Hon Chairperson, thank you very much. I must also say a word of appreciation to the logistics managers. It certainly is much better talking from here.
Hon Chairperson, esteemed members, and ladies and gentlemen who have joined us in the gallery, led by Commissioner Andr Pruis, an honorary member of the Department of Sport and Recreation, at least until the end of 2010, Shakespeare coined a saying, which I can't remember now, but I studied it about 40 years ago, that "There is a tide in the affairs of man ...". I would say there is a tide in the affairs of any nation which, when taken at an ebb, will lead to fortunes, and omitted, invariably, leads us to misfortune. I think South Africa is experiencing its own tide at the moment. Watching all the activities starting from cricket, the Indian Premier League, IPL, coming right to the Confederations Cup, clearly we are riding the crest of our own tide.
I spoke to Commissioner Pruis about this when we were dumped with the hosting of the IPL, to check if this was not onerous on the responsibilities of our police, and he said, "No, Minister. This is a challenge we welcome because it gives us the opportunity to sharpen our teeth."
One day we will be able to find time to talk seriously about the value of sport in any country and how, in terms of our Constitution, it contributes to the re-establishment of human dignity, the establishment of a society based on equality and human rights, and how sport has contributed to the struggle for and attainment of a nonracial and nonsexist South Africa. That day will also have an evaluation of where we are, not in 15 minutes, but in many hours.
In this way we would have levelled the proverbial playing field, and everybody would be able to understand what needs to be done so that all of us can be worthy and informed leaders of our communities with absolute clarity on what is to be done.
Sport is a therapy, a leadership workshop, as well as a disciplinarian. Nowadays, sport is also a big contributor to the economy of individuals and that of a particular country. Within this context, we can, without any fear of contradiction, declare that South African sport is well and alive. It is not exactly what it should be perhaps, but it is very much alive, nonetheless.
One only needs to look at the number of mega-tournaments we have participated in recently and the progress that our teams have made. This was in major events like the Confederations Cup which came to an end this past Sunday; the Super 14 Rugby competitions and finals that were held at Loftus Versfeld; the Indian Premier League; the Netball Tri-Nations; and the world championships in a whole range of other federations like freshwater angling, swimming and other codes that are hardly ever noticed.
All of these have made a positive contribution towards changing our society and uniting our people. We hope that as we hold our breath for the announcement of the winning bids for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cup, South Africa will emerge victorious. I know that the technical committee has recommended Japan and London. That is okay - that is what happened with the 2006 World Cup also. They recommended Germany and other countries, but in the end it was the board that took the decision. In the same way, the International Rugby Board, on 27 July 2009, will take the final decision.
We are positive because of the quality of our bid, the history of our country and the ability displayed recently, that sanity will prevail. Of course, we beat the Lions and we will beat them again on Saturday. I hope that that will not count negatively in the decision of where the World Cup should be held in 2014. This is also what sport teaches us. It teaches us to be magnanimous in defeat and not just jubilant in victory.
Our support to bid as government is informed by our belief in our teams and our people. It is also based on the need for development in sport, which can only come about through exposure to other competitors from other parts of the world. When we win one of the bids, we should do so as a united country. It was very exciting to see, this year, the evolution of that kind of spirit when all our federations and national players marched together. It did not matter which one was taking the field, the others would be there to give moral support.
In the Netball Tri-Nations, the Springbok players and the national men's hockey squad were there to cheer on our teams, and the same happened during the Confederations Cup.
The legacies brought about by these championships go a very long way towards bettering the lives of our people and for this to continue, we must, as a nation, also continue to give our time, our expertise and, where possible, other resources to ensure that our country remains a respectable global player.
The hosting of major sporting events brings economic activity and employment opportunities into our country. The significance of the economic and social success of smaller-scale sports events should not be discounted because most of these usually take place in smaller towns and not in major cities; their contribution is nevertheless felt.
Chairperson, you would have experienced this when we went to Lady Frere, in the bundu, in the middle of nowhere. The benefit of that visit for the bed and breakfasts and caterers is something they would never have smelt during 2008.
Increasingly, sport events have also become part of a broader strategy aimed at raising the profile of a city or a country. The more we succeed, the more we are judged, not only in terms of our profit, but also in terms of our integrity.
South Africa has demonstrated the capacity to do this, but it is the city of eThekwini, Durban, which seems to be the leader in understanding this thing. They are very aggressive, positively aggressive, in lobbying to be the host of a number of mega-events and mega-activities. We encourage this; we support them, precisely because we understand what they are doing for themselves and for the country.
I want to talk about the pet subject that we've put on the table since 2004 for this country to do something about - school sport. In 2008 we promised South Africa a co-ordinated national scheme for sport activities at school, because everybody was saying we are unable to have coherent development; we need a plan. We sat down with the Deputy Director-General of Education, Ms Gugu Ndebele, and our officials to achieve what we call predictability and consistency.
That schedule was produced and implemented from the beginning of 2009. We delivered to South Africa what we had asked of ourselves; what we too had thought was very important and that was to improve the participation of our children in sport.
The success of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme funded through the Division of Revenue Act, the Dora grant, has increased participation in sport as well as the development of sport champions. Many learners from schools in the programme are now representing their provinces in the Schools National Championships. This now calls for all stakeholders in sport to work together to intensify the development of sport at local delivery points.
In this respect, Chairperson, allow me to make a special call to the North West and Gauteng provinces. Our children must be attended to and assisted with participating in school sport. This is important as it also contributes to the bonding of children with their families and the bonding of families with society, thereby developing the kind of social cohesion that the President continues to talk about.
To make school sport work, we are intensifying our processes of monitoring, evaluation and supporting the delivery of sport at the local level. The role of federations in providing adequate coaching, technical training and support in developing school sport is also a very important factor. We have identified it as a key driver.
Different countries of the world have organised sport around code-specific associations which then form a national umbrella structure to co-ordinate sport at school. Africa is no exception in this respect; neither is Zone 6 nor the SADC, which South Africa belongs to.
Unfortunately, even though we are the founder members of the Confederation of Southern Africa Schools Sports Association, Cosasa, of the SADC, we are nevertheless not members at all because South Africa has not done its homework very well. I don't want to go into the history of school sport during the 60s, 70s and 80s, save to say, when we formed the United School Sport Association of SA, Ussasa, as an anti-apartheid organisation, we were trying to mobilise school sport which was already falling apart. But since 2004, we thought it was not necessary to have Ussasa anymore, but rather have an integrated, nonracial school sport organisation which will not only focus on the organisation of tournaments, but on the building of school sport, as we used to understand it.
We are aware that the Department of Education has now given two days which can be used for this: Wednesday and Friday. Teachers have leeway in terms of the timetable of their departments to use those days for the development of school sport. The challenge here is to defeat the temptation of individualism. Our departments must begin to accept the fact that they are part of society, which is the actual owner of what school sport should do.
The President says, "Vorentoe!"[Forward!] And we should never think, "Agtertoe!"[Backwards!]. But to get "vorentoe" [forward], we must be properly organised.
We think there must be an organised federation of school sport for all South African children, which will then affiliate to its international counterparts. We do not support fragmented attempts by different people, be it in the Western Cape, Limpopo or elsewhere. We want integrated national support which binds us as one nation. To this end, starting from the Ministers and members of the executive council, Minmec, which will be hosted by KwaZulu-Natal, we shall be embarking on the programme of mobilising those teachers, learners and veterans of sport towards the re- establishment of an umbrella body for our sport.
South Africa continues to lead at the political level, but what many people do not understand is that we continue to lead at a sporting level in the international arena as well. In November last year we hosted Unesco's African Regional Anti-Doping Conference, which was representative of the 53 sport Ministers from our continent. We also hosted the 40th Session of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Council for Sport in April 2008, as well as the meeting of Zone 6, which was a meeting of the SADC Ministers of sport to discuss how to increase our tally during the 2012 Olympics in London.
In December we also hosted the youth of the SADC countries. They are all excited about this and they are all pleading: "Parents, brothers and sisters, help us go where you have never gone before." We need all members to be part of this initiative. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, Minister. Members, we are going to be a little strict about your time. We have about six Votes to debate today, which will lead us up to nine o'clock in the evening. There is also a timer at the podium. You can time yourself.
Modulasetulo, Ditona tsa mafapha, Maloko a Palamente, Aforika Borwa ka bophara, ke ema fa ke le motlotlo, ke sa tshabe sepe gongwe ope go leboga le go tlotla bagale ba rona Bafana Bafana. Bafana Bafana ba re dirile motlotlo ka motshameko wa bona o o manontlhotlho.
Ke leboga le baagi ba Aforika Borwa ka kemonokeng e ba e supileng mo setlhopheng sa rona sa naga. A re tsweleleng go dira jalo go fitlha re bona ditoro tsa naga di diragala.
Ka dithulaganyo le dipaakanyetso tsa Sejana sa 2009 sa Mekgatlho ya Kgwele ya Dinao e e kopaneng ya Fifa, re bontshitse lefatshe lotlhe gore re a kgona e bile re na le bokgoni. Ke tla bo ke dira phoso fa nka se leboge ... [Tsenokganong.] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Ms M W MAKGATE: Chairperson, Ministers, Members of Parliament, South Africa at large, I stand here before you being very proud and inspired to compliment our heroes Bafana Bafana. Bafana Bafana has made us proud with their great performance.
I also thank the citizens of South Africa for the support they have shown to our national team. May we continue to do this until our dreams come true.
With the necessary arrangements and the preparations for the Fifa Confederations Cup 2009 put in place, we proved to the whole world that we can and we are able. I would be making a mistake if I did not thank ... [Interjections.]]
... our Local Organising Committee for a job well done. Keep up the good work! You have made us proud. [Applause.]
This event was to showcase what we want. We can and we will host a successful 2010 Fifa World Cup. The president of Fifa, Mr Sepp Blatter, rated us as 7,5 out of 10, but we will make sure that come the 2010 Fifa World Cup, we will get 10 out of 10. As South Africa, we will work hard to improve on the areas identified as weaknesses. I am not the only observer to notice the lack of support for sport and recreation programmes in our public schools and communities. Sport plays an important role in nation- building. What makes me uncomfortable, though, is when most people are reduced to being spectators, not even spectators in stands, but watching from the street due to their socioeconomic situation. What happened to that remarkable agenda of social transformation?
Sport is not only a physical activity, but also an area where people interact socially. It forms part of social life within communities. Cultures attach positive values to sport as it creates job opportunities and fosters nonviolence, fair competition, teamwork and respect. We call on all educators to support physical education at schools.
National symbols represent our identity as a country. Therefore, it is important for South Africans to take pride in these symbols. We need to create awareness and develop ways to create a sense of respect for our national symbols. The national flag is one example of these symbols. The flag represents a nation that is united in its diversity; it represents a rainbow nation, a nation in pursuit of peace and prosperity.
It is disgusting to see some sections of our society, particularly at rugby matches, waving the old South African flag. It shows disrespect, not only for the national flag, but also for South Africa as a democratic country.
Furthermore, if you look at the national anthem, more and more people do not know the words of the national anthem, and where people do know it, when you watch sporting events you see people are dancing to the national anthem as if it is some kwaito song. It is, therefore, important to teach our people the meaning and the value of our national symbols through public awareness programmes and through the mass media.
Go botlhokwa thata go godisa dipuo tsa rona tsa tlholego; go ruta bana ba rona maleme le setso sa rona sa Maaforika. Ke ntlha e e tlhobang boroko go bona bana ba Maaforika ba sa kgone go buisa le go kwala dipuo tsa bona. A re ruteng bana ba rona go tlotla le go ipela ka puo ya bona. A re femeng go jaka ka leleme. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[It is very important to develop our languages; to teach our kids our languages and our culture as Africans. It is an unnerving fact to see our African kids unable to read and write their own languages. May we teach our kids to respect and to be proud of their languages. May we try to avoid being influenced by other languages.]
Gender equality for women in sport and the right of women to participate is paramount. We call upon federations to develop programmes to facilitate true participation of women and remove barriers that prevent women from vocations in training, administration, coaching and management. Minister, it is high time now that we should be biased towards previously disadvantaged communities and not be apologetic about this.
As the select committee we will monitor the following: facilities built and upgraded; successes and weaknesses of mass participation; and federations that receive government monies but do not have developmental programmes.
I would like to congratulate the North West province for holding a successful Zone 6 games at Ikageng Township. We want to see more of these activities taken to townships and rural areas. Thank you.
Voorsitter van die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies, Ministers en agb lede van die Huis, ons voormalige President, Nelson Mandela, is absoluut korrek deur te s: Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can awake hope where there was previously only despair.
Voorsitter, hierdie aanhaling is ook baie gepas ten opsigte van kuns en kultuur, en daarom is dit net nie reg dat twee sulke belangrike poste in hierdie begrotingsdebat saamgegooi word nie. Dit doen afbreuk aan die status van die twee begrotingsposte, en daarom dink ek dit moet afsonderlik hanteer word.
Ek het baie respek daarvoor as die swepe dit so besluit het of as die Huis dit so besluit het, maar ons moet in die toekoms kyk of daar nie 'n ander manier is waarop dit hanteer kan word nie. Die rede hoekom ek dit s, is omdat hierdie begrotingsposte, wat betref die land se mense, die ekonomie, armoede en nog baie ander dinge 'n baie groot rol kan speel.
Waardevolle items word bewaar vir die nageslag, en daarom moet dinge soos nasionale simbole, die landsvlag, monumente, museums en ook ander infrastruktuur bewaar word. Dit is net reg dat die departement die reklame hiervan baie meer intensief op alle gebiede van die land gaan aanpak.
Ons erfenisgeskiedenis moet ook baie meer deur middel van die toerismesektor en beherende besture bemark word, want erfenis en kultuur vertel ander lande en hul mense wat Suid-Afrika is en hoe sy mense verstaan en beskou kan word. Ons het 'n ryk geskiedenis van kulture, erfenisse en ander aantreklikhede vir toeriste, veral in die plattelandse gebiede wat heeltemal afgeskeep word in bemarking, en daarom moet ons baie meer intensief na hierdie gebiede uitreik. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ministers and hon members of the House, our former President, Nelson Mandela, is absolutely correct when he says:
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can awake hope where there was previously only despair.
Chairperson, this quote is also very fitting with regard to art and culture, and it is therefore not right that two Votes of such importance are thrown together in this budget debate. It detracts from the status of these Budget Votes, which is why I think they should be dealt with separately.
I have a lot of respect for the Whips' decision or if it was the House that decided on this, but hereafter we must look at a different way of dealing with this. My reason for saying so is that as far as the people, the economy, poverty and many other things in this country are concerned, these Budget Votes can play a very major part. Valuable items are preserved for posterity and things such as national symbols, the country's flag, monuments, museums as well as other infrastructure should therefore also be preserved. It is only right that the department is going to deal much more intensively with promotion in this regard in all spheres relating to this country.
The history of our heritage should also be marketed much more by way of the tourism sector and controlling authorities, because heritage and culture tell other countries and their people about South Africa and how its people should be understood and regarded. We have a rich history of culture, heritage and other attractions for tourists, especially in the rural areas which are totally neglected in our marketing, and we should therefore reach out much more intensively to these regions.]
We must implement risk management in all of our heritage institutions and resources, which the department already does. Our indigenous languages are assets which we don't treasure enough. We would like to see that every person can speak his or her mother tongue and interpretation must be available in all our offices. Interpretation is absent in our committee rooms or doesn't exist. This is wrong, and we must address that.
Thank you for planning to promote more choral music and especially to promote the writing of books in indigenous languages. It is very important that the writers must be those from the applicable culture.
A lot more can be said, but let me just say the following about schools...
... en die Minister het daaroor uitgewei. [... and the Minister expanded on that.]
Fewer schools have the training of choral music or art as a subject in their curriculum. We must also put more emphasis on this in schools.
En daarom sal ons dan ook hierdie agterstand en die probleme op voetsoolvlak regstel. [And that is why we will correct this backlog and the problems at grass-roots level.]
The Rugby World Cup that was held in South Africa a few years ago is a good example of nation-building. If a school or club wins a sport match, a lot of team spirit and pride is generated. Therefore, we must treasure all the tournaments in our country and make sure that each and every one of them is well organised and safe for the athletes, players and spectators.
Thank you very much for a successful 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup, a very well-organised Twenty20 cricket tournament and all the other successfully organised national and provincial commitments in the different parts of this department's responsibility and all over in our country. It is so that we must broaden the mass participation in sport, but also in culture. A problem is ...
... die leerders in die agtergeblewe gebiede, en veral in die ver plattelandse gebiede, vind dit baie moeilik om op streeksvlak, provinsiale vlak en nasionale vlak deel te neem. Die redes is legio en spruit onder meer voort uit armoede, afstande, gebrek aan ordentlike fasiliteite en ander. Selfs by plaaslike rade word sport en ontspanning, asook kuns en kultuur baie gering geag.
Ons sal 'n deeglike reklameprogram moet skep om hierdie probleem aan te spreek. Die departement is reeds hiermee besig, maar dit blyk asof daar nie voldoende inisiatief en geesdrif is om die bul by die horings te pak nie. Dit moet in alle sfere en dele van die gemeenskap geskied.
'n Baie groot uitdaging l vir die land voor, naamlik die Wreldbekersokkertoernooi in 2010. Die departement het rapporteer dat dit op elke gebied konsentreer om dinge so glad as moontlik te laat verloop, naamlik die lughaweverkeer, padverkeer, verblyf, sekuriteit, ontspanningsgeriewe en alles wat met so 'n toernooi gepaard gaan. Ons moet meer as 7,5 uit 10 kry, want ons is 'n nasie van uitnemendheid.
Voorsitter, 'n volledige vorderingsverslag van waar sportgeriewe, biblioteke, afrigtingskursusse vir afrigters en spelers, ens, beplan word, sal aan die komitee en sy lede beskikbaar gestel moet word sodat ons oorsigrol op 'n baie meer doeltreffende wyse kan geskied.
Ons sal ook 'n mate van 'n vertoningsrekord-program moet ontwikkel sodat die persone en atlete wat afrigting ontvang het, of selfs presteer het, gemonitor en gevolg kan word. Dit sal dus die potensile goeie talente wat deur die krake val, kan opspoor en betyds vir die bedryf red.
Die bedryfsprobleme wat in die Robbeneiland-museum ontstaan het, is 'n verleentheid en 'n belediging vir ons land en sy mense. Hierdie fasiliteit is een van die ikone vir Suid-Afrika. Die verantwoordelike mense het geensins die risikobestuurmodel konstruktief toegepas nie, of anders was nalatige bestuur die rede. Nooit kan sulke nalatigheid goedgekeur word nie. Die departement moet tot verantwoording geroep word om 'n volledige verslag van gebeure en die verloop daarvan te rapporteer. Ek dank u, Voorsitter. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[... that the learners in the underdeveloped areas, and in particular in the remote rural areas, find it extremely difficult to compete at regional, provincial and national level. The reasons are legion, arising, among others, from poverty, distances, a lack of proper facilities and so on. Even with the local councils, sport and recreation, as well as arts and culture, are very poorly regarded.
We will have to create a proper promotional programme to address this problem. The department is already busy in this regard, but it would seem as if there is a lack of initiative and enthusiasm to take the bull by the horns. This has to take place in all spheres and sectors of the community.
The country is facing a very big challenge, namely the 2010 Soccer World Cup Tournament. The department has reported that it is concentrating on every level in order to facilitate matters as smoothly as possible, namely airport traffic, road traffic, lodging, security, recreational facilities and everything that is occasioned by such a tournament. We have to achieve more than 7,5 out of 10, because we are a nation of excellence.
Chairperson, a complete progress report on where sports facilities, libraries, training courses for coaches and players, etc, are planned will have to be made available to the committee and its members so that our oversight function can take place in a much more efficient way.
To a certain extent we will also have to develop a performance record programme so that the persons and athletes who have received training, or may even have done well, can be monitored and observed. In this way any potentially good talent which might have fallen through the cracks can be tracked down in good time and saved for the profession.
The managerial problems that have developed at the Robben Island Museum are an embarrassment and insult to our country and its people. This facility is one of South Africa's icons. The people responsible have totally failed in constructively applying the risk management model, or otherwise negligent management was the reason. Such negligence can never be condoned. The department should be called to account to produce a comprehensive report on the course of events. I thank you, Chairperson.]
Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, we are at an important moment in our history as a nation where we have celebrated 15 years of democracy. We have also participated in the fourth national democratic elections, where our people came out in great numbers. This indeed was a show of commitment, a show of confidence in our new democracy.
Only last week we celebrated and marked the 54 years since the Congress of the People met in Kliptown when people from all walks of life gathered together to adopt the Freedom Charter. Today the Freedom Charter is part of our heritage and part of our political culture, and in our work we remain guided by the fundamental principles of the Freedom Charter such as "The people shall govern!" and also "The doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all!"
We have also just commemorated 33 years since that fateful day on 16 June when our young people stood up to fight for their rights and to fight for democracy. As we remember them, we have to ensure that what they fought for becomes part and parcel of this new democracy. We have already begun to intensify our work in promoting youth participation in programmes related to the advancement of our culture, heritage and the popularisation of our national symbols.
At the centre of our national effort is the transformation agenda to ensure that there shall be arts for all and that opportunities shall exist for every citizen to benefit from the knowledge and power that comes out of the arts, culture and heritage.
Our foremost mission in the Department of Arts and Culture is to build a cohesive society and ensure that we unite the nation. President Jacob Zuma has stated in his state of the nation address that we must do all we can to build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities.
We shall hold the first National Conference on Social Cohesion in KwaZulu- Natal later this year. The theme of this conference will be "Building a Caring Nation" and participation will come from civil society, our rural communities, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, government and academics. We believe that we will be able to come out with a clear programme of action to guide and to lead our vision of a cohesive society and also a united nation.
We are also going to speed up the process of name changing because that has been a long-standing programme for this department. The SA Geographical Names Council is currently conducting national public hearings on the policy and procedures of standardising and also ensuring that we determine the place and focus of these changes.
We believe that almost all the provinces, except one province, have been finalised and we believe that in the coming financial year we will have finalised this process.
As part of our efforts to bring the arts to all our people we shall continue to ensure that community libraries are built in all our communities. The Department of Arts and Culture co-ordinates the implementation of the community libraries and recapitalisation programmes in partnership with various provinces.
In this financial year, we are planning to construct libraries in Khayelitsha, in the Western Cape; Mdantsane and Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape; in Mbazwana in KwaZulu-Natal; and Thulamela and Fetakgomo in Limpopo province. In the Northern Cape, we are rolling out container libraries to reach some of the most rural and remote areas.
This year the SA National Library for the Blind is 50 years old, and this means that we have succeeded in extending and making provision for Braille literature to community libraries. We are planning to reach out to more communities and ensure that this facility is accessible to all our communities, but we are also looking at some of the neighbouring countries that have also raised an interest in this facility.
A new state-of-the-art National Library of South Africa has been completed and was launched early this year by the former Minister. We shall also support the formation of book clubs at all community libraries to encourage the culture of reading and writing, particularly amongst our rural communities and our young people.
Through the National Library of South Africa we have reprinted 24 titles of classical African languages books that have been redistributed to libraries throughout the country. We are indeed committed to ensuring that our indigenous languages do not die. This is but one of some of the projects that we have put in place to ensure that we revive African literature and make it accessible to all South Africans through our community libraries.
We are also awarding language bursaries to 90 students this financial year to help build capacity in the language profession. Through this we will be able to prioritise students that are interested in studying African languages.
The Library Transformation Charter initiated by the National Council of Library and Information Services and the department will be finalised this year. The department will introduce a National Community Library and Information Services Bill to set the framework for norms and standards in the provision and regulation of community libraries and information services.
We have also expanded our investment in culture programmes to ensure that it becomes part and parcel of the fight or the war against poverty and also contributes to job creation through the EPWP.
Through the filming industry, we are also encouraging the development of local content and support the National Filming and Video Foundation. Funds have been allocated for training and growing the audience in townships and rural areas. Together with the foundation, we are looking at the best ways of setting up co-operatives in rural areas that will focus on bringing cinemas to our people and developing skills in areas related to film production.
I also want to mention, especially with regard to women, that we shall develop a gender focal unit in the department that will ensure that we mainstream gender and run meaningful women's empowerment programmes. We are also looking at the national Women's Month where we shall declare the graves of our great heroines and freedom fighters, Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph, national monuments. In March next year we shall hold the first Dulcie September Memorial Lecture at the University of the Western Cape, dedicated to honouring her role and work in promoting human rights.
We shall continue also to look at more concrete ways of recognising the important contribution of women and the role they have played in our communities and in the liberation struggle.
In the department we have legacy projects that we are continuing to work on nationally. These include the Matola Raid Project which is in Matola, Mozambique, and also the O R Tambo Project which will be a statue of O R Tambo that will be built in Mbizana, in the O R Tambo District.
My predecessor announced the collaborative projects with the Dutch government where we are going to look at the roots of the Afrikaans language, including the contribution of the Malay people and the people of South Africa.
An international seminar and festival will take place during Heritage Month, in September, at UWC, where Dutch and South African academics will participate. The overall theme of this conference is "Spreek, Thetha, Talk." We believe that through this programme, we will be able to strengthen our solidarity and relationship with the Netherlands that was built during the hard years of struggle.
I want to report to this House that the Robben Island Council and the interim chief executive officer, CEO, resigned about a week after I became a new Minister, and I accepted their resignation. We have appointed an interim CEO whilst we have advertised for a new CEO and a new council in all the national newspapers. We will make sure that we speed up the appointment of the new CEO and council. In the meantime the interim CEO is Professor Henry Bredekamp and he is supported by senior officials of the department, Mr Mzukusi Madlavu, Mr Vusi Ndima, Mr Mike Rennie and Ms Sibongile Van Damme.
While the interim team will address the challenges that we have at the moment, I am confident that the new council will be in place in due course.
I am also happy to announce that the Integrated Conservation Management Plan of Robben Island Museum has been tabled and accepted at Unesco by delegates from our department and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. It was tabled at the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee of Unesco in Seville, in Spain. I would like, therefore, to say to hon members this is indeed an important icon of our country; we cannot use it as a political football. I think the people of the world have confidence in us and I think South Africans must also begin to be patriotic and to unite - all of us - around this important heritage that ...
... sayishiyelwa ngabadala, ziinkonde ... [... has been left for us by our elders, the veterans...]
... and the ancestors of our struggle.
My predecessor, Dr Pallo Jordan, on heritage, announced South Africa's intention to ratify the 2003 Unesco Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as develop a national policy on living heritage. I am happy to report that we have concluded drafting the national policy and will also embark on public consultations in due course.
Heritage makes a significant yet unacknowledged contribution to the economic development of our country and job creation. We are working on a study on heritage and economic development and have completed a heritage skills audit to help us develop this sector.
I am happy to report that on 1 April 2009, we were able to declare Freedom Park a cultural institution. We have now appointed a new council for Freedom Park and we are looking forward to including this project in due course, in the next two years. We are working together with the Freedom Park council and the Department of Public Works on this aspect to ensure we conclude it in time. I was just going to congratulate Bafana Bafana, the Minister of Sport and the local organising committee for a job well done. You have done us proud! [Applause.]
Ndizani Bafana, ndizani! [Do us proud, Bafana Bafana!]
Chairperson, hon members, Minister, I know that the department has seriously noted the potential of school sport, in particular, to unite the nation's narrow racial divide and make the nation be at peace. Let me join the lamentations of other members who have spoken here that school sport, in the main, is highly neglected. I appreciate the fact that the Minister has noted that there is slow progress in school sport, particularly in the North West and other provinces.
I would be interested in receiving the report that the department has been compiling over the past five years on the mass-based school sport activities to gauge what is going on, which qualifies to be called "mass- based".
The department's policy on school sport is deficient, unimaginative and inadequate. As it is a core function of the department to produce these reports on mass-based school sport, therefore, I will wait anxiously to be shown what is contained in those reports so that we are able to see that farm and rural schools in particular are also participating in this activity.
In conclusion, we need to strengthen the policy on school sport, particularly in rural and farm areas, to make sure that these programmes are properly monitored. As we do oversight, all of us must make sure that the learners are participating actively in school sport. Attention should also be paid to the training of teachers as coaches. I have noted what the Minister said about the two days that have been set aside for this particular exercise. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, senior management of the departments, ladies and gentlemen, government acknowledges the important task of addressing the legacy of apartheid to ensure that all our people experience the benefits of freedom.
The deliberate neglect of rural areas causes serious harm to our communities. The majority of South Africans were confined to the Bantustans and townships that were totally neglected. As we all know, even the townships, which were largely created in urban areas, had relatively little development, which did not meet the bare minimum needs of our people. Townships were created merely to provide labour for the factories and domestic needs of the minority.
Laws were created to ensure that our people could not feed themselves anymore and thus were forced to seek employment away from their places of residence. Urbanisation and its concomitant social economic ills were unleashed upon us. It is for this reason that the ANC-led government in 1994 recognised a need for a process to reconstruct our country.
Rural development, which represents the constituencies of members of this House, continues to be one of the priority areas of our government. This government is committed to tackling the social ills through the social cohesion programme, which is led by the Department of Arts and Culture. Our sector plays a significant role in social regeneration, unity and reconciliation.
We have identified the popularisation of national symbols, national days and the standardisation of geographical names in South Africa as pillars of our strategy to foster national identity. We will install South African flags in all schools and promote the proper singing of the national anthem.
We have launched the Fly the Flag Campaign for soccer in collaboration with other stakeholders in April 2009. The aim of the campaign is to encourage patriotism and use the excitement created by the Confederations Cup to promote national symbols. We have, so far, distributed more than 100 000 hand-held flags to South Africans across the country.
Between the months of May to June 2009, our campaign focused on the four Fifa Confederations Cup host cities, namely Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg. A total of two days were spent at each city. The first day involved the branded double-decker bus that drove through each city and stopped at each taxi rank. Hand-held flags were distributed, as well information pamphlets on national symbols. We conducted competitions in the singing of the national anthem where each winner was given four Confederations Cup tickets.
The second day was dedicated to university campuses where students were treated to music by popular DJs and similar competitions on national symbols were conducted. From 20 May to 3 June 2009 we visited the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, the University of Johannesburg, North West University in Mafikeng and Tshwane University of Technology.
Our department continues to promote oral history as part of our efforts to ensure that our heritage landscape is indeed reflective of our national memory and contributes to nation-building and identity. We will promote oral history, especially among marginalised communities whose heritage and history have been ignored for many years. Later this year we will host the Annual National Oral History Conference in Cape Town to ensure that we preserve the rich heritage of our nation for posterity.
The ANC-led government is committed to the principle of universal access to the arts as stated in our Constitution. This means that we must provide the necessary infrastructure to enable people, particularly in rural areas, to practise their art. Currently we have a lot of art centres throughout the country, but some of them are dysfunctional and do not have the necessary programmes that respond to the needs of the people.
We have decided to come up with a revitalisation programme to ensure that the art centres continue to serve our communities. This year, we will establish a cultural centre of excellence per province. The plan is to use these centres as flagships or models for the rest of community art centres in the provinces. The plan is ultimately to restore quality art programmes in all our centres.
We will support the promotion of people's art in community art centres through encouraging local theatre and music groups, local cultural forms of expression and other creative work. The national government will provide training in the management of art centres and ensure that programming is effective, that is, that these centres are used for what they were created for. Provincial and local government spheres will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the centres.
Choral music continues to be one of our main forms of cultural expression. Every community has some form of a choir and we regard this art form as very participatory in nature, because it is practised by both the young and the old in our society. We will conduct nationwide consultation with the sector to ensure that our policy framework represents the aspirations of our people.
Part of the Department of Arts and Culture's mandate is also to develop and promote our official languages. In this financial year, we will table before Cabinet the South African language practitioners Bill for promulgation. We'll also have an annual campaign to promote multilingualism with effect from this financial year. We will continue to assist departments and provinces to establish their language units.
Creative industries make a significant contribution to job creation, particularly in rural areas. South Africa, notwithstanding its rich history of beading, does not produce beads, but imports them from other countries. The department is currently working with our embassy in the Czech Republic and factories in that country towards the possible establishment of partnerships. This will ensure that our crafters will buy the materials here at home at a better price and work from their bases in the provinces.
Our department has also identified the technical services and events industry as an important element of economic and job creation. We have completed a study to reposition and transform this key industry to ensure that jobs and business opportunities for previously disadvantaged individuals are created. Government is a key consumer of the technical services through its various events and exhibitions. We must make sure that we use this muscle.
This year, South Africa, together with other nations of the world, will celebrate the life, values and ideas of Isithwalandwe Nelson Mandela. July 18 has been declared Nelson Mandela Day. We call upon everyone to dedicate 67 minutes of their time on July 18 for the goodwill of others and service to humanity. The Department of Arts and Culture, together with Parliament, will co-ordinate government's participation in the activities planned for the Mandela Day. I therefore urge all members of this House to participate in this programme.
In conclusion, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our soccer team, Bafana Bafana, for their excellent performance during the Confederations Cup. Our department will continue to work with the local organising committee to ensure that we present an unforgettable African experience. There is no doubt that the world has been bowled over, not only by our ability to organise large events, but also by our culture, customs, cuisines and heritage. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, members of this House, the policy of the department is aimed at contributing to growth, employment, poverty alleviation, national reconciliation, nation-building and social coherence. As we are in a recession and hundreds of thousands of people are out of work, it is natural for the House to be interested in seeing how the department has contributed to employment creation and poverty alleviation. Has it shifted up a gear in the past few months to accelerate growth in the number of jobs and improve poverty alleviation to counter the suffering of our people?
We must also not forget that the department has developed a detailed plan and programme of activities building up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup in order to focus on performing visual and literacy arts and on legacy and heritage. This means that the department has been attending to the problem of poverty and the lack of jobs. This should result in at least a four-fold increase in job opportunities than is normally the case.
The world of arts is inspired by imagination. The Department of Arts and Culture therefore should be the most creative of all government departments. Now that our economy is in crisis, the department should be coming to the fore with innovative ideas.
One of the department's core functions is to promote social coherence through arts and culture. This is a fantastic goal. What are the outputs thereof? Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, members of the executive here today, hon members, heads of departments, it is a great honour today to stand in front of you at this very important gathering and give my maiden speech or input.
We are gathered here during the month we celebrate the birthday of our respected icon, Comrade Rolihlahla Mandela. I would like to wish him a happy birthday in advance.
I would also like to join the world by paying tribute to the fallen world- renowned artist, Michael Jackson. May his soul rest in peace.
We welcome the debate on Vote No 12, and it reminds me of a clause in the Freedom Charter:
The doors of learning and culture shall be opened! The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life; All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands; The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace ...
In the ANC manifesto, which we were selling to each and every house prior to the elections, we talked about prioritising youth development. This department can play a vital role in bringing hope to this generation - a generation which is unemployed and disillusioned as they feel that this government does not care about them - by providing an enabling environment for talent identification, nurturing and the promotion thereof. Hence, we are happy to see that the strategic framework focuses on arts, social development and the youth and has measurable outputs, and we hope there will be close working relations with the National Youth Development Agency. By working together with the youth in the first and second economies, we will contribute towards the creation of the 500 000 jobs.
With regard to arts and culture in society, we welcome this objective which links very well with the creation of jobs and sustainable livelihoods. This will address the problems facing emerging artists or people who are active in cultural activities who migrate to Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town looking for greener pastures and better exposure. We hope that this can also be linked to rural development so that all provinces can receive equal exposure by having data on any artistic or cultural item in a databank irrespective of where they reside.
An example I want to share with you is of 1 May 2009, when we celebrated Workers Day and had booked three established artists. However, we had a list of more than 10 local artists of Babelegi or Themba who performed free of charge just for the purpose of exposure. We therefore hope that all the codes of arts and culture will receive similar attention and be promoted and documented in terms of the "Proudly South African" and "Local is Lekker" campaigns and that this will also include "Abomadluphuthu ekasi."
In terms of the promotion of arts centres, we hope that the arts centres will include even those marginalised women in the most rural areas and townships who are known in the communities, but have no access to arts centres.
We therefore call for the maximisation of the centres to include community- based organisations and individuals who are doing beading, and making traditional clothes, pottery and artwork so that through their products they will also enjoy a better life and build the South African economy. This reminds me that I chose to buy my Venda attire from Venda, but I cannot refer anyone there because it is not branded. We need a strategy to empower these women to market their products. We hope that the department will promote the co-ops even in the rural areas.
On promoting the arts, culture and heritage, education and training, we welcome this collaboration with the Department of Education, which will promote arts and culture as a learning area beyond Grade 9. This is because, currently, general education, which is Grades 1 to 9, is compulsory for all learners, but learners are not continuing with it in Grades 10 to 12 - secondary schools - owing to the nonavailability of teachers. Schools are not offering it beyond Grade 9 and because a career in and the importance of arts and culture are being downplayed, we are losing potential artists, drawers, painters, etc.
This will motivate educators to upgrade their skills and knowledge and enable them to teach it beyond Grade 9. We hope that educators from the rural areas and townships will be exposed to this project and that there will be more schools focused on this subject than what we have currently in Gauteng - Daveyton and Braamfontein - as most of the learners get left out.
With regard to support for the emancipation of women in South Africa through arts, culture and heritage programmes, we hope that these programmes can be extended to all emerging well-established women involved in arts, culture and heritage in order to curb women abuse, corruption and unscrupulous promoters so that the women can become skilled, empowered and independent, and not be at the mercy of someone who dumps them after making millions out of them.
An example is a person who has established committee projects, with 10 or 20 women making traditional clothes and doing beading, but being paid only R200 while the products are exported - and the profits aren't shared with the women in this project. This is rife in most of the provinces.
We welcome the National Language Service, NLS, initiative, which is aimed at promoting all South African languages in departments, as it is one way of giving us back our dignity and identity as a nation. Our Constitution allows for 11 official languages. However, English and Afrikaans are still predominantly used in almost all government departments and parastatals and also in schools. This limits the level of communication and inhibits the freedom of speech.
I am a living example of this. I facilitated a workshop on integrated quality management systems in English for department officials in Kimberley. Normally the workshop lasts from six to seven hours, but because of a lack of interpretation devices in a community of mostly Afrikaans speakers, I finished the workshop after only three hours.
When I enquired on my way back to Johannesburg about the noninteraction of the participants, I was advised that the issue was language. I felt so bad that I might not have done justice to them because of the language barrier. The documents that I had for the workshop were available only in English.
We welcome the development of provincial language policies as this is in line with the period of renewal. This objective will also go together with the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign and the development and promotion of our African languages from school to university level. We commend the political will of the former Limpopo MEC for Education and the former Western Cape MEC for Education on taking this process forward by extending it to the universities to ... I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, Chairperson, hon Ministers, members of the NCOP, when reflecting on the budget speech of the national Minister of Arts and Culture, the hon Xingwana, it is obvious that her department wants to promote access to a rich and productive cultural life for all our people.
Enkosi ngethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika iphela inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
As they say, to determine your destiny, you need to know where you come from.
We need to safeguard our arts and cultural richness in order to make our youth understand where they come from, and to preserve it for generations to come. Song and dance, in many ways, help to improve our social and interpersonal skills. They help us to develop unity and often help in bridging the gap between the rural and urban divides.
I believe the improvement of our social fibre can be achieved or even drastically changed, through the initiatives and projects envisaged by the Minister, such as the Arts for All, Investing in Culture and the 2010 Fifa World Cup legacy projects.
I want to believe that through the Investing in Culture programme, as indicated by the Minister, much can be done to ensure that the moral fibre of our society is restored.
In this province, Minister, we are faced, on a daily basis, with crime, gangsterism and drug abuse, and the latter has become rampant. I salute the Minister and her mission for wanting to do the following:
Through all these initiatives and our work through arts, culture and heritage, we aim to create a country where opportunities exist for all our people to expand their imaginations and to use their creativity in order to ensure a better and brighter future.
We commit ourselves, as the Western Cape department, to supporting the Minister. We will co-operate in order to deepen our democracy and to revive our rich cultural heritage.
Na die bevryding van ons land was daar op alle vlakke pogings op versoening en herstel, maar die mees vergete gedeelte van hierdie versoening, is die skade wat apartheid met betrekking tot identiteit, taal en kultuur berokken het. Dit was minimaal aangespreek.
Hierdie bloedspoor het baie inheemse tale, kulture en tradisies laat verdwyn en dus verwelkom ons die Minister se hernieude herlewingspoging om die klem van kultuurherstel in ons gemeenskappe te vestig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[After the liberation of our country there were attempts at reconciliation and reparation at all levels, but the most neglected part of this process of reconciliation is the damage that apartheid caused to identity, language and culture. It was scantily addressed.
This trail of blood caused the disappearance of many indigenous languages, cultures and traditions, and therefore we welcome the Minister's renewed efforts to revive the emphasis on restoring culture in our communities.]
Enkosi nangethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
However, what stands out to me in the Minister's address is the notion shared by both myself and my department on the role of sport in society, and I quote:
It is capable of evoking national solidarity in mourning, but it is also capable of lifting the spirits of a nation to unprecedented heights. Indeed, an effective catalyst for social cohesion.
My department has adopted a phrase, "A child in sport is a child out of court", which signifies our efforts to ensure that sport can make a difference, not only as a catalyst for social cohesion, but also as an alternative to drug abuse, gangterism and crime.
Ek stem beslis saam met u, Minister, dat Suid-Afrikaanse sport lewendig en kompeterend is, maar dat ons steeds deur uitdagings gekonfronteer word. Ek moet ook u sentiment ondersteun dat die gaping tussen stedelike en plattelandse areas in sport nog steeds bestaan. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[I definitely agree with you, Minister, that South African sport is vibrant and competitive, but that we are still confronted with challenges. I have to support your sentiments that in sport the gap between urban and rural areas still exists.]
I have maintained, since taking up my position, that talent is everywhere to be found in this country, but the nurturing and growing of this talent, especially in rural areas, is of concern.
However, I would in the same breath like to say that in the run-up to the upcoming 2010 Fifa World Cup, through the soccer ambassadors programme, my department is busy identifying talent and nurturing it by giving training, coaching and mentoring to up-and-coming soccer stars and their coaches throughout the province.
Using sport has gone a long way towards attempting to bridge the divide between urban and rural areas.
It delights me that the national Minister stated:
We will not tire in our efforts to maximise access, development and excellence at all levels of participation in sport and recreation, in order to improve the social cohesion, nation-building and the quality of life for all South Africans.
With the emphasis on all South Africans, sport can help to heal the injustices of the past and the present by playing a further unifying role in our young democracy.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is obvious that South Africa is a sport-loving nation. Sport has in many ways helped us to overcome our dark past. To see children of all races and backgrounds excelling in the sport of their choice illustrates to me that as a collective in sport, we are doing something right.
Enkosi nangethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika iphela inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Mabhoko, Sihlalo waleNdlu, oNgqongqoshe abakhona, oWezemidlalo, Wezobuciko, Wezamaphoyisa namaSekela abo, amalunga ahloniphekile aleNdlu, uNgqongqoshe wase-Western Cape.
Ngithi kuNgqongqoshe Wezemidlalo angikuhalalisele mnewethu ngokuthi ubhekene nomthwalo wesizwe ngokuba lelizwe lethu libe nemidlalo emihle enokuhlonipheka njengesizwe. Ngithi-ke yikhona lokho amaqhawe omzabalazo ayekulwela ukuthi izwe lethu ligcine lihloniphekile futhi lenze izinto ezihloniphekile esizweni. Ngithi egameni leNkatha Yenkululeko ngikufisela inhlanhla nokuthi ngiyasesekela isabiwomali sakho salonyaka esibhekene nawo.
Ngibuye ngize kuNgqongqoshe Wezobuciko neSekela lakhe kanye Nabaphathi beMinyango ethile, ngithi izithembiso zakho Sekela zinhle ukuthi izilimi zethu njengamaAfrika nizozimela. Mina njengomunye kawendlu kaSolomoni kaDinizulu kufuneka ngikuqiniseke ukuthi izilimi njengamaNguni ziyamelwa, kungakho ngikhuluma lolu ngoba angizenyezi nakancane ngoba ngikhuluma entshonalanga yezwe laseAfrika esikulona lapha.
Ngithi ubabomkhulu uCetshwayo wahamba la ehlukunyezwa amaNgisi wama khona kuzo lezi zindawo. Ngithi ngaleyo ndlela angiziboni ngiseNgilandi ngizibona ngiseAfrika eyalelwa yiwo wonke amaqhawe omzabalazo nabantu bakithi bonke abampisholo ababecindezelwe babelwela khona ukuthi zikhululeke izilimi zethu. Ngithi uMnyango wenu boNgqongqoshe kufanele nenze lokho okushiwo uMongameli wezwe ukuthi kumele kube khona imihlangano, nihlangane ukuba nibone ukuthi uhulumeni wokubambisana usebenza ngendlela eyiyonayona yini. Ukuze kuzwakale ukuthi emaNyuvesi ethu izilimi zethu ziyakhulunywa. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Mabhoko, Chairperson of this House, Ministers of Sport, Arts, Police and their deputies, hon members of this House and also the Premier of the Western Cape, I greet you all.
To the Minister of Sport and Recreation I want to say congratulations, my brother, because our country has successfully and with dignity hosted many sporting events. Therefore, I confirm that that is what our heroes and heroines struggled for, to restore our dignity as a country by doing good things for the nation. On behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party I wish you good luck. We support your budget for this year.
And coming to the Minister of Arts and Culture and her deputy, as well as the heads of the department, I am saying that your promise, Deputy Minister, that you are committed to the development of our African languages is appreciated. As a member of the Royal household of King Solomon, who is the son of King Dinizulu, I must ensure that the Nguni languages are represented, which is why I am speaking this language now because I am not ashamed at all to speak it here in the western part of Africa.
I think it was around here where my great grandfather Cetshwayo was harassed by the English regime. He ended up in this area. I therefore do not see myself in England, but in Africa, which all our heroes, and all black people in particular who were oppressed, fought to defend. They fought for the freedom of our languages. I am saying that your department, Minister, and your deputy must do what the President says and that is that there must be intergovernmental meetings, to see if co-operative governance is working according to plan, so that we can have our languages spoken at the universities. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, having presented our budget speech yesterday to the National Assembly, much is obviously fresh in our minds. I fully support that we focus on the issue of sport in the context of education because we all know its value, as well as the symbiotic relationship which exists between education and sport. It is therefore also important that we reflect on the partnership with the Department of Basic Education in delivering school sport.
Now, under the leadership of Minister Stofile, we have a predictable calendar for schools sport for this year, 2009. That is an enormous step forward because schools are now better able to plan for their schools sport and extracurricular sporting activities. As we try to cater for sporting activities of up to 12 million learners of this country, we must seriously reflect on whether our budget of R22 million nationally for competitive sport is sufficient.
Last year we were able to support about 7 900 learners to participate in national championships with a total budget of R27 million. The fact is we face a reduction budget while we should be expanding our programmes to get more than 1% of schools involved in sports activities.
If we are ready to have a major and long-lasting impact on life-long physical activity, we have to be able to get more of our learners involved in sport. Our School Sport Mass Participation Programme supports 3 200 quintile 1 schools, and as a result the provinces which receive the conditional grant have to continue to support the same school each year.
Again, this number of schools is not much more than 10% of the total number of schools in our system. And, even though many schools are able to cater adequately for both physical education and co-operative sport, this indicates clearly that we have much work left to do.
Within the conditional grant for this year, we have allocated R108 million which goes mainly, but not exclusively, to the School Sport Mass Participation Programme. In fact, in real rand terms this is the equivalent of R9,00 per learner per annum. Yet we know that the benefits of physical educational and school sport are many: long-term health benefits, stronger and more secure communities, closer family units, breaking down social and cultural barriers, teaching people about respect for others and property and giving people a sense of purpose - and the list is endless.
Research in the United Kingdom, since 2002, showed that specialist sports schools and schools with physical education and a sport focus have demonstrated improved grades and reported a reduction in truancy.
A report on sports participation trends in South Africa, released in 2008 by Body Mass Index, BMI, Sponsortrack, as part of the series published annually since 1986, tells a story of juniors in the 13 to 18-year-old category in terms of sports participation. It is interesting that the total number of 13 to 18-year-old sports participants exceeded 8,1 million in 2007. This number includes those who participate in more than one sport.
The top five sports codes on the list account for 48% of all participants, while the first 10 account for 67% of all junior participants. The overall junior sports participants profile is 61% blacks, 90% whites, 14% coloured and 6% Asian. That's according to the statistics of the BMI report.
We clearly have much work to do, particularly if we are to meet our obligations in terms of the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport of 1978 which states:
Every human being has a fundamental right of access to physical education and sport, which are essential for the full development of his or her personality. The freedom to develop physical, intellectual and moral powers through physical education and sport must be guaranteed both within the educational system and in other aspects of social life.
This is, indeed, of concern because many of our schools do not have adequate facilities for physical education and sport. Learners are playing on uneven ground and, in some instances, walking long distances to other facilities or trying to make use of municipal facilities which are often locked. Equipment, where it exists, is often locked up and not used for the purpose it was intended for.
The biggest challenge we have to face is the need to train educators in physical education in order to be able to unleash the talent that exists amongst our learners. To the MEC in the Western Cape I want to say we have already started with the process of training educators in administration, event co-ordination and coaching at the basic level, but this is quite different from physical education.
On a positive note, we have worked closely with the Department of Basic Education, the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee and the SA Broadcasting Corporation to run a successful South African Schools Football World Cup. This has captured the imagination of over 7 000 schools which registered to participate from all corners of South Africa. Boys and girls in the under-14 and under-18 age groups battled it out on soccer fields of various standards to make it to the finals, which were held in May 2009, in Johannesburg.
In line with the lessons learned from that, we are now sending out the challenge to the provinces in both education and sport and recreation to align this programme with the SA Football Association, Safa, and Fifa age groups of under-13, -15 and -17 so that it can serve as a feeder system to Safa in terms of talent identification and development.
We, as government, have to support the federations, and this is exactly what we intend to do. We also expect many more schools to register, not only because the project is a good one, but also because of the attraction generated by South Africa hosting a very successful Confederations Cup. "Sport is a powerful nation-building tool", said President Zuma, this year, in his state of the nation address. It is therefore incumbent on us to deliver school sports as one of the important parts of our armour in building a powerful sports nation called South Africa.
On this team of youth, we also had the privilege of hosting the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa Zone 6 Youth Games in Potchefstroom, Tlokwe, in December 2007. We trained 600 young people as volunteers and 700 children of the North West province were trained for magnificent gymnastic displays at both the opening and closing ceremonies. Local infrastructure, particularly sports facilities, were upgraded through a much appreciated grant from the National Lottery Distribution Fund, leaving a legacy that we are proud of, a legacy I hope they will treasure.
I would like to thank my colleagues from the North West province and the town of Potchefstroom for their invaluable support in raising the bar in the level of organisation of these games. Our young people made us proud by scooping 56 gold, 40 silver and 14 bronze medals. I want to report that we have finally implemented the pilot project on Sport for Peace and Development. Minister Stofile has said to me, more than once, that it's good for us to contribute to Sport for Peace and Development in other countries, but we also need to refine that concept here at home.
Our department has now taken this message on board and is working very closely with the Department of Police on what we call "sport for safety". We have to acknowledge the pioneering work done by our partners from the United Kingdom - we are talking about the British High Commission, British Airways, the Metropolitan Police, specifically the Southwark Police Station in London, and the Charlton Athletic Football Club. They have partnered with Ajax Cape Town and the South African police stations in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, Bidvest Wits in Hillbrow and Alexandra, and recently AmaZulu in kwaMashu.
With the focus on schools, it's important that we work with both the South African Police and the Department of Basic Education in close co-operation to ensure that we collectively meet our government's commitment to reduce crime, particularly among the youth. This is a national imperative and we are committed to working in this collaborative way to ensure progress so that we can, in the near future, roll it out with additional partners, our provincial colleagues, the national provincial sports councils and the local government.
The President, in his state of the nation address, stated that -
It is clear that we need to invest on a large scale in sports development. We will speed up the revival of school sport and ensure that it forms part of the school curriculum. In addition, we will ensure that the provision of sports facilities in poorer communities receives priority.
As this is an issue very close to my heart and that of Minister Stofile, we once again have to raise the issue of basic sports facilities in our communities, particularly in our rural areas. That will enforce our commitment to rural development. I thank you. My time has expired. What a pity! [Applause.]
Chair, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon MECs and hon members, irrespective of race, culture, religious beliefs and language, all of us know that sport has the potential to unite and heal our nation.
In his state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma said:
It is clear that we need to invest on a large scale in sports development. We will speed up the revival of school sport and ensure that it forms part of the school curriculum. In addition, we will ensure that the provision of sports facilities in poorer communities receives priority.
Agb Voorsitter, ek wil net hierby aansluit. Die Adjunkminister het nou ges dit l baie na aan sy hart. Ek wil hom uitdaag. Ek wil hom Noord-Kaap toe stuur. Ek wil hom vra om toe te sien dat die skole in Upington, die Kalahari en Mier ordentlike sportgeriewe kry, sodat ons kinders kan vorder, minder misdaad kan pleeg en sodat hulle iewers kan kom.
Dit help nie iets klink goed in teorie, maar op die grondvlak bereik dit nooit die mense nie. Ek wil hom en die Minister ook uitdaag om te sorg dat Safa se Vodacom League minder "corrupt" is, sodat die mense wat sport beoefen darem rens kan kom. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Hon Chair, I just want to add to this. The Deputy Minister has just said that the matter is near to his heart. I would like to challenge him. I want to send him to the Northern Cape. I would like to ask him to see to it that the schools in Upington, the Kalahari and Mier get decent sporting facilities, so that our children can progress, commit less crime, and so that they can get ahead.
It does not help that in theory something sounds good, but then it never reaches the people at grass-roots level. I would like to challenge him and the Minister to see to it that Safa's Vodacom League is less corrupt so that people who practise sport can actually get ahead.]
During the National Primary Schools Athletics Championships in March this year, the North West under-11 and under-13 teams were lily white - pure white. How can that be possible? That shows that the transformation we pay lip service to still has a long way to go.
This is a disgrace for school sport after 15 years of freedom, which people have paid for with their lives, and our government must take responsibility for this and take action on this.
More emphasis must be placed on transformation development and the building of facilities for poorer communities, as I have said previously.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the organisers of the Confederations Cup on a job well done.
Something else that we really must take very seriously is that ...
... die Khoisan-tale moet ernstig aandag begin kry, sodat ons mense ... As ons praat van Suid-Afrikaners, as ons praat van ... [... the Khoisan languages require urgent attention, in order for our people ... If we talk about South Africans, if we talk about ...]
... Africans, we must include the Khoisan people, not exclude them. There is a language that we need to learn. They are also valuable, like each and every one of us sitting here today.
Die biblioteke: Ek hoop die Minister is ernstig as sy s die biblioteke gaan reg wees - nie gemeenskapsbiblioteke met Huisgenoot nie, maar gemeenskapsbiblioteke wat ons kinders se verstand kan laat oopskiet, sodat hulle lief kan word vir lees en kan groei. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The libraries: I hope that the Minister is serious when she says that the libraries will be ready - not community libraries that only have Huisgenoot, but community libraries that can stimulate our children's minds, in order for them to become fond of reading and to develop. Thank you.]
Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, director- general ...
...re a le dumedi?a. Re a lot?ha, mohl Tona. Mohl Tona, ge e ka se rage, e tlo tlat?a kgamelo. Ge e ka se rage, e tlo tlat?a kgamelo! [... I greet you all. Greetings to the hon Minister. Hon Minister, I sense trouble here! I sense trouble here!]
It is true that sport has the power to change the world, to inspire and to unite people. And sport can also build a sustainable relationship and friendship between individual participants from different sporting codes.
The Department of Sport and Recreation has a huge responsibility in ensuring that powers assigned to the department, which are in line with the Constitution of South Africa, develop and implement policies regarding sport and recreation.
In his state of the nation address, the President said that sport can contribute to the following: the development in rural areas, strengthening skills and human resources, improve the health of all South Africans, build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities and enhance international co- operation.
Re a tseba gore bjale ka Ma-Afrika Borwa re ikemi?edit?e go swara thonamente yeo e bit?wago gore ke Mogope wa Lefase wa 2010. Gape re bont?hit?e ka dipapadi t?a maloba gore thonamente re ka e swara. Bjale ga re belaele gore Kgoro ya Dipapadi le Boitapolo ?o ya rena e eme malala a laot?we gore e tle e kgone go swara dipapadi t?eo ka bokgwari bo bo makat?ang bo e lego gore lefase kamoka le tla makala - ba tla ?ala ba jele makeba makalo. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[We know that as South Africans we are ready to host the World Cup 2010 tournament. We proved in the previous games that we can host the tournament. So we have no doubt that our Department of Sport and Recreation is ready to host the games in an excellent way - a way that will surprise the whole world.]
Indeed, if we are a country which is serious and we want to be a shining country amongst the countries in the world, we must take sport very seriously. We must also go all out in a talent search in sport and nurture that talent. We can't attain the power to inspire and we cannot unite the nation if we don't strengthen mass participation.
With regard to school sport, during my school days, every Wednesday of the week was dedicated to sport. I must declare in this august House that I was a soccer player during my time. And I was a star! [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The Department of Sport and Recreation must ensure that they speed up their service level agreement with the Department of Education so that we can take sport to the schools and realise the talent search that I am referring to.
Ka gobane ge re sa dire ka mokgwa woo, re tla be re fenya goba re gatakela ditokelo t?a bana ba rena. Re tla be re gatakela polelo yela ya moswana a rego kgakakgolo ga ke na mabala, mabala a na le kgakana. Re tla ba re gatelela polelo yela ya moswana ya gore, mmala wa phala o bonala phalaneng. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[If we do not do that, we will be violating our children's rights. We will be going against the old expression that states that the good deeds of adults are always visible in their offspring.]
We cannot talk of talent search in improving sport without providing facilities. If you go to rural areas like GaMatlala and GaSekhukhune, in all the schools in those areas there is not even a single tennis court...
... e agilwego, mapatlelo kamoka ke mobu feela. [... that has been constructed; all the sports fields are full of mud.]
There is not even a soccer field...
... yeo o tla e humanago e le gore e na le bjang mo go yona. [... with grass on it.]
Therefore, we can't talk of improving sport while we don't provide facilities. But we hope that with the budget allocated to the department ...
... ba tla kgona gore di ditlabakelo t?eo di be gona mafelong ao kamoka. [... they will be able to provide those facilities to those areas.]
The department has set five objectives for itself. Each objective has more than five key strategic areas.
Ke moo ke bolelang ka tshepho e felet?eng ke re, go ya ka kabotekanyet?o yeo ba e abet?ego kgoro, ge e ka se rage e tlo tlat?a gamelo. [That is why I am saying confidently that, with the budget allocated to the department, I sense trouble.]
On behalf of the Select Committee on Education, we support the budget. Let that budget ensure that sport is being elevated to a higher level.
Ge ke felelet?a ke re: Go kga morogo ga se go tlat?a boleke. Ke a leboga. [Legofsi.] [I would like to stop here. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Ke a leboha Modulasetulo. Re le Profensi ya Leboya Bophirima re ema mona re rata ho tlatsetsa tekanyetsokabo le ho thoholetsa dikgato tsohle tse nkilweng hore ebe re na le tekanyetsokabo e leng teng. Leha ho le jwalo Modulasetulo, re rata ho hlahisa re le profensi ya Leboya Bophirima tseo e leng diphilello tsa rona lekaleng lena kapa Mafapheng ana a tsa Dipapadi le Boikgatholo, Bonono le Setso.
Ka June 16 re kgonne ho theha porojeke ya Gateway, eo e leng yona e jereng lefa la rona re le batho ba batsho, re le batho ba Afrika Borwa. Ke tseleng e yang Botswana moo re ileng ra kgona ho bona dintho di etsahala. Ho na le diemahale tseo re ka di supang tse emetseng setso sa rona re le Maafrika Borwa. Leha hoja re tla nne re be le ho fokolanyana ka mokotleng, feela re utlwisisisa hore re ke ke ra tlohella porojeke eo hobane ke porojeke ya bohlokwa haholo ho rona.
Re ile ra hlahella re le batho ba babe ha ho ne ho buua ka dipapadi tsa dikolo. Empa re rata ho bontsha kgato eo re e nkileng kamo rao hore re bone phoso eo. Re kopane le Setho sa Lekgotla la Ketsamelao ho tsa Thuto mane Leboya Bophirima, mme re ntse re lokisa leano la hore re fetole tseo tsohle hore re kgone ho lokisa se neng se senyehile. Re kopane hape le marena a rona ho leka hore re ntshetse pele leano leo le kwana mahaeng, le se ke la fella feela ditorotswaneng.
Re tswela pele Ntate, re na le modulasetulo, ho sebetsana le taba tsa ho fetolwa ha mabitso profensing mane. Mme re ikemiseditse hore re theolele mosebetsi oo moo setjhaba se leng teng. Ka Sekgowa re re re batla ho etsa ntho e bitswang "decentralisation".
Kaofela re a tseba hore profensi ya Leboya Bophirima e bile e nngwe ya tse ileng tsa newa monyetla hore di tshware 2009 Confederations Cup, eo re kgonneng ho e tshwara hantle le hoja ho ne ho ena le diphephetso mona le mane. Re batla hore letona le nne le re shebe ha re hlaha pela lona ka tse ding tsa diphephetso tseo re di boneng moo.
Ntshetsopeleng ya talente e leng teng kahara profensi ya Leboya Bophirima lekaleng la tsa bonono le setso, re na le setheo se bitswang Mmabana, seo hawale re lemohileng hore ha se sebetse ka mokgwa oo se tshwanetseng ho sebetsa ka wona. Re dumela hore re tshwanetse ho tsoselletsa mosebetsi wa setheo sena, seo e leng sona se re ntsheditseng dibini tse kgolo tseo re nang le tsona ka hara naha.
Re tswela pele hore bana ba rona ba ithute, mme hore ba ithute ba tshwanetse ba be le moo ba fumanang dibuka tsa ho ikgopotsa dintho tse itseng tseo ebang ba ne ba le siyo ka nako eo di neng di etsahala, le ho bona menahano e fapaneng ya batho. Re tshepa hore ha re ka fihlellisa dilaeborari tsa rona mahaeng re tla be re sebeditse ho menahane. Mme karolo eo ke yona e etsang hore re ikutlwe hore re tshwanetse ho ema mona re re re na le sona seo re seng re se qadile. Mohlomong nengneng re tla kopa tlatsetso ho sona.
Ha ho fihlwa ho tsa Lefapha la tsa Dipapadi le Boikgathollo, ba na le mokotlanyana oo ba re fileng wona hore feela re kgone ho kenyetsa bana bao ba ntseng ba re batlela talente kwana mahaeng, mme bana bana ba shebane feela le tsa dipapadi. Re ne re re Letona la tsa Bonono le Setso ha le ne le ka shebisana le Letona la tsa Dipapadi le Boikgathollo hore ho ka etswa eng hore ba eketse mokotlanyana oo hore bana bana ba se ke ba shebana feela le talente ya tsa dipapadi empa ba shebe le ya tsa bonono le setso, mme ba e tlise ho rona ba e atametse hore re kgone ho ntshetsa mosebetsi pele.
Ka menahano e fokolang ena ka nako e kgutshwanyane re tshepa hore jwalo ka ha ntate ya buileng pele ho nna a se a buile, ho kga moroho ha se ho tlatsa boleke, mme le rona re a dumela hore ho be jwalo feela. (Translation of Sesotho speech follows.) [Ms G PAMPIRI (North West): Thank you, Chairperson. As the North West province we would like to support the Budget Vote and to applaud all the measures that have been taken to ensure that we have it. However, Chairperson, as the North West province, we would like to present our achievements in this Department of Sport and Recreation, Arts and Culture.
On 16 June we were able to establish the Gateway project, which is the archive of our heritage as the black people and citizens of South Africa. It was on the way to Botswana where we were able to see things happening. There are statues that we can point out which represent our culture as South Africans. Even though we still have a shortfall in our budget, we understand that we cannot abandon that project because it is very important to us.
We appeared as bad people when sport in schools was under discussion, but we would like to indicate the steps we have taken after realising that mistake. We met with a member of the Legislative Council of Education in North West, and we are in the process of preparing a policy to change the situation and correct what was wrong. We have also met with our chiefs in order to try to apply the policy further to the villages, so that it is not only applied in small towns.
We continue, sir, together with the chairperson, to deal with the issue of the changing of names in the province. And we intend decentralising the work in order to make it accessible to the people.
We all know that North West was one of the provinces that were given the privilege to host the 2009 Confederations Cup, which we successfully hosted even though there were challenges here and there. We want the Minister to help us when we approach her about the challenges that we have identified there.
In nurturing the talents in arts and culture in the North West province, we have the Mmabana institution, which, in our observation, is currently not functioning in the manner it is supposed to. We believe that we are obliged to revive the work of this institution that has discovered the great musicians that we have in our country.
We continue to say that our children must learn, but for this to happen there must be a resource centre where they can find books that will teach them certain things that probably happened before they were born, and also help them to see people's different views. We believe that if we can make our libraries reach the villages, we shall have done a good job. This is the part that motivates us to stand here and claim that there is something that we have initiated. Maybe in the future we shall ask for additional funds.
Concerning the Department of Sport and Recreation, we have received some funds to give to the children who are scouting for talent in the villages on our behalf, and these children are focusing only on sports. We therefore suggest that both the Ministers of Sport and Recreation and Arts and Culture discuss ways of increasing those funds so that these children do not focus only on sports but also on arts and culture. The funds should be given to us so that we can continue with the work.
With these few ideas within a short period of time, we trust that, as the previous speaker has said, small contributions will result in bigger achievements. We therefore agree that it should be like that.]
Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members of this House, guests and special delegates, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to greet you this afternoon.
I am honoured to take part in this debate on the Budget Vote for Arts and Culture. A learner is developed at school holistically; that means mentally, emotionally and physically and also culturally. That is why arts and culture in South Africa is a nation-building tool. It has different types of programmes to develop learners socially and promotes all official languages.
The ANC-led government has opened our minds by encouraging everybody to love his or her own culture. It has taken us out of feeling ashamed of who we are. In the past we used to feel embarrassed or downcast for being black people. We even had the impression that God had made a mistake in creating us, because we thought that "they" were better off than us. "They" also said to us that, because our heads have short hair, our minds are also short.
The Department of Arts and Culture, led by the ANC government, promotes all languages, and it doesn't just acknowledge the fact that we live in a diverse country, but enhances the diversity of the country. Because the ANC knows that we were marginalised by the previous government, it provides economic opportunities through arts and culture, globally and nationally.
It also seeks to promote our country's heritage. Our own people, who can do artwork, can display their artwork in galleries and exhibitions and thus put food on the table for their families. The ANC leads! The ANC lives!
The Department of Arts and Culture has a clear policy and priorities for 2009-10, as the Minister has already told us. Some of our indigenous languages are starting to fade bit by bit. This department has a duty to ensure that this does not happen, and can do so by launching more of the African literature catalogue in all areas. As a country that has a Constitution which does not discriminate against any person - the Constitution has no colour or race; it accommodates everybody - the department must also take into cognisance the languages of the Khoisan.
The Freedom Charter has a clause that says, "The doors of learning shall be opened to all!". This also stresses the fact that those who are disabled will be accommodated. This then suggests that this department, together with the Department of Education, must introduce arts and culture as a subject at all levels of schools, and accommodate the disabled at schools and universities. The Department of Education has now introduced inclusive education.
It has already been said that arts and culture will play a role in the present economic crisis. This department can open up centres even in small areas or rural areas where our people can make beaded goods and artwork to promote all types of culture. By doing this, they will be selling their work ...
... ukuze bagxothe indlala emakhaya [... in order to eradicate poverty in their homes].
The department should also look at resourcing the libraries that are underresourced, because the libraries are sources of information for our young generations and for us all.
Upon looking at the budget allocation for this department, one gets the feeling that it is not enough. However, never mind, Minister, budgets are always not enough.
At the same time, to promote the culture of learning in our schools, we need to look at those schools that do not have enough books and art material. We also need to look at those schools that have bought those books but do not use them. Those books are just lying around in rooms that are closed and locked.
Our actors in the entertainment industry die bankrupt. Others are so bankrupt that sometimes their families do not even have money to bury them. These people are famous and well-known. Acting should not be regarded as a part-time job, because others make a full-time living out of it.
Does the arts festival in Grahamstown, which is an annual event, have an impact on the surrounding small towns like Addo, Kirkwood and others? Do the people of these areas gain something economically out of this festival?
Our national symbols are of vital importance, because they are our national identity. Each national symbol has a purpose. That is why each citizen of this country needs to know what it stands for. The national flag has colours, but learners in our schools do not know what each colour represents. It won't surprise me if even our educators do not know anything about this.
I was once an educator in a very small rural town called Jamestown in the Eastern Cape. I was the only teacher who could analyse the symbols in our coat of arms. This may sound like a joke ...
... ibe ngathi yinto engakhathalelekanga ... [... like something that is not heeded ...] ... but it is very important, so that our youth can get to know why they must take pride in these symbols. They need to know what these symbols stand for, and what each colour symbolises.
Most of our people think that it is a waste of money to have all these symbols. This department has a duty to promote these symbols nationally, provincially and locally, as much as they can.
When we talk about the transformation of the South African heritage landscape through standardisation, the President in his state of the nation address said:
We will ensure a common national approach to the changing of geographic and place names. This must provide an opportunity to involve all South Africans in forging an inclusive national identity, to deepen our understanding of our history and heritage. This is long overdue as we are in the 15th year of democracy and there are still townships called Native Yard, NY1, in Gugulethu, here in Cape Town, and Osborne Road in Meadowlands, with all the English names from Kofifi.
In conclusion, we would want to see monitoring and enforcement mechanisms put in place in all provinces to ensure that all these objectives bring about a truly better life for our citizens. Working together, we can do more. Our select committee supports the Budget Vote unreservedly. I thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Chairperson, it is indeed a very important day today. If we look at the coat of arms of our country, which is translated in our Constitution as enjoining all of us to be united in our diversity, "!ke e: /xarra //ke", all the speakers have been in unison in agreeing about what should be done. We appreciate that very much. It's a very good beginning.
What, of course, must follow is that when we go to implement it, we must all be united in action and then the hon Plaatjie will not just get a report. We will do better than that; we'll introduce him to the reality of school mass participation.
I'm very pleased that the MEC of North West, hon Pampiri, is here. Although she is new to the post, she has already tasted the meaning of mass participation by schools. We were together in Klerksdorp and she has seen a little bit of that. It is there; it may not be in the papers of this House, but it is really there for those who want to go and have a look.
As the NCOP, we are slightly different from the NA in that we are expected to be coming directly from the provinces; we are more rooted than the NA. That was the spirit when we changed from the Senate to the NCOP. So, we really must go and have a look and also go and participate in these programmes, which all of us seem to agree on.
The second thing I want to raise is - the director-general is here, fortunately, and Mr Gunda might want to talk to him after this debate - the interaction that is taking place between our department and the chiefs of the Khoi and the San who are in Upington. The festival was in Upington, I think, during March at the beginning of this year.
Yes, we are in interaction but we did not see him there. That's why he ran away, because he was not there. I agree with the hon member. We must not just engage in talking about these things, but we must do them. This does not just mean government, but all of us, because by working together we can do more.
I want to agree with those who enjoined the department to build more facilities in the rural areas, and I was pleased when the hon Rantho mentioned the small "dorpies" of the Sundays River Valley, eNqweba, because I spent four years of my life there. I know exactly what she's talking about. It is precisely that reason that has compelled us to continue to seek the support of the hon members. The fiscus is not going to be adequate to do all these things, as the hon Rantho has just told us. I was hoping that the members would suggest that we increase the budget, because we agree that it is not adequate, but she comes and says that ...
... masilale ngenxeba ... [ ... we must make peace with it ...]
... it is never adequate. That is precisely the reason why we, in 1990 and 1991, were already anticipating this. The democratic movement said that South Africa must have a national lottery and the proceeds must augment the fiscus in providing for these developmental imperatives. We still haven't got that in our hands yet, but we are working very hard with the new Minister of Trade and Industry and it seems we are getting somewhere.
We agree with Dinizulu's grandchild that this thing did not happen by accident. This is the product of the sacrifices of many sons and daughters of our land. This was behind the mind of President Kwame Nkrumah in 1957 when he donated 400 guineas towards the establishment of CAF, and the President said, "Use it to unite Africa through sport". That was behind the President and Chief Albert Luthuli's initiatives in the development of nonracial soccer and nonracial tennis in the bundus of KwaZulu-Natal. But we must not wait until we have all these facilities.
You might have been told that I was working at Empangeni last weekend with a club called "Ziphozonke Nyombos". That club has produced national players, and as a matter of fact they have two girls in the current under- 21 national team. In the senior national team they also have two girls. The president of Netball SA comes from that club, although she no longer lives there. A whole range of other communities around them are being boosted by participating in sport through this club. They don't even have a netball field.
I've asked Simphiwe Mncube to go there next week to see what can be done precisely because we assist those who are beginning to do something so that they can do it better, given the facilities. I'm pleased that hon Gunda is back. I was talking about our efforts in Upington with the Khoisan council. [Interjections.] Yes, now that you are back, I want to say that the director-general is here; you might want to follow up on things, but we would really appreciate your presence in those activities.
We also agree on the need to highlight the participation of women in sport and indeed the participation of our communities in entrenching the integrity of our national symbols and protecting them and teaching our communities about all these things. We commit ourselves to do our bit and we want you, too, to commit yourselves to doing your bit.
Hon Mashamaite, there is no soccer team here in Parliament. I am looking forward to your own commitment to establishing a parliamentary football club that can go to the hinterlands of the Western Cape and when they go home, join other football veterans who are organising themselves for the purpose of coaching and training our children at their schools.
Let us do something about this. The President says, "Vorentoe!". We must not mark time; otherwise nothing is going to happen. Thank you very much for the support from all the members - new and old. Working together, we can do more! [Applause.]
Chairperson, I just want to inform the hon De Villiers who raised the issue of translation and editing that the department has a huge translation and editing section which translates all official documents of all government departments and organs; and we do all that free of charge.
We also have a book and publishing section which promotes writing of books in all our indigenous languages, so we would like to encourage our communities, young people, the elderly, men and women to come out and participate in this programme. We are also, through that section, promoting the culture of reading and writing, again including all our indigenous languages.
The hon Mncube's comment on interpreting is very valid and we agree with her. However, I am proud to announce that our endeavours to build capacity include training. I have mentioned earlier some of the bursaries that we are giving out, particularly focusing on indigenous languages. That also includes interpreting skills. We are also focusing on the 2010 World Cup so that we can empower our young people for the visitors, fans and sports people who will be coming. That would be a legacy that would be left behind after the 2010 World Cup. Our young people will then be able to communicate in many languages worldwide.
We also have other areas of specialisation which include lexicography, language planning, development and translation, human language technologies and terminology. We would like to invite more of our young people and South Africans to come and participate in these programmes.
I also note the concerns about sign language. We are ensuring that in the next cycle we will introduce sign language and this will be another area of specialisation. We will come back and report to the House on progress in this regard.
Hon members Rantho and Gunda, if I am not mistaken, mentioned the Khoisan language. I think that is a very important language of our people and we, as the department, will do research in this regard involving the stakeholders and the communities. We will also look at other neighbouring countries that have done advanced work in the Khoisan languages, and we will come back and report in this regard. We believe it is an area that we should prioritise.
On national symbols, I agree with hon Rantho that this is about national identity and patriotism. The Deputy Minister and I have mentioned some of the programmes we have launched. We have started going out to the schools. We are working closely with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Defence. We are also training our young people to sing the national anthem and know its significance. We are also putting our flags up in schools and teaching our young people about its significance, what the colours mean and the various national symbols that we have in the country.
I also want to thank the various members who have made meaningful inputs. We will include their inputs in our strategic plan.
We agree 100% with the hon member who was looking at the art centres, including women, particularly rural women. We have already started planning on how to rehabilitate our community art centres and use them to their full potential to benefit our communities and contribute towards skills training and skills transfer and also job creation for communities. So we will be embarking on this.
I also want to report that the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown was opened yesterday. I had the opportunity to be there. It is focusing on arts and crafts. It is taking these to the rural areas to train our communities and to ensure, hon Rantho, that those rural communities, especially rural women, are able to benefit from what we are doing in Grahamstown and other centres.
I also want to announce that this year, for our Heritage Month, we will be focusing once again on crafts and will ensure that we have our rural communities, including our women and young people, participating and benefiting through the craft centres. The national celebration for Heritage Day this month will be in Limpopo because we want to focus on our rural communities.
Also for the month we will be hosting the national arts councils of the world. We will have the conference hosted by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture and, again, here the focus will be on exposure and ensuring that our local artists, including our rural artists and cultural workers, get recognition and international contact and exposure. We hope that after this and also through capacity-building they will be able to play and participate at that level.
In conclusion, I want to thank, once again, the former Minister, Comrade Pallo Jordan, and Deputy Minister Ntombazana Botha for laying a firm foundation in this department which was originally established in 2004, when it was separated from Science and Technology. We will carry on and implement the important policies and programmes that they have introduced. I also want to thank Deputy Minister Paul Mashatile for his solid support.
Let me also thank the select committee, especially the chairperson, for the support they have given us in the short period that we have worked together, and also for the difficult questions they have asked us. They have helped to keep us on our toes and to continue to account to the nation.
Lastly, I want to thank my director-general, Mr Themba Wakashe and his team from the department for their day-to-day support and hard work in the department.
Debate concluded.