Temporary Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, officials from the Department of Sport and Recreation and sportsmen and sportswomen in our midst, we are all in agreement that sport plays an important role in promoting nation-building, social cohesion and a healthy lifestyle.
Unfortunately, however, our sport sector has been plagued by corruption allegations, mismanagement of funds and power struggles -all of which hinder our progress with regard to developing our beloved nation. The challenges facing our sports sector have an adverse effect, not only on sportsmen and sportswomen, but on every South African citizen.
We need to actively engage on these challenges to ensure that we are progressively tackling these issues so as to allow for the smooth and efficient roll-out of the National Sport and Recreation Plan.
We have also noted that it is important for the Department of Basic Education to start realising that it is a key partner, in as far as school sport is concerned, and it therefore needs to act swiftly in engaging with the Department of Sport and Recreation for the sake of our kids and a healthy nation.
Because of the fact that we are currently at a developmental stage with regard to sport, we need to ensure that allocated funds are being utilised appropriately for programmes and projects that add value to our society as a whole.
We read about shortages of funding that adversely affects our sportsmen and sportswomen, such as insufficient funding for sports programmes, inadequate funds to cover the costs of athletes travelling to sporting events and so forth.
We also read about the lack of sports and recreational facilities in various areas where the youth has no sports or recreational outlets available to them. The response is generally that there are budgetary constraints, hence the failure to provide communities with solid sports and recreational infrastructure.
We read about the 2013 SA Sports Awards, which has a planned budget of R65 million. [Interjections.] Of the total R65 million, R21 million has been allocated by the Department of Sport and Recreation, and R44 million is to be sourced from partners and sponsorships.
To spend R65 million on a sports awards event is ludicrous when our athletes complain about funding and our communities lack sports and recreational infrastructure. Let us break down this R65 million and see how it can be better used to help our development plan - we could build 86 multipurpose sports fields at R750 000 each!