laws and regulations as well as Fifa’s regulatory framework to the extent applicable to them. Persons bound by this code shall show commitment to the ethic attitude. They shall behave in a dignified manner and act with complete credibility and integrity. Persons bound by this code may not abuse their position in anyway, especially to take advantage of their position for private aims and gains.

 

There is no way in practice and perception that Safa can be sincerely, political neutral, with a President who is a political deployee ... [Interjections.].

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Groenewald, there is a point of order. Hon Mthimunye!

 

Mr S G MTHIMUNYE: Hon Chair, I think now the speaker on the podium is making an inference that we have reason to believe that the current executive mayor of Nelson Mandela has got something to answer in court, and I think that is out of order.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: I am listening very careful what the hon Groenewald has said. So far, he has been very careful not to make that assertion. I will allow him to proceed.

 

Mr H B GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, I will repeat my last sentence. There is no way in practice and perception that Safa can be sincerely, political neutral, with a President who is a political deployee of the ANC in local government. Safa is not and should not be reduced to the Football Association of the ANC.

 

In conclusion, only these three words, freedom, fairness and opportunity are the core value that guide us in all we do, as we work together with you to build a better tomorrow for all South Africans. I thank you.

 

Ms M BOPAPE (Gauteng): Chairperson, hon Minister, members of the executive council, I am honoured to participate in the policy debate for Sports and Recreation, as we commemorate 60 years of the Freedom Charter, and 39 years since the apartheid regime butchered young people in Soweto in 1976.

 

I mention these milestones because they were catalysts in our struggle for liberation. Our constitution is founded on the principles which were enunciated in the Freedom Charter.

 

The 1976 generation was fearless and determined to attain freedom even if it meant paying the supreme price for it. It was therefore no co-incidence when we launched the Youth Month in Gauteng, on the 4th of June this year, at NASREC. We held dialogues with young people on a number of issues which affect them. The terrain of the struggle is not the same as that of 1976; however the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment remains.

 

It was encouraging and heartening to hear young people state unequivocally that they do not aspire to be owners of the RDP houses, or do they aspire to be passive recipients of social grants. They want to be part of the second phase of the revolution, which is economic emancipation. We are therefore determined to reposition and retain Gauteng as the home of champions, through intensified talent identification, development and nurturing in sport.

 

This we will achieve through providing schools, clubs and federations in communities; access to sport facilities and professional services which will enhance the competitive levels of the athletes and produce better skilled coaches in communities.

 

We are working very hard to strike a balance between sport development and competitive sport. We believe these programmes have a symbiotic relationship. The support that we provide to functional federations and sport councils is aimed at promoting sport development. We are consolidating a sustainable club development programmes with specific focus on netball, women’s football, swimming, rugby, cricket, athletics with special focus on people with disability.

 

We already have begun supporting the development of Gauteng sport through a co-ordinated academy system consisting of the provincial and regional academy programmes, such as the sport science mobile unit. We are reviving school sports structures by convening monthly school codes meetings per area, district and provincial levels to ensure properly constituted structures. We are therefore working very hard to institutionalise sport in township schools.

 

Working with the provincial department of education, we will revive the culture of Wednesdays’ afternoons being sporting days. We have targeted to establish two regional academies in Johannesburg and Tshwane. The latter academy will focus on training coaches and the athletes from economically depressed areas. These are the areas which are hard hit by social ills such as substance abuse and criminality.

 

Late last year, our province hosted the national school games, which are Bedrock of Talent identification and nurturing. We owe to these youngsters to ensure that they are properly guided and provided with requisite support before they enter professional ranks.

 

Hon Chairperson, in Gauteng we regard sport as a very important sector which has a role to play in the economic development of our country. We regard sport as an economic driver. That is why we operationalise the concept of the business of sport. We are not only focusing on enriching those who are already entrenched in the business of sport. Emerging businesses in our townships have to benefit from this concept of business of sport.

 

We all acknowledge sports ability to promote social cohesion and nation-building. Through sport, we are sending a message that people from all backgrounds can work and live in harmony. There is not doubt that there is a need to prioritise healing and nation-building, unity, tolerance and reconciliation.

 

In order to engender social cohesion in our communities, we are embarking on a flagship programme called Operation Mabaleng. The first phase of this programme entails provision of infrastructure in the form of sporting facilities. The second phase entails sporting activities that will take place in those facilities.

 

This flagship programme will promote regular physical activity among young people in under-resourced Gauteng communities through construction of sporting facilities for different sporting codes. It is a five-year programme which targets out-of-school youth and those in school.

 

While the most visible feature of this programme will be constructing sporting facilities, its long-term objectives are: Firstly, removal of barriers for youth in deprived communities to participate in sports; secondly providing opportunities to develop and identify sporting talents and expertise; thirdly, providing capacity-building opportunities; fourthly, establishing links between school, local sport structures and the wider community; fifthly, contributing to socioeconomic development and regeneration in deprived communities; sixthly, promoting healthy lifestyles and contributing to improving health of Gauteng people; and seventhly, facilitating nation-building and social cohesion in communities.

 

Where there are existing sports facilities they will be upgraded to accommodate codes such as soccer, netball, basketball and cricket. Where there are no facilities at all, new ones will be constructed. As part of our contribution to the modernisation of the township economy, SMMEs and co-operatives will be involved in construction projects. This will indeed change the face of our townships.

 

We have therefore identified the following townships for the remainder of the current term of office: Mamelodi, Tembisa, Diepsloot, Bekkersdal, and Eldorado Park, where multipurpose facilities will be constructed. Westbury and Mamelodi shall be the first for this financial year. They will be our pilot projects, we envisaging to have constructed 10 such precincts by 2019, each worth between R23 and R35 million.

We have an obligation to transform sport in terms of demographic representation. This can be achieved through the following: increased mass participation; re-introduction of sport and physical education to schools; proper sport infrastructure planning, development and maintenance; adequate investment into sport development programmes such as technical officiating training; recognising and rewarding sport excellence and achievements; identification and nurturing of sport talents; increase in the number of competitive sport events, including the hosting of major international events; mainstreaming of women and people with disabilities in sport; proper organisation, management and governance of sport; sustainable collaborative partnerships between all sport role-players from all sectors of society; and adequate allocation of financial resources and funding for sport.

 

Hon chairperson, budget allocation can never be sufficient, more so when there are competing priorities. We have been allocated R212, million for sport and recreation in 2015-16 financial year. Surely, our baseline needs to be corrected and adjusted accordingly, but we will endeavour to stretch each rand and fulfil our constitutional mandate. For that, I support the Minister’s budget. Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Modulasetilo, ke dumedisa Aforikaborwa ka bophara. [Chairperson, Greetings to all South Africans.]

 

There is a widespread and uncontested view in South Africa that sports can or does play a unifying and nation-building role in our still divided nation; that sport can achieve a united people working for a common goal operating as an instrument that can unite the nation. This is the view that had to a large extent been guiding this department in the manner it conduct its business and allocates its resources.

 

But this view must be challenged and exposed as misleading, aimed at lulling the nation into believing intangible concepts of nation-building, while doing nothing to significantly transform and Africanise our sport. It is inexplicable, that 21 years after political freedom, our cricket team that represented us at the recent world cup did not have a single African player, I’m sure you are a witness to that, hon Minister; that our rugby team is still dominantly Afrikaner. This shows the inability of this department to confront the legacy of apartheid and transform our sports.

 

But even more fundamentally, the notion that white sport, which was developed as a result of its illegitimate benefits from apartheid, and black sport, which up to now has been ignored, can miraculously unite and contribute towards nation-building, is flawed. The budget does nothing to fund initiatives that would challenge the dominance of whites in these still white dominated sports, and it does nothing to develop the sports that are identified with black people.

 

Rather, it will continue to support the extravagant spending on sports awards, estimated to have cost about R50 million, money that could be used to build over one hundred top quality sports fields around the country. If this Minister was spending more time around townships and villages, he would know the depth of the challenges faced by people in these areas. School sport has all but died out.

 

The National Sports and Recreation Plan have not and cannot be implemented fully if not financed appropriately. Identified in that plan is the need for bringing high quality sporting infrastructure to townships and villages. These has not happened, because these priorities are underfinanced, and the little money that is there is spent on satisfying the Minister’s abnormal obsession with Beyoncé and Floyd Mayweather.

 

Boxing, which has for a very long time been the pride, not just of the Eastern Cape, but of the country generally, has all but died. Three of its top officials are under suspension, and there is no urgency whatsoever from the Ministry to fix this. If the Minister were as passionate about South African boxing as he is about Mayweather, our boxing would be on top right now.

 

The very little money that gets allocated to provinces cannot be spent because of lack of capacity in the provinces. This hinders the much needed development of sports. There must be high quality sports facilities in every village, every corner of every township and in every suburb, for a new layer of quality sportsman and women to emerge.

 

The lousy budget of R9,4 million for infrastructure support is disgraceful, taking into account the sporting needs of our nation. If our country can afford to donate R120 million to an ill-defined African Diaspora Legacy Programme, it surely can afford to inject the much needed money for our sports development. The Minister is going around like a headless chicken, defending SAFA from the alleged underhanded tactics they used to secure the 2010 World Cup. [Interjections.]

 

Ms L L ZWANE: Chairperson, I just want to find out if it is parliamentary to say that the Minister is moving around like a headless chicken?

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Zwane, just a few – is it two weeks ago? We made a ruling from this chair that, that the hon members of the House cannot be likened to animals. Hon Mokgosi, would you withdraw that statement?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: I withdraw.

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you! Proceed!

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: If we are against corruption, let us allow institutions of justice to investigate this matter and prosecute all those who did wrong. That kind of money Safa allegedly paid as a bribe is needed so that it can be made compulsory for schools to have competitive sports teams, and they must be supported by this department with the resources. It must be this department that gives direction to sports federation, not the other way round.

 

Stop your obsession with American sports and pop stars, Minister, and develop our own sports stars that you can be obsessed about. As the EFF, we therefore reject this Budget Vote. I understand that there is a school of excellence for boys, I would plead that you also do that for girls, because we’ve got Banyana Banyana as a team.

 

Ms M F TLAKE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members of this House, heads of departments, ladies and gentlemen in the gallery, as a select committee, we are assigned to interact with different departments and the Department of Sport and Recreation is one of them. When we assessed their strategic plan for 2015-20, we were satisfied because it really proved to us that its focus is encompassing what is outlined in the National Development Plan, NDP.

 

It is also clear in their annual performance plan, APP, that the budget allocated to them will be distributed wisely and they will be able to implement their programmes as expected. It is a well-known fact in South Africa that sport and recreation contribute substantially to promoting social cohesion and unity across the society. It is a social issue which actually binds all of us to uphold unity and promote social cohesion as we take South Africa forward.

 

As the select committee, we were satisfied that the 2015-16 departmental customised indicators considered the following: All provinces must be able to deliver and report their challenges with regard to these customised indicators. We, as select committee, were satisfied that these customised indicators will be honoured collectively by national and provincial departments. This is a sign of integration of co-operation as it is provisioned in Chapter 3 of the Constitution. Integration takes all of us forward in tackling challenges as national will know what provincial needs are and assist them.

 

As the Select Committee on Sport and Recreation, we will be able through oversight to monitor the implementation and effects of these indicators whether the APP has been adhered to, that is, when the department comes and we interact with them to see whether what was in the APP was actually adhered to vis-ã vis the budget that they were allocated.

 

However, we are aware that school sport in provinces is still a challenge. In our constituencies, school sport of today is far different from ours. During our times, we knew that every child at school was forced to engage in sport, whether it was soccer, athletics or singing. We were actually forced, even if you tried to run away or dodge after school, but you knew that tomorrow you would be answerable.

 

We are sure that as a department, we will focus on schools in provinces because this is where you will come up with sport heroes. Please monitor the money given to sport will really go to sports and nothing else. In our provinces it is clear that our sports ground and other sport structures are not well maintained and in this way they are unsustainable. It is a fact that today’s youth indulgence in drugs and alcohol and I want to believe that if they could have maintained structures, sport will keep them away from drug and alcohol indulgence.

 

I want to believe that a cornerstone of transformation will be a roll-out of school sport programme. Evidence exists that sport and physical activity can benefit education immensely and that sport presents the child at school with life skills in a way surpassed by any other activity. School sport is a bed rock for mass participation and talent identification pool. Let us all support this Budget Vote so that unity and social cohesion can be maintained and sustained in South Africa and that our children can be safe from the indulgence of drugs and alcohol. We are one. I thank you.

 

Mr M T MHLANGA: Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon members of this august House, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, special delegates, hon Chief Whip of the Council, esteemed guests, fellow South Africans, and all protocol observed, the ANC supports this budget due to the department tying it to the ANC principles.

 

Prior to the formation of the National Sports Council, NSC, sport in South Africa was an accurate reflection of the broader racial, economic, and social divisions wrought by apartheid. The emergence of the National Sports Council was a key factor in changing the face of South African sport as an integral part of the overall process of social transformation in the country. It was a conscious political decision taken by the ANC to ensure that sport would be embraced in the country as a vehicle of change.

 

At the 1969 ANC Morogoro Conference, the people’s movement resolved to mobilise world solidarity on all fronts to stand firm and declare apartheid a crime against humanity. Henceforth, Oliver Tambo was tasked with the mission to mobilise the world in all facets – sport, arts and culture, education and the economy – so that South Africa would be isolated because of its policies of segregation and marginalisation. We therefore saw the Free Mandela campaign all over the world. The gains made from the isolation of sport in apartheid South Africa were transformed into a powerful instrument to bring to South African sportspeople together.

 

Under the guidance of the ANC, the National Sports Council set in motion a process that would result in the disintegration of apartheid sport and lead to the formation of unified sport structures throughout the country. This marked the first time ever that South African sport could speak with a single voice. It now remains a priority for this unity in sport to be consolidated through an ongoing process of transformation.

 

The following is noted: the limitations placed on women, rural communities and people with disabilities with regard to participating in sport and recreation; the centrality of school and youth sport in the sport continuum; the tremendous backlog in the development of sport facilities in disadvantaged communities, especially facilities suited to the needs of the disabled and women; the discrepancies still prevalent between disadvantaged and privileged communities in the provision of sport facilities; the inarguable need to facilitate the mobilisation of resources in both the private and public sectors to address inequalities and enhance participation in sport and recreation; the great need to build capacity and develop skills in the sport industry, in particular for black people, that warrants our emphasis and attention; the need for good corporate governance in sport and recreation; the need for a co-ordinated national sport plan to address the structural inequalities resulting from the apartheid legacy that should remain our preoccupation; the importance and value of the media in the transformation and commercialisation of sport, particularly for the participation of previously disadvantaged communities; the value of mass participation and the need for a well-co-ordinated and resourced programme of talent identification directed at high performance and competitiveness within the global arena; and the elements of racism and sexism that still remain prevalent in sport.

 

Therefore, government’s task is to: ensure that a legislative and regulatory framework is put in place to give effect to policy initiatives; facilitate the removal of obstacles that hinder the creation of an environment in sport that reflects the demographics of a united South Africa, in particular to ensure meaningful opportunities for mass participation in sport, thus giving effect to achieving our national goals; ensure that government continues to play a central and, where necessary, interventionist role, ensuring that momentum is not lost in our continued quest for transformation in sport and recreation; and develop programmes and initiatives aimed at increasing the levels of youth participation in sport, thereby contributing towards the ongoing process of moral regeneration in our society.

 

The ANC government invests more in sport and recreation and actively seeks more private sector investment in sport. It must recognise the contributions of sport and recreation towards economic growth and development. It must also explore and promote continental and international partnerships in sport and recreation, bearing in mind the rapid globalisation of the institution. Partnerships must be pursued with the private sector to ensure the sustainable growth and development of smaller sports. Mechanics should be adopted that will incentivise the media to ensure access for all South Africans to sporting events of national interest. All tiers of government should co-operate actively in the pursuance of national goals, including the implementation of environmentally sound practices for sport and recreation. All spheres of government must implement the policy of transparency and oversight in sport and recreation in a way that is consistent with its policies.

 

Government should create a long-term, sustainable events strategy aimed at hosting major international sporting events in the country. It should continue to mobilise support in national federations and macrobodies, including rooting out corruption in sport, strengthening the regulations pertaining to antidoping, gambling, gaming, and the influencing of game results. Government should take the lead responsibility in providing incentives to stimulate the growth of the sports industry and ensure the transformation of commercial ownership and control of sport. I would really persuade the Departments of Basic Education and Sport and Recreation jointly to determine the placement and funding of school sport at national, provincial and local levels as a matter of urgency. Tertiary education sport should be integrated into the strategy for mass participation and, ultimately, high performance.

 

The ANC’s attitude towards sport is guided by the following: continued facilitation, encouragement and monitoring of the unity process on a national, regional, and local level; the existence of concrete affirmative action developmental programmes and agreement on symbols not associated with apartheid as prerequisites for admission into the world sports family; ensuring the democratisation and deracialisation of the sport movement in line with the Olympic Charter and principles of international federations; and regular and consistent consultation with the various sports bodies to enable us to develop an acceptable policy to ensure that all present sport development plans be carried out with a clear view to correcting the imbalances caused by apartheid.

 

The typical focus on and promotion of traditionally male sports in the South African media and advertising during peak recreation times exclude ... the ANC supports the budget. Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

 

Mr T MADILENG (MPUMALANGA: Hon Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister, Fikile Mbalula, members of the National Council of Provinces, members of the executive council from provinces present here, distinguished guests,...

 

... thobela, ke a le dumediša kamoka. [... I greet you all.]

 

We as Mpumalanga province support the Appropriation Bill as presented by the hon Minister. It is very relevant, progressive and highly appropriate. It is very saddening; hon Groenewald, if you were watching the news, the hon Minister answered the question that you asked. He really answered, indicating that we are not sniffer dogs, amongst other things he related to.

 

Hon Groenewald, it is very unfortunate that you alleged to be fighting for accountability but you always want to hide the truth. It was the attitude of the oppressive regime where they thought taking away education and bringing in Bantu education will make us not to know this things. Just tell the people what happened in 1652, explain to them for 342 years what happened; explain to them that we only have 21 years if you subtract it from 342 how much will remain. That is the political mathematics that you must learn as the DA. You don’t appreciate anything and that is your posture; that anything that is being presented and is being led by the democratically elected masses of the people which happened to be democratically elected Presidents from Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and presently Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma. It is not good enough.

 

Ge re gola re be re rutwa gore sehlare sa mosotho ke lekgowa. Eupša ga bjale go fetogile DA e re sehlare sa lekgowa ke mosotho. Kua Mpumalanga Benade o tšhabile gomme a fa mohl Masango. Kua Port Elizabeth bo mohl Groenewald ba tšhabišitše Zille ba tsenya Mmusi Maimane. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)

[When we were still young we were taught that a black man cannot live without a white man. Now the DA has turned things around, according to them a white man cannot live without a black man. In Mpumalanga Benade has passed the baton to hon Masango. In Port Elizabeth the likes of hon Groenewald have replaced Zille with Mmusi Maimane.]

 

Well they call him Mmuši Maimane like they would say tšhipu. My name is Thulare and they used to call me “twirl hare”. It is not funny. You are talking about freedom, fairness and opportunity, the posture is, in the Western Cape service delivery is much skewed. Go to Oudtshoorn, is skewing. Go to the black townships, Khayalethu, Gugulethu, I can name all of them, it is obvious, their mindset will never shift.

 

We have hon Fikile Mbalula – they will tell you they have a Minister - in the Western Cape. Why all other provinces call them MECs and they call themselves Ministers. It is because they do not want to accept anything, anything. Well we should always remember, everything started here - 1652 it was in the Western Cape and then it spread all over the country, they are doing the same.

 

Anything that is not white is deemed to be wrong and corrupt. I grew up in a rural village called Marapjane. There was no soccer field and I was a good soccer player. You drive from Marble Hall to Groblersdal ...

... go na le dihlare le dipolasa tša dinamune le diterebe. [... there are orange and grape farms.]

 

Ask him why don’t he talk about those things and explain how you got them and how much are they worth and how many generations benefitted from them. We are not saying we want to take them; we say let’s share and work together. Appreciate, tell the truth and shame the devil. The truth will always set you free.

 

O a tseba ba re botse bo na le dibelebetšane. Maabane ke kwele lereo le lengwe le bohloko la matlakala ... [You know that it is possible for a good thing to have some flaws in it. Yesterday I heard the utterance of an unpleasant term that was used to refer to dirt ...]

 

... and I never thought it was honourable enough. Sports will assist us ...

 

... gore meoya ya rena e ye fase le maikutlo a okobale. [... to calm our spirits and emotions.]

 

That is why I am appreciating, accepting and supporting the Appropriation Bill. I thought hon Mokgosi from EFF ...

 

o tla gopola gore matlakala gore o a swiele ka ngwakong gomme o a ntšhentše ka ntle ... [will remember that for you to be able to clean your house ...]

... you must have the energy and muscles and you must participate in sport and support the Budget so that you can be healthy.

 

Ke kgopela gore o tšee molaetša wo o o iše gageno gomme le thomeng go ithobolla. [Please take this message home and start exercising.]

 

You must start exercising then ...

 

... le tla kgona go ntšha matlakala ka mo ntlong ya lena. [... you will be able to clean your house.]

 

Sports will help you to manage your anger. There is an attitude of funded anger. When an individual has a personal vendetta against a certain person, he will go and mobilise people and make them angry. It is not original, authentic and genuine. That is what we call funded anger. Such anger will make people suffer from political bipolar disorder. [Laughter.]

 

The hon President of the country, his Excellency Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma in his state of the nation address said the following: “We have launched the Back to Basics programme to promote good governance and effective administration through cutting wastage, spending public funds prudently, hiring competent staff, and ensure transparency and accountability in municipalities”

 

This is to ensure that all spheres of government have the human resource capabilities and finance resources to contribute and implement the development and transformation priorities contained in the NDP. In order to ensure that all state institutions embark on massive training and reskilling and development of cadreship corps that has the strategic, ideological, political and technical skills to respond to national development plans and priorities.

 

The progress made in the first 21 years of democracy to eradicate the legacy of more than 340 years of colonialism and apartheid, hon Groenewald, sets the foundation for what still needs to be done.

 

The Provincial Legislature is the main political centre of governance to the entire populace of the Mpumalanga province. The majority of our people have mandated the ANC-led government to make laws and oversee to work of the executive authority and all organs of provincial government in order to bring transformation and better life for all.

 

The Legislature has indeed achieved a lot since the inception of its term of office because we are a province at work, “Siyasebenza, siyachuba”. Mpumalanga, the place of the rising sun; where we fold our arms and pull up our socks when the sun rises.

 

The committee determined that public input should be solicited on the Bill and public hearings which were conducted in all the three districts in the province. In line with national growth expectations, Mpumalanga’s economic growth rate has been revised down to 1,9% for 2015. The average growth rate for the period 2013-2018 is forecast at 2,2% per annum. The mining industry, which is the largest contributor to the provincial economy, has since experienced a very low growth rate of less than 1% in the

1995-2013 as is forecast at 2,2%.

 

Amilcar Cabral will always say: ”Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told, mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories”.

 

Invitations to the public hearings were conducted and various stakeholders participated. Invitations were sent out to, among others, business sector, political parties, South African Local Government Association, South African National Civic Organisation, Congress of South African Trade Unions, National Education and Health Workers' Union, South African Medical Association, The South African Democratic Nurses’ Union, Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, National Professional Teacher’s Organisation of South Africa, Public Servants Association  Federation of Unions of South Africa, Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa, National Teachers’ Union, National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Provincial Auditor-General’s Office and the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders for them to make their inputs.

In various consultative processes, amongst others, that we engaged in, as Mpumalanga province, like I have indicated, we fight corruption. We have set structures where corruption is been dealt with. We favour nobody, we protect nobody. We deal with corruption and extract it. It is very unfortunate that there are people that you cannot rely on, they change like weather.

 

Ba fetoga bjalo ka maobu. Lehono le ba re botša gore ba na le batho le maloko ao ba a hlomphago, ba a ratago e bile ba a romile ka ge a na le tsebo. Gosasa ge batho bale ba ba laela ba re ba boela gae ka ge maropeng go boelwa. Re boela gaborena moo re belegetšwego gona ga ANC - ka gore ka bobona ga bana histori ya polotiki. Ba ka tšwa le yona kae, ba na le yona kae ka gore ke bomabinagosolwa ba go belegwa maabane.

 

Ba boletše gore bona madi a bona ke a maso, a matala e bile a sorolwana. Ba boletše gore bao e bego e le maloko a bona ba a romile ba a tshepagala e bile ba a tseba gore ba na le tšwelopele. Efela ge ba ba laela, ka morago ga metsotswana feela ke ge ba šetše ba re ... (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)

 

[They change like weather. Today they are telling us that they have members whom they respect and love. They even said those members are knowledgeable hence they have delegated a task to them. The very same people defect from their party and go back to where they belong. We go back to our place of birth which is the ANC – this happens because they don’t have a history of politics. Where will the experience come from because they are still new in politics?

 

They said their blood is black, green and yellow and that their members are reliable and progressive but when the very same members defect from their political party in a short space of time you hear them say ...]

 

... they are useless, empty embeddings. Very funny...

 

... batho ba go swana le bao o se ke wa ba tshepa. E bile o se ke wa nyaka go batamela kgauswi le bona. [... don’t trust such people. Distance yourself from them.]

 

At the end, as Mpumalanga province, we support the Bill 100%.

 

Ms B S MASANGO: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members and the public, good morning. The hon Minister of Sport and Recreation is not active at all in Parliament, as a whole. This begs the question, Is he at all fit for the job?

 

This is more of a Ministry of Ceremonies, rather than one that gets actively involved in the development of sports in our country. Sports development in our society cannot be compromised. It adds value to life, on the one hand, and helps the eradication of social ills, like drug abuse, on the other. For this reason, this department should and must work in a collaborative fashion with other departments to ensure the success of sports development in all spheres of government.

 

The hon Minister Mbalula is now on a high to ensure more coverage of boxing on national television. This move is very welcome, and appreciated, hon Madileng. However, I wonder what standard of boxing will be televised. One cannot simply decide to televise boxing in an attempt to revive this once-popular sport. I can tell you now, if we televise palookas, nobody will watch, and we will struggle to secure sponsors for these shows. In fact, we can do more harm than good, unless we focus on development and then televise a greater pool of credible boxers.

 

One case in point, hon Minister, is that of a small town in Gauteng, which is where I come from and represent. Their boxing gym was taken away by the local municipality 15 years ago. No reasons were supplied for this act. This was a boxing mecca in South Africa. The small town I am talking about is Toekomsrus in Randfontein, and this is where several boxing champions hail from. They had world titles, South African titles, intercontinental titles – you name it.

 

The first black South African champion, Peter “Terror” Mathebula, found support from this Randfontein club. Aladin “The Mean Machine” Stevens started the Toekomsrus reign of champions in South African boxing. Jan Bergman made a name for South African boxing world titles – you name it. Harold Wales, Jan Losper, Joseph White, Benjamin Khonkie, Robert Martin, the late Gavin Allard. Shall I go on? Trevor Ross, Simon Oupa Ramoni – these guys are all from Toekomsrus.

 

We lost it all. No gym, no champs. The local municipality keeps on promising, but nothing is happening. Hon Minister, we are left with one champion, Malcolm Klassen. He could not even go to the gym in Toekomsrus. Garages and backrooms were used.

 

The trainers of these champions, Bokkie Martin and Joe Bowker, are getting old and need to pass on the baton to younger trainers. They sent me here, hon Minister, to ask you to help them get a gym. They have asked me to tell you that if they have a proper gym again, they will produce the artworks for you to televise. Perhaps you will have another opportunity for a ceremony, hon Minister of Ceremonies. Thank you.

 

Mr D STOCK: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Sport and Recreation, Minister Fikile Mbalula, hon members, special delegates, our MECs, comrades and friends, let me also take this opportunity – I’m going to risk a few minutes of my time – just to clarify a few issues.

 

Hon Groenewald, I don’t know why you are so obsessed with Danny Jordaan. Everything you say is about Danny Jordaan, even at committee level, where we meet with and are supposed to engage constructively with the department on matters of national importance. Everything is about Danny Jordaan, so, I don’t know. You still owe us an explanation to tell us about this obsession and what it informs. [Interjections.]

 

You have raised an issue in terms of your own view. You are saying the appointment of Danny Jordaan in the metro of Nelson Mandela Bay is a direct contravention of the Constitution of South Africa. Now, let me lecture you a little bit on that. There is a precedent that has been set and the Minister has been all over the news conducting press conferences just to clarify to the nation in terms of that.

 

The position of president of the SA Football Association, Safa, is not a fulltime one. Another precedent that has been set is that there are other members who serve on the national executive committee, NEC, of Safa, who hold certain positions of responsibility. One of those members ... [Interjections.] ... no, listen. Let me tell you ... is a member of the EFF in the Northern Cape, where I come from. [Interjections.] He serves on the NEC of Safa and is also a member of the legislature. He goes by the name of Mr Aubrey Baartman and he is the provincial chairperson of the EFF in the Northern Cape.

 

So, I don’t know why members come here for opportunistic reasons of some sort and say the ANC has appointed Danny Jordaan, it’s a direct contravention of the Constitution of South Africa, and all of that. This obsession must come to an end. The EFF, after the appointment of Danny Jordaan, goes out in public and calls on him to resign with immediate effect because he can’t hold two positions of responsibility and therefore Safa is not going to be neutral but will take an ANC posture. That is wrong, hon members, and we must demystify this perception of always trying to score cheap political points by coming to the podium and misleading the public. [Interjections.] There is the honourable Baartman. He sits in the legislature of the Northern Cape. He also sits on the NEC of Safa. So, you must come and tell the nation what is wrong about the ANC appointing Danny Jordaan in the metro of Nelson Mandela Bay. [Interjections.]

 

Hon Marais, the DA member, provinces should know by now that the national department is allocated funding for facilities by National Treasury. This money was taken away from the department as far back as 2004. This was previously the Building for Sport and Recreation programme, the BSRP. These funds were integrated into the municipal infrastructure grant, MIG, and so, the department does not have the sole responsibility of overseeing what the money is being used for. So, in terms of the department moving forward in terms of their own perspective, they are actually advocating for a consolidation of 15% of the MIG to be centralised. In this way, the department can also have a say in terms of, or to monitor exactly for what purpose the money is being allocated, or whether the money is being used for the purpose for which it was actually budgeted.

Hon Mokgosi, when I look at you on television or when you speak at the podium, I think you have got potential. However, you are still new to this House and we must actually teach you to respect. Respect, as far as we are concerned, is a two-pronged approach. You must respect others and others must be able to respect you, as well.

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, are you rising on a point of order?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Yes, Chairperson. Hon Stock ...

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: You are addressing me!

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Oh! Hon Chairperson ...

 

Motl Modulasetilo, ke kopa gore o reye motl Stock a tswe mo go nna; gape a tlogele go tseela bokgoni jwa me kwa tlase. Go nna montšhwa mo Ntlong eno ga go reye sepe. Ke leloko la Ntlo eno e bile ke itse melao. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

 

[Deputy Chairperson, please tell the hon Stock to leave me alone. He must also stop undermining my capabilities. The fact that I am new in this House means nothing. I am the member of this House and I know the rules.]

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you.

Moh N P MOKGOSI: Ke kopa gore a ntlotle gore le nna ke mo tlotle. Ke bua jaana gonne tlhompho ga e kgetliwe mo setlhareng ... [ ...I call on him to respect me so that I too can respect him. I am saying this because respect is something earned, not something given.] 

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, take your ...

 

Moh N P MOKGOSI: ... tlhompho e a direlwa. [...respect is something earned.]

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, please take your seat. Hon members, the hon Mokgosi is a new member. She still does need to know the Rules. Hon Mokgosi, every time you take the podium, you exact – you say that respect must be earned. I think you must also earn our respect.

 

Hon members, when members debate, they are allowed to debate. That means they can deviate from their speeches. They can actually go for what you, as a member, have said in the House, either during this speech or in your previous interactions. That is allowed as part of the debate.

 

So, hon Mokgosi, the hon Stock is within his rights, and within the rules of debate, and that which you rose on is not a point of order, at all. Hon Stock, please continue. I would also appreciate it ... hon Mokgosi, you are allowed to interact; you are allowed to heckle, but please do not drown out the speaker. Proceed, hon Stock.

 

Mr D STOCK: Thank you very much, hon Chair. The issue of respect is important because it is a two-pronged approach. You must respect others; others must also, in the process, respect you. So, I don’t know whether you will be able to earn our respect, as members of this House, because you are fairly new to this House. You are hardly a month old in the NCOP.

 

Allow yourself the opportunity to learn the Rules of the House, and you are not going to learn those Rules by disrespecting the members of this House. We are not of the same age here. Some of us are new and there are members who are elderly in this House. [Interjections.]

 

Now, a reflection of your disrespect in terms of your engagement in a debate or every time you participate in a debate is not a reflection on yourself. It is a reflection on your parents who raised you, a reflection on the community where you come from, and a reflection on your participation when you were still a child at school. It’s also a reflection on ... because the last time you were in this House, you said you were married, an adult and all sorts of other things – and you still owe us an explanation as to what the real reasons are that brought you to the NCOP. We still want that explanation, and we are hoping that ... [Interjections.] ... because, as far as I know, in the province I come from, in all the youth structures of the different political organisations, I have not seen any footprints that belong to you. I have only seen the fingerprints of Mokgosi. Hence, you are so disrespectful to adults. [Interjections.]

 

The statistics that you are coming with today to say that Sport and Recreation is actually spending more than R50 million on sports are incorrect. I don’t know where you get those statistics. Your friend, the hon Mathys, who is an EFF member from Gauteng, was supposed to have given you the correct information, so that when you come and participate here, you give us the correct statistics. The reality is that you are misleading the country. Get your facts right so that when you come here, you speak about the truth and nothing other than the truth. [Applause.]

 

In conclusion, let me put this forward. This debate is actually taking place in Youth Month. In a few days’ time, we are going to celebrate the 39th anniversary of the June 16 student uprising. As we commemorate, we must always remember the selflessness of those young people that brought about change and rejected the apartheid regime in 1976.

 

As we will be moving South Africa forward, as the ANC, we support this Budget Vote of Sports, Arts and Culture. We are also of the view that, in moving forward, the Department of the National Treasury must be able to look at an opportunity to increase the budget of the department. As it relates to the current mandate of the department and the budget allocated to it, it is not enough for the department to carry out some of those responsibilities.

 

As the ANC-led government, siyaquba, siyasebenza. We are taking the people of this country very seriously. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]

 

The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Thank you very much chairperson, the hon member says that I am the minister of ceremonies, sports is about ceremonies, this coming Saturday I will be in a ceremony of Bafana Bafana when we beat Gambia, so, you say I am a celebrity, sports is about celebrities. I am always on television because I am not sleeping on the job. Now you call that a problem, if I was not anywhere you would have said where is this sports Minister? When Stofile was nowhere and you could not see him anywhere you said, is there a Minister of Sports during 2010? Razzmatazz arrived and you are still complaining.

 

Your problem is not about the posture, it is because you are contesting the ANC that is everywhere. You can’t do anything about the ANC, the ANC will always be here forever and for as much as you are where you are and misled yourself to go haywire, but we know that one day you will come back, it’s not our problem.

 

Firstly, I think the question of Danny Jordan is hypocrisy and political expediency on the part of the DA. Hon Members, they are not challenging the principle, they are afraid because they thought that they have got Nelson Mandela Metro on the back. Now the ANC deployed the best of the best, now they realise all of a sudden that we are in trouble, we must manifesto...you know when you are not principled, you manufacture things not for the basis of principle but for expediency.

 

Kobus Maree in the DA sitting in the NA smiling all the time in the front benches, he is in the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) in the finance committee, what is that? You say that he must not serve. Your issue is not with Danny Jordan, it is the politics that you are challenging. FIFA you are conniving with the Americans to dent your country for political expediency because again you want to find the ANC guilty. You have forgotten about national interest, you have forgotten that you are South African; you are like those Afrikaners in the Dias foreign Australasia who left the country because they were afraid of the swart gevaar.

 

We are asking you, think about South Africa before you think of yourselves and do not sell out your country for political..., raise fundamental issues if you want to know. There is no corruption, we explained. This was an above board arrangement that everybody knew about and there is a traceable paper trail. There are many things that are going to be said, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and everybody, they are vested interest in terms of this particular matter, we are not fans of Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) and at the same time we are not on the way of the Americans to investigate any other corruption.

 

We are very clear on the 10 million in terms of the diaspora. Sports awards, you are raising the issue of the sports awards again opportunistically because you raised the issue and at the same time you go in public and actually vilify the sports awards, who is going to give us money? How should we award athletes, how should we recognise excellence?

 

You come here and list a list of people. You say we must give children role models, sports awards are about that, today you vilify them, listen to me, I am not going to stop that, it is not my party, is the party of the athletes. The highest paid athletes get recognised in the sports awards and at the same time we will continue to do that for South Africa because we are giving the country role models, whether Mbalula is there or he will leave whatever the sports awards will remain.

 

This year we are celebrating 10 years of the sports awards, it’s a decade that they have been around [Applause]. The athletes that you have not known about, you have known about them through the sports awards. EFF there is nothing that we can say about them, properly characterised, diagnoses, bipolar arrangement [Applause], that’s what it is. Yesterday you were not angry, you were in the ANC, you were saying exactly the same things that we are saying; today you are in another setup, this and that.

 

Let me tell you Floyd Mayweather is my friend, I think you are jealous of that, that’s the problem. [Laughter]. Secondly let me tell you that I have nothing to do with Beyonce, my wife is too beautiful [Interjections] [Applause]. Lastly, I relate with anyone in the world in terms of sports and interact with them. I found Nelson Mandela doing that, I will continue to do that. I didn’t use government money to do anything for Floyd like you said here, you are misleading people, don’t mislead people Mogorosi...

 

O monnye, gonne fa o ne o gola - ga ke itse - batsadi ba gago ba ne ba le mo ANC; ke wena fela o tswileng wa rathakaka, wa tlala le lefatshe, o tla boa. Fela  re ka se  go neye tiro ya maemo a a kwa godimo, tsatsi lengwe o tla nna mokhanselara. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

 

[You are still young, when you were growing up- I don’t know- your parents were members of the ANC; you are the only one who left and started wandering. You will come back, however you will not be afforded a high ranking position. One day you will become a councillor.]

I want to thank the NCOP for giving us an opportunity to be here today and to share our budget and thank you very much. [Applause]

 

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES: We just wish to convey our well wishes to the Deputy Minister, that he recovers quickly. Hon Members this conclude the debate and the business of the day. You are requested to remain standing until the procession has left the House. This House is adjourned.

 

Debate concluded.

 

The Council adjourned at 10:58.

__________

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

THURSDAY, 11 JUNE 2015

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.       The Minister of Energy

 

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Republic of South Africa regarding Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

1. Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the United States of America (USA) concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Russian Federation on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation in the Field of Nuclear Power and Industry, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the French Republic on Cooperation in the Development of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in the Field of Civil Nuclear Energy Projects, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

FRIDAY, 12 JUNE 2015

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker

 

1.       Appointment of members of SA Council for Natural Scientific Professions

 

(1)      A letter dated 3 June 2015 has been received from the Minister of Science and Technology, submitting to the National Assembly a report in terms of section 6(5) of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions Act, 2003 (No 27 of 2003), on the appointment of members of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions with effect from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2019, as follows:

 

1. As representatives of voluntary associations in terms of section 3(1)(a) of the Act: Dr Gerda Botha (agricultural extension), Prof Brian Reilly (zoological science) and Dr Irvy Gledhill (physical science) were reappointed, while Dr Stephanus Terblance (agricultural extension), Prof K A Nephawe (animal science), Mr Neale Lance Baartjies (geological science), Prof George Bredenkamp (botanical science), Prof Robin Crewe (botanical science), Dr Juanita van Heerden (zoological science), Dr Jacqueline S Galpin (mathematical science), Dr Roelof Coetzer (mathematical science) and Mr Desmond Musetsho (earth science) were newly appointed;

 

1. as representatives of the State in terms of section 3(1)(b) of the Act: Dr Monde Mayekiso, Mr Fhatuwani Ramagwede, Dr Phethiwe Matutu (reappointed as representative of the Department of Science and Technology) and Dr Phillia Rixongile Vukea (representative of the Department of Higher Education and Training); and
2. as public representatives in terms of section 3(1)(c) of the Act: Mr Poobalan Govender (public-private sector) was reappointed, while Prof Mary Gulumain (public-private sector), Dr Wendy Ngoma (legal-human resource-strategy), Ms Thulisile Njapa Mashanda (finance) and Ms Matuloe Pertunia Masemola (finance) were newly appointed.

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology.

 

2.       Referral to Committees of papers tabled

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry for consideration and report:

 

(a)      Report of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) for 2015‑16 – 2017‑18 [RP94‑2015].

 

1. The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry:

 

(a)      General Notice No 444, published in Government Gazette No 38799, dated 15 May 2015: Revised notice of clarification regarding the Amended Codes of Good Practice, issued in terms of section 9(1) and section 14(2) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2013 (Act No 53 of 2013).

 

(b)     Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) in brief – A User’s Guide.

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and report:

 

1. Exemption from certain regulations in respect of the requirement to establish and verify clients’ identities when performing cross‑border remittance transactions, tabled in terms of section 74(2)(b) of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act No 38 of 2001).

 

1. Corporate Plan of the Land Bank for 2015‑16 – 2017‑18.

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs for consideration and to the Portfolio Committee on Health, Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Portfolio Committee on Labour, Portfolio Committee on Women in The Presidency, Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, Portfolio Committee on Social Development and Portfolio Committee on Police:

 

1. Directives on Collection and Analysis of Information on Repatriated Victims of Trafficking, tabled in terms of section 44(5) of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2013 (Act No 7 of 2013).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Police for consideration:

 

1. Report of the Civilian Secretariat for Police on compliance of the South African Police Service (SAPS) with the Domestic Violence Act for the period 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014, tabled in terms of section 6 of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Act, 2011 (Act No 2 of 2011).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence for consideration:

 

1. 2015 First Quarterly Report of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), tabled in terms of section 23(1)(c) of the National Conventional Arms Control Act, 2002 (Act No 41 of 2002).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration:

 

1. Submission of the Financial and Fiscal Commission Report on the Division of Revenue Bill for 2016-2017, tabled in terms of section 9(1) of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, 1997 (Act No 97 of 1997), as amended.

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

 

1. Consolidated General Report of the Auditor-General on the Audit Outcomes of Local Government for 2013-14 [RP172-2015]. 

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs for consideration:

 

1. Yearly Report to Parliament on International Environmental Instruments for 2014-15, tabled in terms of section 26(1) of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development for consideration and report and to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and Portfolio Committee on Police:

 

1. Draft regulations submitted on 4 June 2015 for approval by Parliament in terms of section 43(4)(a) of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2013 (No 7 of 2013).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development for consideration and to the Portfolio Committee on Health, Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Portfolio Committee on Labour, Portfolio Committee on Women in The Presidency, Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and Portfolio Committee on Police:

 

1. Directives submitted to Parliament on 4 June 2015 in terms of section 44(7)(a) of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2013 (No 7 of 2013).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Ad Hoc Committee on Report by Minister of Police on Security Upgrades at Private Residence of President at Nkandla for consideration and report:

1. Report by the Minister of Police in reply to recommendations in the Report of Ad Hoc Committee on Report by President Regarding Security Upgrades at Nkandla Private Residence of the President, as adopted by the House on 13 November 2014.

 

1. The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on Transport for consideration and report:

 

1. International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (STCW-F), tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution.

 

1. Explanatory Memorandum to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (STCW-F).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

 

1. Municipal Budgets for the 2014 Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF), tabled in terms of section 24(3) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No 56 of 2003).

 

1. The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform for consideration and report:

 

1. Report and Financial Statements of the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights for 2014‑15.

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