Policy Work; Transformation in Cricket; Constituency Sport Issues: discussion

Meeting report

SPORTS AND RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
27 May 2003
POLICY WORK; TRANSFORMATION IN CRICKET; CONSTITUENCY SPORT ISSUES: DISCUSSION

Chairperson: Ms R N Bhengu

Documents handed out:
Briefing on Cricket Transformation
Cricket Transformation 2002/3 season presentation
Ministerial Task Team Report on Transformation in Cricket(Appendix 1)
Transformation Policy of the United Cricket Board(Appendix 2)

Other relevant documents:
Transformation Playing Statistics 2002/2003 season

SUMMARY
The Committee discussed transformation in cricket and issues arising within constituencies. The recommendation from the policy workshop was to have a similar workshop for the Ministerial Task Team, Sports and Recreation South Africa (Department) and the South African Sports Commission.

MINUTES
The Chair listed the agenda as the adoption of minutes and debriefings on the Policy workshop, transformation in cricket and issues arising within constituencies.

Ministerial Task Team
Regarding the workshop, she said that the recommendation was to have a similar workshop for the Ministerial Task Team, Sports and Recreation South Africa (Department of Sport and Recreation) and the South African Sports Commission. A team was meant to be formed within 30 days of the workshop.

Mr Ncinane (ANC) asked if there had been such a follow-up as 30 days had already lapsed. He said that this was important because there was no clear policy on sport. The Committee had to realise the urgency of the matter and the fact that the workshop had been convened specifically to start the process.

Discussion
The Chair replied that the report had not been available until now and that a number of other matters had arisen. A Task Team be formed at Committee level and suggested that the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) be included as their report was included in the previous workshop.

Mr Ncinane suggested that all meetings took place in Cape Town so that members would be able to attend. He put forward that three members from the ANC and one from each other party be included.

Mr Lucas (IFP) pointed out that some Committee members never attended meetings and would therefore not be able to make the necessary input as members of such a Task Team.

Mr Lee (DA) urged that smaller parties be given the opportunity to propose candidates.

Mr Frolick (UDM) said that not all of the smaller parties were represented on the Committee. He added that the Task Team would be the key driver for addressing issues efficiently. He suggested that the Task Team be enlarged to seven (four ANC, one to three members from each smaller party) for the sake of inclusiveness.

Mr Lucas insisted that the IFP be represented on the proposed Task Team.

Mr Louw (ANC) said that those who did not attend or contribute to meetings should not be included.

The Chair then ruled that the Team would be composed of seven members: three from the ANC and one from each smaller party.

Mr Lee appealed that the number be increased to five ANC members and four from smaller parties to allow more scope.

Mr Ntuli (ANC) said that this would result in too big a Team and urged that the members adhere to the ruling by the Chair.

Mr Reid felt that five ANC members to three members from smaller parties would be best as there would be little chance of having all members attending all meetings.

Mr Ncinane said that the Chair's ruling should be observed and no further changes be allowed.
The Chair reiterated her ruling and said that the Task Team would have no voting or debating role. Separate parties would not be identified within this Task Team. She asked that names of candidates forwarded as soon as possible.

Transformation in Cricket
The Chair said that the meeting with the UCB was meant as a follow-up to the August meeting and that the purpose was to address common and uncommon areas between the UCB and MTT reports. The Committee had not committed themselves and had allowed the MTT to complete its work and then present the report. The next step would be to analyse and discuss all the reports brought before the Committee.

Discussion
Mr Lee mentioned that he had asked for a copy of the UCB's presentation.

Mr Ntuli said that both reports were supposed to be dealt with simultaneously. All documents should be given to one person to analyse and then report back to the Committee.

Mr Frolick said that the statistical information already revealed a number of discrepancies. He said that all information needed to be tabled so that the Committee could have a firm position on the issue.

The Chair said that a researcher would be brought in to deal with the reports.

Constituency Issues
Mr Ntuli stated that there were a number of complaints regarding the unavailability of facilities and equipment in KwaZulu Natal . Requests made in writing were not followed up. The lack of support was disappointing.

Mr Lee added that the feeling in the Eastern Cape was that sport was in disarray. He posed a solution and said that liaison committees should be charged with the responsibility of dealing with problems in the individual codes and thereby become more interactive.

Mr Frolick said that the South African Rugby and Football Union (SARFU) presentation revealed that they would split into amateur and professional divisions. The selections for the Craven Week rugby tournament would soon be made, but that the budget for development would be cut by R600 000. This would result in that players would have to pay to participate, thereby excluding those who could not afford it. He said that SARFU should present to the Committee. Players would not be allowed to progress with disastrous consequences.

Mr Ncinane said the Committee should push the Department to respond to issues, top priority being the requests for facilities. Such requests should be acknowledged. Regarding KwaZulu Natal, a meeting should be convened to discuss facilities. There was strong growth of soccer in the Eastern Province. With regard to the cutting development funds, Mr Ncinane said that there must a reason for the action and that the Committee should be consulted with justification. He suggested that the richer members were overpowering the poorer members in voting on committees. These people should be assisted.

Mr Lucas said that rural areas were being neglected. The Department of Education was not working with Sports, and that Local Governments were not incorporating other organisations. Many facilities were given to clubs and therefore not accessible to all. He said that these two should be brought together.

Mr Frolick said that it was important to celebrate the successes. He mentioned a facility in Port Elizabeth that had been transformed with funds from the National Lottery Board. He said that people from struggle sports were conservative about budget matters. He said that it should be clear that the development be showcased as work of the government.

Mr Lee said that it was important to realise that SARFU's decision to split impacted on a much larger scale as rugby at local level would also suffer.

Mr Louw said that the real issues were being dealt with when looking at separate constituencies. He said federation should be dealt with through the Public Relations officers (PRO's) or Chief Executive Officers (CEO's). He said that they represented Parliament as Members. Members should refrain from being what they are not.

Mr Reid (ANC) said that the funding of clubs should be investigated as some could not travel because of lack of funding. Clubs were suffering as no players were coming through, even at school level. He mentioned Oudtshoorn as an example and said that facilities were found in white areas and not in others.

The Chair summarized saying that true situations at ground level were tabled in the meeting. The Department should be engaged to decide how to respond to requests. The feeling and thinking within communities should be taken forward. Lack of funding was a concern as the talented players were not necessarily the richest. There should be a connection between the Departments of Education and Sports. Federations should be engaged to represent the public and address issues concerning them. She asked how to engage the Departments, Local Governments, SRSA, SASC and federations, and then deal with problems, especially those concerning equipment.

Mr Frolick said that federations could respond by letter. Parliament's programme would impact on Members' availability. The Committee should step in when wanting clarity on important issues or issues. The Department was an important link between Members and constituencies. A meeting should be convened immediately or they would fail the public in not doing its duty.

Mr Lee suggested a meeting with the Director-General in the Department of Education to determine how much of the budget was dedicated to school sports.

Mr Ntuli added that the Department should also address the lack of equipment and requests made. One person representing the office of the Minister should respond or send a message of support.

The Chair concluded by saying that a meeting be convened with the Departments of Sports and Recreation and Education regarding federations and sub-committees. It was important that constituency matters were raised.

Meeting was adjourned.


Appendix 1
ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT BY THE MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO TRANSFORMATION IN CRICKET

INTRODUCTION
At a conference held at Kievits Kroon on 7 July 2002, he United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) resolved to scrap transformation quotas at the level of national teams and senior provincial sides, and select teams purely on merit. At the level of B Teams and teams below that level, quotas were replaced by two guidelines, viz. that all provincial B Teams and teams below this level should contain at least 50% players of colour; and that these teams should contain at least one black African player. This has become known as the Kievits Kroon Resolution.

The Minister of Sport and Recreation announced on 18 July 2002 that he had appointed a Committee of Inquiry to test the validity of the claim made by the UCB that, "South African cricket had grown beyond its own expectations when targets for transformation were set three years ago". The Committee began its investigation on 7 August 2002.

KEY FINDINGS
General

The Committee of Inquiry found that:

Despite an initial reticence on the part of some of the role players, there has been an acceptable level of cooperation with the Committee.

The transformation quota system, albeit in a different guise, i.e. guidelines, in essence still remained in place. It was only the responsibility for enforcing and monitoring those systems that have been shifted to provincial level.

Since the Kievits Kroon Resolution, the enforcement and monitoring of quotas or 'guidelines' have in many instances, been even more rigorously enforced and monitored.

Achievements
The Committee of Inquiry found that:

Overall, significant progress has been made with regard to transformation.

Griqualand West has surpassed all the other provinces insofar as the development of all its black communities is concerned. This is reflected not only in the composition of its cricket teams, but also in the composition of the Board and Executive Committees.

The picture is also positive in KwaZulu-Natal, where, in addition to a progressive selection policy, the province has more contracted African players than Boland and Western Province put together.

Shortcomings in the transformation process
The most important finding of the Committee is that the UCB's statement to the effect that it had achieved transformation targets "beyond all expectations", is not borne out by the evidence. All the Committee's findings with regard to the transformation performance of the UCB flows from this fundamental conclusion. These findings include the following:

The UCB's development programme has failed to make significant inroads into black African communities - for example, in premier leagues, teams based in African communities make up under 10% of the total number of clubs.

There continue to be disparities in the allocation of funds, particularly in light of the fact that so many historically disadvantaged communities continue to be under-resourced in terms of facilities.

The legacy of South Africa's apartheid past continues to impact negatively on the sporting sector. This manifests itself particularly in the absence of adequate facilities in historically disadvantaged communities as this compromises the ability of black and white cricketers to compete on an equal footing. The problem of lack of adequate facilities applies in particular to African communities.

Compliance by all provinces with regard to transformation was about 20% of the categories within which targets were set. The lowest levels of non-compliance were the 'Coaches' and 'Primary School' categories. The next problematic areas were at the 'Umpire' and 'Scorer' ranks, followed by the 'Provincial and National Administration', 'Selection and Team Management' and 'High School' categories.

The provinces which scored highest in the non-compliance category were Gauteng (more than 60% non-compliant) and North West (50% non-compliant). These provinces were followed by Northerns, Griqualand West, Easterns, Free State, Border, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Province. Boland and Western Province had the lowest non-compliance level of 13%.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The recommendations proposed by the Committee of Inquiry were based on a recognition of the fact that the socio-economic inequalities bequeathed by the apartheid era require that an active transformation agenda continues to be followed in cricket, and that it be driven from the top. The recommendations put forward were:

The UCB should, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the Kievits Kroon Resolution is rescinded.

The UCB should, after a due process of consultation, increase the transformation targets contained in the Transformation Charter.

The UCB Executive Committee should resume its responsibility for transformation.

Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) should set in motion a consultative process whereby a Transformation Charter would result. This Charter should clearly define the respective roles of Government and the various sporting codes.

The definition of transformation targets should be revised in line with the original motivation to encourage provinces to produce their own players under the transformation programme. Accordingly, players of colour who are purchased from other provinces, or who have been, or are still, contracted to the National team, should be excluded from these targets.

The transformation programme should focus in particular, on the development of black African players, administrators and officials.

The UCB should focus its efforts on provinces such as Gauteng, Free State and Northerns, where the bulk of infrastructure is located, but which have been the slowest in transforming.

There should be separate accounts for development funds, as well as proper liaison and consultation with historically disadvantaged communities with regard to the utilisation of these funds.

The UCB should retain the system of monitoring undertaken by the National and Provincial Monitoring Committees. Members of these committees should be objective and independent.

Issues to consider
What has been the response of the UCB to the findings of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry?
To what extent has the UCB accepted the findings of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry?
What specific strategies flowing from the Committee's recommendations are being implemented by the UCB?
How will SRSA monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Committee's recommendations by the UCB, particularly those aimed at addressing the problem of inadequate facilities in historically disadvantaged communities?
The UCB's transformation programme has to be implemented within the context of widespread poverty and unemployment in South Africa. In light of this, what strategies are being devised to address these fundamental obstacles?

Announcement of cricket committee of inquiry, 18 July 2002.
www.srsa.gov.za

Appendix 2
ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED CRICKET BOARD'S REPORT ON CRICKET TRANSFORMATION: 2002/03 SEASON

INTRODUCTION
This report was presented to the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation by Mr Gerald Majola, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) on 20 May 2003.

SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION
ICC Cricket World Cup 2003
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup held in South Africa earlier this year, was a great success, proving that South Africa has the ability to host major world sporting events.

The World Cup offered an opportunity to showcase South Africa's tourist attractions to the world. It is estimated that more than 30 000 tourists visited the country for the World Cup.

Representivity

UCBSA's Transformation Policy has designated blacks as a target group for transformation, with black Africans, women and the impaired earmarked for accelerated advancement.

Players' representivity targets were well on track at all levels during this past season. Amateur and domestic First Class cricket showed that black players were in the majority and that black African players were on the increase. In the national teams, a record number of blacks were included in the teams.

Representivity with regard to umpiring at Youth Tournaments is progressing well, but not at the level of upper domestic competition.

Black coaches are currently in the majority in the Provincial system. However, this process has some way to go at the level of senior coaches.

Transformation is also well under way at the National Academy, where there are eight black cricketers (of whom five are black Africans) out of a total of 15.

Representivity targets were met at the level of women's cricket.

Funding was provided to national associations serving the impaired.

Facilities

The transformation policy is aimed at providing facilities in previously disadvantaged areas, mainly black African townships.

In accordance with this policy, 59 Cricket Legacy 2003 projects are in place.

The budget this year for development is R53 million, most of which is earmarked for previously disadvantaged communities in both urban and rural communities.

Over and above this amount, R25 million will be spent on the Cricket Legacy 2003 Project, making a total spend of R78 million.

Procurement

The UCBSA has transformed its procurement policies. Accordingly, all contracts are awarded to companies that have a minimum of 50% of black empowerment.

Employment Equity

At present, UCBSA Headquarter staff is 43, of which 29 are black, 22 are women, and of the 10 senior management positions, five are occupied by blacks.

Capacity-building

Capacity-building is an integral element of the UCBSA's transformation programme.

Accordingly, funding has been allocated for the appointment of officials for amateur cricket in historically disadvantaged communities, viz. cricket managers, and regional co-ordinators.

History for all

This aspect of the UCBSA's transformation programme is aimed at recognising the contribution of those people excluded from official histories under apartheid.

Four publications detailing the 'hidden history' of cricket in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Gauteng and South Africa as a whole, have thus far been produced.

Provincial workshops

Beginning this month, strategic planning workshops will be held in each province as part of the UCBSA's annual review of progress and to address gaps and new challenges.

These workshops will play a key role in addressing the issues raised in the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into the Transformation of Cricket.

ANALYSIS OF PRESENTATION
The UCBSA's report shows that with regard to players, representivity targets were well on track at all levels this past season and that black African representivity was on the increase. However, this finding does not appear to accord with that of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry, which found that the UCBSA's development programme has failed to make significant inroads into black African communities. In fact, the Committee has called into question the UCBSA's claims in reaching its transformation targets.

Question: What is the reason for the apparent difference in the findings made by the UCBSA and the Committee with regard to transformation targets?

The provincial workshops have been proposed by the UCBSA as a mechanism for implementing the recommendations of the Committee. Recommendations from these workshops will be discussed at the UCBSA's General Council Meeting on 1September this year, nearly a year after the report by the Committee was released.
Question: There appears to be a dissonance between the urgency that the Committee has called for in the implementation of its recommendations and the date when action will finally be taken by the UCBSA. Has a timetable for action on these recommendations been decided upon by the UCBSA?

It appears that responsibility for the monitoring and evaluation of the transformation programme is not solely vested in the provincial structures, as this responsibility is shared with the National CEO. Nonetheless, as pointed out by the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry, the monitoring process is now less of a shared responsibility between national and provincial structures and more of a provincial responsibility.

Question: With regard to monitoring and evaluation, is the UCBSA considering the recommendation of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry to return to the previous system?

Representivity targets with regard to women's cricket have been met, and in relation to the U19 Girls' Tournament, were exceeded. However, while the presentation mentions a 'new era for women's cricket', no specific details were provided with regard to funding, training (of players and officials) and the provision of facilities and infrastructure for female cricketers.

Question: With regard to women's cricket, how is progress currently being monitored and evaluated?

While funding was provided to national associations for the impaired to compete at an international level, no specific details were provided.

Questions: With regard to cricket for the impaired, how is progress currently being monitored and evaluated by the UCBSA? Also, what funding, training (of players and officials) facilities and infrastructure for the impaired have been provided? In which areas have these been provided?

The UCBSA has a policy of providing facilities to historically disadvantaged communities in order to redress the inequalities of the past.

Question: Given the extent of the backlog in facilities and infrastructure (as highlighted in the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry), is enough being done to redress this backlog, particularly in black African townships? In this regard, what is the UCBSA's response to the Committee's recommendation that, as a specific means of addressing this backlog, there should be separate accounts for development funds, as well as proper liaison and consultation with historically disadvantaged communities in the utilisation of these funds?