Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Mbalula and hon members, I congratulate the hon Sindane on a very good maiden speech.
Voorsitter, die ``Bokkie Week''. Kom ons praat 'n bietjie eers opor di week. In Afrikaans s ons, ``Bokkie Week'' is so uit soos apartheid. [Chairperson, the ``Bokkie Week''. Let us first talk a bit about this week. In Afrikaans we say, Bokkie Week is out as apartheid.]
What we need in this country is to join hands, which we will be doing as a Ministry, with the Premier of the North West province, and the MEC for sport there, to approach the Human Rights Commission to investigate that. More than that, we need society and every political party to stand up and say, ...
``Bokkie Week'' is so uit soos apartheid. [``Bokkie Week'' is as out as apartheid.]
It is wrong. We must say that. We must be vocal and we must not find fault with one another in the process! [Applause.]
I want, Chairperson, to echo the congratulations of Minister Mbalula to all our athletes and teams that have qualified for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We trust that our investment in the preparations, contrary to what the hon member of the FF Plus was saying, will really assist them to achieve the ultimate prize for any athlete, and that is a medal at the Olympic Games.
We have also heard Minister Mbalula refer to the National Sport and Recreation Indaba that we hosted last year. The indaba was the culmination of nine provincial izindaba and consultations with various stakeholders, ranging from business, sponsors, the media, the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and the federations, to the public at large. In the process building up to the indaba we received more than 1 500 inputs that assisted us to finalise the discussion documents for the national indaba.
Now let me just say this. There is no doubt that our National Sport and Recreation Indaba was a great success, Minister, like all the things we do! [Applause.]
It really involved robust debates based on the documentation provided, and at the end we emerged with 75 resolutions that we had formulated and accepted. Overall consensus was reached on key issues, and finally we adopted the first ever master plan for sport in our country, underpinned by a declaration of intent to chart its implementation. In short, for the first time in history South Africa now has a National Sport and Recreation Plan, with unified objectives for all role-players, and with sport transformation addressed in a holistic way. As expressed in Vision 2020, the National Sport and Recreation Plan also outlines the expected outcomes and ideal future for a South African sport system, and our landscape here.
Chairperson, although the indaba itself has been concluded, there are a number of important matters arising to be dealt with. These are in essence a strategy dealing with a number of consequential matters that emanated from the indaba. Let me refer to some of them. They are: a review of the legal framework of the South African sport system; a revised role demarcation at macro level; to have all stakeholders' alignment of their strategic and business plans with the National Sport and Recreation Plan of South Africa, which includes "Bokkie Week", by the way; the signing of collaborative agreements with stakeholders, which can assist with the implementation of the plan; improved institutional mechanisms, including the restructuring of our Department of Sport and Recreation to ensure that we can deliver on the National Sport and Recreation Plan; and the implementation of a clearly defined Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.
The commitment we made at the indaba, which we wish to reiterate here today, is that the National Sport and Recreational Plan will be a plan of action, and that plan will not gather dust somewhere on a shelf in an office.
I am therefore pleased to report that in the five months since the indaba we have already made significant progress in implementing the key focus area of the plan for the 2012-13 financial year, that of school sport.
Other areas of achievement in this short period of time include, amongst others, the following: the hosting of indigenous games as a tool to broaden the participation base; the planning of South Africa's first youth games; building a coaching framework for systematic capacity building in our country; securing the involvement of former sports legends in various projects; ensuring that government funds for sport are utilised more effectively, through the development of a new funding policy framework for federations and sports bodies, with a focused approach; lobbying the private sector to become more involved in sport and recreation activities; and improving the governance of sport, as we have recently seen with Cricket South Africa.
The National Sport and Recreation Plan will be closely monitored annually to identify any obstacles that might negatively impact on its implementation. Let me say, Chairperson, that it will be reviewed in its totality in the year 2022.
Hon members, the Department of Sport and Recreation is in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding, MOU, with the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority, Cathsseta. Against the background of the National Skills Development Strategy III, we have the mutual objective of stimulating and strengthening skills development in the sport and recreational sector in our country.
The bursary scheme that Cathsseta will henceforth offer master's and doctorate students will bind the recipients to ensuring that their research is aligned to the priorities, as indicated in the sports plan. They will also present the results and findings of their research at the annual South African Sport and Recreation Conference, Sasrecon. Now, let me just say that this conference has since been repositioned in line with this new approach.
We play a huge role in sport in Africa. In the Southern African Region, South Africa is this week hosting an executive committee meeting and commissions meeting of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, SCSA, Zone VI. These meetings are critical in ensuring that South Africa and the Southern African Region of the African Union remain the most active and vibrant region in terms of sport development on the continent.
Our Minister has also represented the country at the second World Olympic Sport Convention in Moscow. He will also participate in the forthcoming 6th Commonwealth Sport Ministers Meeting in July, ahead of the official opening of the Olympic Games in London.
We will continue to support South African sports students in Cuba who are currently completing their university degrees in Physical Education and Sport. Why do we do this? We do it because it will have a meaningful impact on boosting the capacity of sport administrators and physical educationists in our country.
Sport is not just about being active and winning medals. It is also about winning the war for peace and development, and contributing to healthy lifestyles and a healthy environment. At its meeting in Geneva in May last year, South Africa was nominated as the chair of the Thematic Working Group of the United Nations' Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group. South Africa's appointment as chair of this important group can be attributed to its valuable inputs at various United Nations sessions throughout the world.
At the 2nd International Forum on Sport, Peace and Development that was hosted in Switzerland last year, we delivered the keynote address on the theme, "The Impact of the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa".
With South Africa as chair of the thematic working group on Sport and Peace, our department has developed an action plan on sport for peace and development. This action plan was distributed to all member countries for their comments and inputs.
The draft action plan provides for the promotion of policies and programmes by national governments with the view of harnessing the potential of sport in contributing to the achievement of development objectives, specifically the Millennium Development Goals, peacekeeping and peace building.
Whenever Team South Africa leaves our shores our athletes serve as ambassadors for our great country. Their awareness of the harmful effects doping can have on their health has been repeatedly addressed by our antidoping initiatives in the Ministry. They also sign a pledge and take an athlete's oath to adhere to drug-free participation and ethical practices. We thus maintain very high standards and integrity when it comes to fair play.
As the host of the next World Conference on Doping in Sport of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Wada, in 2013, we really take pride in setting an example of fair play. The conference we will be hosting here will, among others, emerge with a revised World Anti-Doping Code, the policy document that harmonises antidoping policies and practices across all sports and all countries.
South Africa has, since the inception of Wada, shown total support for antidoping and the World Anti-Doping Code. The country is a signatory to the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport, and has ratified the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Unesco, International Convention against Doping in Sport.
In fact, South Africa has represented Africa at both the Wada Executive Committee and the Foundation Board. In fact, Minister Mbalula, as he sits here, is serving as a member of the Wada Executive Committee. Our Ministry will be participating in the forthcoming Wada Executive Committee meeting in mid-May this year, as a full member.
The country has also led Africa in the implementation of antidoping strategies and annually contributes more, financially, than it is invoiced. That is in order to cover for poor African countries that are not able to pay their annual Wada fees. Why do we do this? We do this because by doing so we are demonstrating our spirit of good neighbourliness and ubuntu.
We wish to applaud our public entity, the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport, Saids, for leading the fight against doping in our country. Their I Play Fair campaign has seen a number of people taking to the streets on their bicycles to make the statement that doping in sport cannot and should not be a way of life.
Minister Mbalula here is an active participant in this campaign, which culminated in his participation in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, where he cycled all 104 km of the race. I am proud of you. Congratulations, sir! [Applause.] This is our way, as a Ministry, of saying no to doping and also setting an example to both the young and the old that participation in sport and recreation is an enjoyable way to have a healthy lifestyle. I am told that the Minister is also preparing as a high performance athlete to participate in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge for the I Play Fair Team later this year! I plan to join him in a motor car! [Laughter.]
While we are now really doing even better than before in setting developmental frameworks in place and creating a pool of quality athletes for our national teams, we depend on our federations' subscribing to the principles of good governance.
The recent developments in Cricket SA, where we had to appoint a committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of that federation, are an example of the fact, and I quote Yeats, that where "things fall apart" we in the Ministry will not shy away from intervening to ensure that the "centre holds". It is, however, time consuming and costly to be intervening in federations when they should be practising good governance fully, for the good of the athletes and the sport they run.
Under the leadership of Judge Chris Nicholson, the committee investigated the contentious issues in Cricket SA and, once finalised, their report was submitted to the Ministry and to Cricket SA. In the name of transparency and the right to know, the report was released to the public by the committee and the Ministry. After careful consideration of the observations and recommendations of the Nicholson Commission, we in the Ministry made our stance known through a media briefing at the time. I join the Minister in thanking Judge Nicholson and his committee for their sterling work and good service. The report is good not only for cricket, but for sport and all federations in general.
Last week, after a meeting with Cricket SA - and it was a long meeting, Minister - our way forward was made known via a media briefing, once again in order to be transparent. We have agreed that, amongst the main measures taken, Cricket SA will recover any undue bonuses paid out to its officials; it will pursue criminal charges for the contravention of the Companies Act; and it will review its governance structure and procedures in order to be in line with the best practices accepted internationally.
Sport and Recreation SA has, through the Division of Revenue Act grant framework, introduced an allocation of 3,5% of our total 2012-13 grant to the development and sustainability of district academies.
The system aims to address the demographics of our national teams by accelerating the development of talented athletes, particularly from the disadvantaged groups. It is envisaged that the district academies will be aligned to political district demarcations and placed in previously disadvantaged areas to ensure that disadvantaged sportspersons have access to services rendered at these academies of ours.
It is therefore foreseen that 53 regional sports hubs will serve as feeders to the nine already existing provincial academies. The main aim of a district academy system is to take technical, scientific and medical support services to the sporting community. Here I am talking about athletes, coaches, administrators and technical officials. The services are coach-driven and athlete-centred, with the purpose of creating a structured performance pathway for talented athletes, coaches, administrators and technical officials residing within the region.
The Sport, Environment and Climate Change Seminar was hosted by our department in November 2011. This was organised as a side event to Cop 17 in our country. We must acknowledge the good work done by international sports bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee and Fifa. We must also thank the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, as well as our national federations, Cycling SA - not because the Minister is a cyclist, but because they did well there - MotorSport SA, and the SA Confederation of Cue Sports for presenting their case studies on the very good work they have done and are doing. In short, as a sports sector we have made a firm commitment to government's strategy on sport and the environment.
In conclusion, hon members, Minister Mbalula and I are batting on, and we are batting for the same team. We have reported to you in as open, honest, complementary, holistic and complete a manner as possible. We trust that you will receive our report in the same spirit as it has been presented.
Hon Lee, we trust that you will also apply your mind to the information and that, when questions - specifically from your party - are asked, you will bear in mind that whatever activities we undertake as politicians must not be narrowed down to just an individual political agenda. We cannot reduce the value and impact of our sport-related activities to a few narrow concerns. [Interjections.] You must read the answers we give you, and then you will understand what I am telling you, Mr Watson. [Laughter.] The impact of sport and recreation activities and the programmes on social cohesion, nation-building, personal fitness, and the health and wellness of our people outweigh by far the financial investment that we are making in them.
So, if we travel to achieve, we travel with permission. Once permission is obtained, we travel with passion. That we do in a quest to deliver a better life for all, including the DA! I thank you. [Applause.]