Department of Sport & Recreation on its Strategic Plan 2011/12-2015/16

Sport, Arts and Culture

21 March 2011
Chairperson: Mr B Komphela (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Minister of Sport and Recreation addressed the Committee as an introduction to the Department of Sport and Recreation's presentation of its strategic plan. Six focus areas had been identified. Sport made a huge contribution to the economy. There was also a role in nation building. To this end, youth camps would be introduced. School sport would be revitalised both as a source of mass participation and as a step in identifying talent at an early stage. A sports indaba would be held later in the year with the aim of developing a sports plan and a transformation strategy.

Members welcomed the new Minister. Money was needed to bring these plans to fruition and untapped funds from the Lottery should be used to develop sport. The gap between rural and townships schools compared to the former Model C schools had to be narrowed. A sports indaba had been held two years previously but the resolutions had still not been implemented. The plan to divert funds for sports and recreation facilities back to the Department from the Municipal Infrastructure Grant was welcomed.

Members were briefed on the background of the Department of Sport and Recreation. It was explained how the Department would satisfy its core role through the various strategic objectives and programmes. The Department's expenditure had decreased quite dramatically with the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup. The Department was working with the South African Sports Confederation & Olympic Committe on a number of its programmes, including the drafting of a transformation charter.

Members were not satisfied with what they saw as the Department handing over its responsibilities to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. They were critical of the body, feeling that it was not transformed itself. More clarification was needed on the role and management of academies. More information was needed on the proposed youth camps. Detailed interrogation of the budget was held over to a future date due to time constraints.


Meeting report

The Chairperson announced that one of the Members, Mr J van der Linde, had lost his mother the previous day. He expressed his sympathy on behalf of the Committee.

The Chairperson said that the Minister would lead the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA) presentation on the strategic plan. He announced some upcoming dates. The Committee would be meeting with stakeholders the following day.

Introduction by Minister of Sport and Recreation
Mr Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Sport and Recreation, said that the strategic plan was a tool which the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA) could use to attain its goal of strategic excellence. It was a roadmap to an integrated strategy. It was a compendium to transform SRSA into an athletic and agile organisation. There were six aspects to the plan. These were accelerating transformation, rekindling and revitalising school sport, remodelling the structure of SRSA, fostering mass participation, reinvigorating the recreation cohort, and mobilising sufficient funds to fund the programmes.

Minister Mbalula said that he hoped to deal with the challenges of the lack of a long-term vision, the lack of integrated programme focus and the lack of sufficient skills and capacity. The strategic plan focused on unlocking the real value of the Department's mandate. This was to ensure that as many South Africans as possible had access to sport and recreation activities, particularly those in the disadvantaged communities. At the same time SRSA would work towards increased success at international level.

Minister Mbalula said that a sports indaba would be held during 2011. This indaba would produce a national sports plan and the architecture for a transformation charter. Resources were necessary to make this all possible. While SRSA would look for alternative sources of income the baseline allocation from the National Treasury (NT) would have to be increased.

Minister Mbalula said that sport made a big contribution to the economy. Major events presented an opportunity for entrepreneurship and sustainable jobs. Sport also promoted social cohesion and nation building. Sport should contribute to the delivery of a better life for all while also producing top quality athletes. School sport was the bedrock for talent identification. It was also a vehicle for mass participation. SRSA was finalising a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Basic Education (DBE). An allied concept would be the introduction of youth camps. These would be for all categories of youth.

Minister Mbalula said that SRSA was engaging with the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) to ensure that all new housing developments included sport and recreation facilities. Funding for such facilities currently under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) should be re-directed to SRSA. To achieve this, the Department would have to work with all stakeholders including Parliament, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), national federations and communities.

Discussion
The Chairperson invited Members to ask questions based on the strategic outline.

Mr D Lee (DA) welcomed the Minister to the Committee. It was an important and often underestimated Ministry. Some felt it was unnecessary, but he believed totally in its importance. He looked forward to working with the new Minister. Some three months previously, he had received a call from an ANC person who pointed out that the Minister was saying the same things that Mr Lee was saying. Talk was cheap, but action was needed. He liked the role of sport as sketched by the Minister. However, it all came down to money. SRSA could not fund the development of sport from its own sources. The Committee would help the Minister to source funding. The Lottery rolled over billions of Rand each year, and some of this should be used to develop sport.

Minister Mbalula said that the Lottery should not just be a money distribution scheme. National objectives needed to be met. Programmes needed to be coordinated. At Zwelethemba, he had opened an artificial surface on top of an existing one. He could not understand this. It felt like money was being spent for the sake of spending. This was not what the country needed. There were so many facilities, but many were in poor condition. Money was being spent on things that were not durable. There was a lot of money available in the private sector as part of their social responsibility spending. The Government was now starting to build a case for sport funding. He was encouraged by the views expressed by Members.

Mr G MacKenzie (COPE) was pleased to see the Minister and his Deputy. The words from the Ministry were encouraging and the enthusiasm was obvious. There was support from both sides of the political spectrum. For a long time the Committee had argued that this Ministry should fall within the Economic Cluster. The contribution of sport to the gross domestic product (GDP) should not be underestimated. He echoed Mr Lee's concern about unused funding at the Lottery. He was interested to hear how the road map had been developed. All Members identified with it, and he agreed fully with the aspects which had been identified.

Minister Mbalula said that the road map was a clear description of how the strategic plan would be developed.

Mr L Suka (ANC) said that the key strategic thrust was in the six focus areas. He wished to highlight two of these focus areas. These were the areas of fostering optimal performance and remodelling the institutional structure. This touched on the vacancy rate at SRSA. There had already been a Sports Indaba, but it had proved difficult to implement the recommendations made at that event. The contribution of sport to the GDP must be emphasised. Government needed the tools to finish the job it wished to do, otherwise all the plans would fall flat. There was no break in sport as one event led into another. He asked how sport in the rural areas could be developed to get a bit closer to the high performance aspect. SRSA was saying that it would interact with the DBE on school sport. There had been a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two Departments but nothing had developed from that.

Mr Mbalula said it was clear things could not be done without a clear structure.

Mr M Dikgacwi (ANC) had been part of the sports indaba. Mr Suka was correct that the resolutions made there had not been implemented. The Minister should see those resolutions so that the same issues were not rehashed at the next indaba. Each federation had its own interpretation of transformation. All should be acting in a coordinated way. The youth camps were a good idea, but he would like more elaboration

Minister Mbalula said agreed that the sports indaba must produce action and not just words.

Ms S Lebenya-Ntanzi (IFP) also thanked the Minister and applauded his ideas. The main issue was of implementation. The best ideas meant nothing without clear implementation strategies. The issue of school sport was of paramount importance. She hoped that things would materialise. The gap between rural and former Model C schools had to be closed. More codes needed to be catered for apart from netball and football. She was glad that the MIG would be used, but such programmes took years to implement. If school sport was to be revitalised, she wished to know how the educators could be trained to make this possible. If the teachers did not have the relevant skills, it would be a futile exercise. In terms of policy formulation, she asked how far SRSA had developed its plans.

Minister Mbalula said that Deputy Minister Oosthuizen would speak at some length about the indaba. He had been delegated to deal with this matter. Sport should not be promoted just as an extra mural activity. Olympic athletes had to be developed from the programme. Sport was the competency of SRSA. Everybody talked school sport. Many were trained but no stars were being produced. Talent had to be identified. This should be driven by competition. Model C schools were succeeding because of their diversity. None of the township schools were producing talent except for football. Companies were under pressure to spend their social responsibility budgets. SRSA wanted to get school sport activated by the end of the month. Less talk was needed and more implementation. Programmes at eighteen schools would not make a dent. In the United Kingdom (UK) the budget for school sport had been cut. This had led to a public outcry. Without sustainable school sport programmes, the country would produce drug lords and thugs instead of athletes. DBE said that its priority was building schools and not sports facilities. SRSA did not want to disrupt school work but to develop leagues and identify talent in at least five different codes. They could learn from the Model C schools. If political principals could not resolve the problem, then the President must intervene. Everybody must be clear on this.

Minister Mbalula said that the concept of youth camps was about nation building. It would be instilling patriotism without indoctrination. Camps would happen during the school holidays. He hoped to see the roll-out before the end of the year. There were many problems but SRSA had decided to focus on the six areas mentioned and compress all other elements into these six aspects. SRSA wanted to perfect the policy on school sport.

Mr Gert Oosthuizen, Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation, spoke about the sports indaba. All stakeholders would be involved. There should be a single transformation charter with an associated scorecard. SRSA had engaged with SASCOC. The plan must enable the Minister to build the case for sport when pleading for more money. The case was not strong in the past. The economic contribution had to be considered. The MINMEC meeting would be held on 24 March. The date for the indaba would be determined at that meeting. All inputs would be incorporated into a framework document. There would be a vigorous media campaign to encourage contributions from the public. The Ministry would attend the SASCOC conference in April. On 1 June indabas would be held in each province. Feedback would be incorporated into a working document. He hoped to hold the national indaba by the end of July. This would lead to a sports plan. It would assist in aligning budgets. He understood that Section 5 of the Constitution made provision for the distribution of funds amongst the provinces. However, there was a lack of alignment in the way the provinces spent their allocations. Each province had different priorities. A small task team had been appointed to go to the metros to implement the plan. Policy had to be put into practice with measurable objectives. The plan must be implemented down to grassroots level. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) would be involved. The case for sport must flow from the indaba. It must be a practical working tool, not just jargon. It might be that once the plan was completed, the media might say there was no budget to achieve the plan. It might have to happen incrementally.

Deputy Minister Oosthuizen envisaged that once the document was launched on the website there would be a hive of activity. A platform would be created for all to make inputs, but the elected structures would debate the proposals and formulate the plan.

Ms Lebenya-Ntanzi hoped that the Deputy Minister would touch on the question on the progress of the resolutions of the 2008 Indaba.

Mr Suka wanted to ask the same question. On the equitable share formula, Government needed to more vocal on the distribution of funds. Other pressures swallowed the funds at local level. It. was critical that SRSA be better funded.

Mr Dikgacwi looked at the numbers on the organogram. He needed clarity on the structure. He was told by a Member that the numbers referred to were the salary scale for that level of position.

Deputy Minister Oosthuizen said that Prof Singh had captured the resolutions. He had been tasked to carry these forward.

Minister Mbalula said that the 2008 Indaba had been convened for different objectives. Transformation was still not complete. Some federations had not bought into the concept and had their own concept. Only two or three had any kind of programme. Lack of resources was offered as an excuse. There were no programmes for the disadvantaged. Nothing was binding. Transformation had taken a back seat. Only the most lucrative codes such as rugby and cricket were in the public view and other codes were forgotten. Netball had spoken clearly on transformation. Other codes could only quote quotas. Transformation would be raised at the MINMEC. It had come down to racial polarisation. Resources were not evenly distributed. A robust political debate was needed on transformation. There was concern in football at the dwindling numbers of white players. If people felt that quotas should be enforced to achieve transformation then people should say it.

Mr J van der Linde (DA) was happy with what the Minister was saying. It was important that the LoveLife programme should be part of the strategy. It was not contributing towards sports development. Rural clubs were not allowed to play hockey at the artificial surface in George. This was killing the game. The rural areas were being neglected. National federations should invest in the rural areas.

The Chairperson was excited by the courage being shown by the Minister. Even former President Mbeki was willing to argue the case for sport. There was a time when the budget could have been negotiated. A week previously the Committee had held a strategic workshop. There was discussion regarding a conflict of interest in the Lottery. Both the current and previous chairpersons had expressed their concern. All members of the distribution boards were members of SASCOC. The federations represented by these people were benefiting. Perhaps SASCOC members should not be part of the distribution authority. The matter had never been attended to. People were still feeling the pain. The Chairperson of SASCOC could not be both player and referee.

Mr Komphela would not allow the Minister to go to the indaba to be ambushed. There was agreement on a single national symbol. At the conference in Durban resolutions had been made. Two years later these had still not been forwarded to the Committee. He was still waiting for Prof Singh to deliver the resolutions. They had gone to the Chairperson of the National Assembly but not to this Committee.

The Chairperson said that the White Paper was mentioned in the strategic plan. No Member of the Committee had seen this document. It was not correct that a policy document was not shared with Parliament. The Committee had been told that information was being provided late or not at all by the provinces. This was in conflict with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). SRSA might need more staff in order to follow-up properly with the provinces. The conditional grant had an impact on SRSA. A critical issue was what the Auditor-General (AG) was saying about SRSA.

Mr Komphela said that the cluster committee had a productive meeting with the DBE. He was expecting to see a resulting document later that day. SRSA had decided that school sport should fall under the DBE. The only question was if DBE had the manpower resources to administer school sport. There was no dissenting voice when the agreement had been reached. It was all about resources.

Sports Recreation South Africa (SRSA) presentation
Ms Sumayya Khan, Chief Operations Officer and Acting Director General of SRSA, said that the process of compiling the strategic plan had begun in September 2010. It was presented to the Minister and provincial Heads of Department. It was presented to the MINMEC on 2 December 2010. A strategic workshop was held in January 2011. The six strategic areas of focus had arisen from there. The Road Map was submitted to the Minister in February. All the areas had been incorporated into the strategic plan.

Ms Khan said that SRSA had received a new plan format from NT. The outcomes oriented approach had been followed. The performance plan was in effect the business plan for SRSA. The 2011 – 2015 strategic plan was focussed on increasing participation and the level of international competition. The plan included inputs from previous strategic plans. The priorities of government had also been considered.

Ms Khan presented the vision, mission and values of SRSA. She listed the Acts influencing SRSA's activities. She noted the entities that fell under SRSA such as the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) and Boxing South Africa (BSA). The PFMA regulated financial activities. The Department would ensure that proper partnerships would be in place. Resources must be put in place. The next part of the strategic plan dealt with legislation being processed. This included the SA Combat Sports Bill, the Second National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill and the South African Boxing Repeal Draft Bill. There were also several sets of regulations to be promulgated. These pertained to safety at sports and recreation events, fitness and the recognition and funding of sport and recreation bodies. Ms Khan said that there were invaluable international relationships in place. SRSA took note of United Nations resolutions on the role of sport and physical education. The Department was guided by the World Olympic Sport Convention held in Mexico in 2010. Government had various outcomes and SRSA was aligned to Government's Outcome 12. The benefits of sport would contribute to an inclusive and involved citizenship. Sport would be used as a means of securing national cohesion.

Ms Khan listed the strategic imperatives. These were transformation, school sport, institutional mechanisms in terms of facilities, Sports Councils, academies and coaching, mass mobilisation in the form of youth camps, job creation, communication and mass participation, recreation and funding. Transformation required that other role players should be involved. SASCOC was developing its own transformation charter. Their document and that of SRSA had been merged and they were now working towards a single, unified document. In terms of school sport, there had been much discussion already. SRSA was working closely with federations. SRSA had come up with a document and was busy interrogating it. It should be ready to be presented to the political principals soon.

Ms Khan said that there had been discussions on the MIG with DHS and the Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). There had been fruitful discussion on maintenance and integrated planning. There had been much debate over the Sports Councils. Further discussion was needed with SASCOC. SRSA realised that the academy system was not working. Demographics were not being addressed. SRSA was working on this. Coaching was a key element to success. SASCOC was taking the lead. A coaching conference had been held which had led to a draft framework. It would impact on the way school sport would move forward. The draft framework should be ready by November.

The Chairperson interrupted to say that SRSA would have its hands full. It seemed that all of its powers were being delegated to SASCOC. Some of these issues were part of SRSA's core business.

Ms Khan continued that they would discuss how this would happen after the presentation. She did not agree that SRSA was abdicating its responsibilities. The youth camps would develop leadership with a strong focus on sporting activities. Every Department should be creating jobs. A task team was investigating how SRSA could provide decent and sustainable jobs. Within mass mobilisation, communication was one of the drivers. SRSA was finalising its strategy. It was playing a leading role in the discussion. Mass participation was a primary role of SRSA, but true mass participation was still not being achieved for various reasons.

Ms Khan said there was not enough emphasis on the recreation component of the Department's mandate. Leisure time pursuits helped towards creating a healthy lifestyle. In terms of funding, she acknowledged the disparities in the distribution of Lottery funds. Maximum impact had to be ensured.

Ms Khan said that there were 220 posts at SRSA. The number of posts filled had increased to 193 and she expected this to increase to 206 over the medium term. A draft functional structure had been developed but needed to be reviewed. The Department's offices were too small to accommodate staff in a healthy environment. The lease on the current building expired in October 2011 and the issue was receiving urgent attention.

Ms Khan said that strategic goals had been developed to address the six focus areas.
▪ The first goal concerned transformation. SRSA would lead the process through a clear framework.
▪ The second goal was to ensure that sport was offered at all schools in the country.
▪ The third strategic goal was to ensure that institutional mechanisms were in place to provide equal access at all levels.
▪ The fourth goal was to contribute to social cohesion and employment opportunities through mass mobilisation.
▪ The fifth goal was to contribute to a healthy lifestyle through the provision of recreation programmes.
▪ The sixth goal was to institute a funding model to enable the effective implementation of sport and recreation programmes.
▪ The seventh goal was to ensure that high performance systems were in place to enable more athletes, coaches, technical officials and administrators to reach national and international standings.
▪ The eighth goal was to provide effective and efficient administrative support.
▪ The ninth goal was to developed national policies and guidelines to ensure a well governed sports community.
▪ The tenth and final goal was to use the potential of sport and recreation to achieve government priorities through good inter and intra governmental cooperation.

Ms Khan said that expenditure decreased from R5 billion in 2007/08 to R1.3 billion in the 2010/11 financial year (FY). This was mainly due to a winding down of World Cup related activities. An additional R205.7 million was allocated over the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF). Of this, R7.6 million would be used to improve conditions of service, R136 million for increased support to national sport federations, R40 million for increased municipal accommodation charges, R16.5 million for new office accommodation for the Department, and R5.5 million for increased operational costs at BSA.

Ms Khan presented the strategic objectives:
▪ Programme 1 was Administration, and included several sub-programmes. The objectives were to support the Minister and Deputy Minister, the Office of the Director General, strategic and executive support, internal audit and corporate services. Corporate services included legal services, labour relations, auxiliary services, information technology, marketing and communications and human resources. The other sub-programme was the Chief Financial Officer, whose tasks included financial control and supply chain management.
▪ Programme 2 was Sport Support Services. This provided support to recognised sport and recreation entities. These were sport and recreation service providers, club development, education and training, and scientific support.
▪ Programme 3 was Mass Participation which was aimed at creating an environment for increasing numbers of participants. There were two sub-programmes, namely community mass participation and school sport. Legacy aspects from the 2010 World Cup were included in this programme.
▪ Programme 4 was international liaison and events. The sub-programmes were international liaison and major events.
▪ Programme 5 was facilities coordination. The associated sub-programmes were planning and advocacy, and technical support.

Key risks in each programme had been identified. The risks were identified in the Strategic Plan. The purpose of the conditional grant was to facilitate mass participation within communities and schools. The performance indicator would be to have 5 million people participating in the mass participation programme in the 2011/12 FY. Other links were to SAIDS and BSA, entities falling under SRSA.

Mr Makoto Matlala, CFO: SRSA, said that expenditure had declined from 2007/08 from R5 billion to R1.3 billion. This was mainly due to the end of the construction programme for the World Cup. Total expenditure was expected to decrease to R981 million in 2013/14. A large VAT refund still had to be repaid to FIFA. The largest portion of the budget allocation went to compensation of employees.

Discussion
Mr Lee questioned Strategic Goal 10. This dealt with additional funds. R40 million was needed for increased municipal and accommodation charges. He asked if this was to do with the World Cup stadiums. How much of the money being allocated to SRSA was actually going to sport?

Ms Lebenya-Ntanzi asked how youth camps would benefit the youth. She asked what the criteria for selection would be and what the connection with the National Development Agency (NDA) would be.

Mr S Mmusi (ANC) asked about international relationships. He asked how such relationships were related to the youth in the rural areas. Regarding youth camps, he asked how disabled youth would be assisted. Many of these youth did not have the use of their limbs, especially their legs. Specialised transport would be needed. Once at the camp specially designed sports fields, wheelchairs and activities would need to be provided.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) asked about job creation. The President had spoken about decent sustainable jobs. She asked why all the vacant posts were not being filled immediately. The Committee would like to hear the detailed operational plan. The Siyadlala programme had not being addressed. The co-ordinators were receiving assistance from the volunteers and not from SRSA. She asked what the constitutional mandate of SASCOC was. It seemed that body was getting more responsibility than SRSA and other federations. Most of the Bills in the legislative programme should have been passed in 2010. She wanted re-assurance that this would be done. The Safety at Sports and Recreation Events Act (SSREA) had already been passed. She was concerned with the quality of the documents. The copy of the Strategic Plan she had was falling apart.

Mr Suka had read that the capacity of volunteers would be beefed up. He thought that a unit would have been established. The presentation spoke about partnerships with local governments. These should be real partnerships. The DHS was still building houses without space for recreational facilities. This was a serious matter. There were two types of grants. More clarity was needed. Members would like to monitor them. The presentation spoke about the MIG.  He asked what the expenditure per child was for sport. He asked what the challenges were with academies. Members had been raising these issues for some time. Distance from communities was one problem he could think of. On job creation, the statement was very loaded. He wanted some clarity. He asked what the figures meant. There were a number of permanent and acting positions. He asked if this would impact on job creation. He agreed that not enough was being said about recreation facilities.

Mr Lee appreciated the quality of Mr Suka's questions.

The Chairperson said that in 2007/08 the staff complement had increased to 191. Only two more had been appointed in the following year. These posts were funded. Appointments were moving at a snail's pace. In the light of the President's call, the Committee wanted to see all 220 posts being filled. The President's statement was a directive.

Mr MacKenzie asked about strategic imperatives. Coaching was a key element. He asked what was being done. He asked if SRSA was directing this or the federations. He also wanted clarity on recreation. The Minister had been talking about developing talent. He did not detect a strategic shift. The budget for supporting clubs and federations had increased dramatically. He asked how these clubs and federations would be identified. He raised the issue of LoveLife and their games. R230 million had been allocated to this organisation over three years. The Committee had a serious problem with this. The figures for LoveLife were still growing dramatically.

The Chairperson said that the Committee had engaged the late Director General vigorously. It had been agreed that LoveLife should fall under the Department of Health. While the funds might be coming from a private source he still felt that this organisation should not be funded by SRSA. LoveLife was receiving more money annually than municipalities. There were also unintended consequences.

Mr Dikgacwi said that SRSA made provision for service level agreements (SLAs) with federations. At Stellenbosch there had been a stampede at an athletics meeting. A youngster had died at an event in Uitenhage. He asked how the federations were being taken on board to implement the SSREA. He had problems with SASCOC. He could not see how this body could draft a transformation charter when that body itself was not transformed. More mandates were being given to SASCOC. SRSA had commissioned a young man to conduct a detailed audit of facilities countrywide. Nothing had been seen of this audit. There were still vacancies from previous years. He wanted to be convinced that the academies, that had been given to the control of SASCOC, would operate effectively. There were many unemployed sports legends. He asked how they could contribute to the academies. Only two Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams had local coaches. SRSA should monitor and question the preference of foreign coaches.

The Chairperson had read the document. He had many questions. There was a lot of repetition in the document. The Committee had budgeted for public hearing on the Bills that were to be put before Parliament. The Committee was required to visit several regions. It would make a mockery of the Committee's budget if the legislation were delayed. He asked if SRSA had checked on the pieces of legislation passed by the House. He asked if SRSA was aware of the implications. There was a proliferation of foreign coaches. If a team wished to employ a foreigner it must show that there was no local talent available to do the job. The Act only talked about federations and not clubs.

Mr MacKenzie replied that foreign coaches moved between clubs.

The Chairperson said that all PSL teams had at least five foreign players. This amounted to a huge number. There were only two black coaches in the PSL, and only five South African coaches in all of the sixteen teams. Lawyers were hired to find loopholes. If the judiciary undermined Parliament, they should be undermined in turn. The mission of SRSA was to maximise access. Equitable access should be promoted. The democracy of South Africa should be reflected. The White Paper had never come to the Committee. He had discussed the issue with Ms Khan. It would be provided when finalised. Sports clubs were social bodies. Sports Councils were controlled and funded by municipalities and provinces. It could not be an entity of SASCOC. SASCOC could not take over the functions of SRSA. The Committee could not allow this to happen. The views of all participants should come through the Sports Councils to the Minister. Transformation was the responsibility of SRSA. It could not be left up to SASCOC.

Mr Komphela said that the Minister of Basic Education would take back school sport if SRSA gave control to SASCOC. Physical education should be part of the curriculum. He disagreed that SASCOC should deal with academies. SRSA must set up norms and standards. This could only be done with senior coaching officials in the respective codes. SASCOC would never understand such requirements. SASCOC was there to deliver high performance. He was shocked that SASCOC should have voting rights. SASCOC was not showing financial discipline. The ANC would never allow any organisation to undermine the Committee.

Ms Khan wanted to be clear on the issues raised. Much of the discussion had come out of the road map. SRSA was leading and taking responsibility. SASCOC and the provinces were partners with others. The outputs on transformation were clear. SRSA was in charge of the process. SRSA took full responsibility for school sport. Physical education would remain the responsibility of DBE. The Sports Councils had been addressed.

The Chairperson read an extract from the Strategic Plan. Although sports councils were funded through legacy funding, it was stated that SASCOC was the main driver. This should be SRSA. SASCOC would be taking on a role beyond its importance.

Mr Dikgacwi said that the issue of SASCOC could not be ignored. He emphasised his point that SASCOC was not transformed and could not be expected to provide leadership in this regard.

Ms Khan said that the youth camps were a new concept. She could not give details at present. The questions posed, especially regarding the disabled, would be addressed.

Prof Paul Singh, Chief Director: Client Services and Support, SRSA, said that transformation was the top priority. SRSA was leading the process. He had been put in charge by the Minister. SRSA engaged with SASCOC as they worked with the federations. The Minister would sign off the charter. The phrasing in the Strategic Plan might suggest that SASCOC was in charge but this was misleading. Regarding the academies, a task team was in place. SASCOC had already done research into academies and had been asked to provide a blueprint. This would advise the decisions made by SRSA. There was no system in the country at present. There was a need for such a blueprint to guide the process forward. There was a debate at national level on Sports Councils. These were bodies of civil society which advised SRSA. Regarding international relations, there had been a workshop for the first time to devise a strategy for international relationships. A policy was to be developed. In some cases rural bodies would be linked to international partners. Some study tours would be needed. Countries like the UK could advise on issues such as school sport.

Ms Lulu Sizani, Chief Director: Corporate Services, SRSA, said that there were 220 funded posts. There was a perceived lack of movement. There were some vacancies, but this was not really a problem.  If a position was filled internally, it would leave a vacancy elsewhere. Reports were being sent to the Minister. The position of Chief Director: Mass Participation Programme (MPP) had still not been approved. There had been a recommendation but this person was not approved. She said that the baseline was 193 positions. SRSA did play a role in creating jobs. Volunteers and co-ordinators could be used for the Siyadlala programme. Volunteers were not regulated in the private service. Stipends were taken from the former Sports Commission. Public service could not deal with stipends. Salaries were determined by the Department of Public Service Administration (DPSA). SRSA was trying to change this. Each province should be given 6% of the conditional grant to be used for job creation. Provinces had resisted. They should be held to account. Reasons given were unsatisfactory. At the last HEADCOM meeting a template had been developed.  A lot of money was available.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would not be a conveyor belt for more funding. Provinces should be held to account. The Committee would support SRSA's request for more funding. However, there were some issues from the AG to be dealt with. The Committee should be satisfied that there would be no more fruitless and wasteful expenditure as had been the case in the last FY. Netball was one of only two organisations that had been clear on transformation. They should rather have led the process. SASCOC did not deserve this honour.

Mr Suka said that Members had unfinished business with the budget.

The Chairperson said that time had run out for the meeting. The question of the budget would be taken up at a later date.

The meeting was adjourned.



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