Thank you, Chairperson. Minister of Sport and Recreation, Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, our guests ...
Modulasetulo, Aforika Borwa e fitlheletse go le gontsi fa re sale re bona kgololosego. Ka go dira mmogo batho botlhe ba rona ba ne ba nna seopasengwe go fenya dikgwetlho tse di neng di re aparetse mme ba samagana le tseo di lebaneng naga ya rona.
Re le puso re tsweletse pele go bopa baagi ba ba kitlaneng; ba ba sa kgethololaneng ka bomorafe le bong; mme ba tlhaloganya temokerasi e bile ba tsweletse pele jaaka e sa bolo go nna maitlhomo a a tlhomameng a ANC. Re fetotse matshelo a dimilione tsa batho e bile re ikaelela go tsweletsa tiro e ntle e e dirilweng. Ntetle ke nopole Moporesitente wa naga Rre J G Zuma fa a bula Palamente:
Metshameko e na le maatla a go kopanya merafe, go tlhabolola naga le go godisa ikonomi ya rona. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, since the advent of democracy, South Africa has achieved a lot. Our people, through working together, were united and dealt with challenges which they were experiencing and the whole country.
We as government continue to build a united nation that does not discriminate against race and gender, understands democracy and has progressed, as these has been the main focus of the ANC. We improved millions of our people's lives and aim to continue the wonderful job that has already been done. Allow me to quote the President of the country Mr J G Zuma during the opening of Parliament:
Sports has the power to bring nations together, to develop the country and to grow the economy.]
The Department of Sport and Recreation, in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture, has launched "Magnificent Fridays", which aims to mobilise the whole nation to stand behind their heroes and help them to achieve their best in their respective international tournaments scheduled for 2011.
Another aim of this campaign is to promote awareness and love of our national symbols and to develop a feeling of pride and cohesion amongst young children through the singing of our national anthem, usage and distribution of the national flag, and teaching our communities about the national symbols such as the protea.
Re ikuela go Lefapha la Metshameko le Boitapoloso go atolosa manaane le go akaretsa set?haba se sentshonyana jaaka ba bontshitse bokgoni mo ngwageng wa 2010 go ruta le go atlhosa set?haba ka metshameko e ditlhopha tsa rona tsa naga di tla e tsayang mo ngwageng wa 2011. Lefapha la Metshameko le Boitapoloso mmogo le Lefapha la Botaki le Setso di tshwanetse go neelana ka folaga ya naga go mang le mang, maitlhomo magolo e le gore metse selegae, dikolo, dikgwebo le mafelo a mangwe a nne le tsona go bontsha lerato go naga ya rona. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[We would like to appeal to the Department of Sport and Recreation to extend these programmes, and also to include the black nation as they have shown their ability in the year 2010, to teach and to make the nation aware of the sports codes in which our national teams will partake in the year 2011. The Department of Sport and Recreation, together with the Department of Arts and Culture, should give everybody the country's national flag, the main objectives being for villages, schools, businesses and other areas to show love for our country.]
We request all communities to rally behind the netball team, which will be playing in July, and the rugby team, which will be playing in September 2011.
One of the programmes of the department is Sport Support Services, which supports recognised sport and recreation bodies and public entities, and monitors and reports on their performance, allowing the department to sign a service level agreement with the federations. Hon Dikgacwi will speak more about service providers, and I will raise the shortcomings we have realised about one of the nongovernmental organisations the department is monitoring, which hon members have also indicated.
LoveLife is supposed to offer a variety of sport and recreational activities such as soccer, netball, cricket and others to our communities. These activities, as I have mentioned, hon Minister, are designed to encourage the youth to value, evaluate and manage their health, thereby providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health programmes, including HIV and Aids programmes, prevention of unwanted teenage pregnancies, and fitness and nutrition programmes.
Therefore, the mandate of loveLife, and what the President of this country raised, is that we must place more emphasis on women's health issues, such as broad reproductive health rights. This is in line with what loveLife is supposed to do through the offering of sport and recreational programmes. Our challenge therefore is that there is no proper monitoring of these programmes vis--vis the huge amount of the budget allocated to loveLife. Its programmes are not visible and accessible in our rural, poor and disadvantaged areas. Therefore the programmes of loveLife cannot be measured, as other members have indicated.
Club development programmes support the formation and revitalisation of clubs and leagues at local level, with the support from national federations. Funds are used to procure sports equipment and attire, which the department gives directly to beneficiaries. We appreciate the work done by different provinces in supplying such equipment to clubs. However, more work still needs to be done. We recommend that this should be monitored and controlled so that the distribution is equal and even amongst clubs. This equipment should benefit our local clubs in rural areas and townships. Re ka itumela fa lefapha le ka romela maina a ditlhopha tse di fitlheletseng thuso gonne se se tla thusa komiti go bona gore ditirelo di fitlhelela batho ba ba tshwanetseng. Se ke maikemisetso a mokgatlho o o busang go tokafatsa matshelo a bona e se re gongwe dithoto tseo tsa felela magareng ga ditlhopha le lefapha. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[We would really appreciate it if the department could send the names of the teams that received assistance, as this will help to identify whether services reach the relevent people. This is the objective of the ruling party, to better their lives and to ensure that the equipment and sports kits do not end up somewhere between the teams and the department.]
Development should also focus on capacity building and training for both athletes and coaches, and federations should play a very critical role in supporting these clubs, as this also falls within their mandate.
Not only the SA Football Association, but all federations, through their regional structures, should integrate their programmes and link them to those of the local clubs.
Manaane a, a tshwanetse go bona gore a akaretsa bomme, bana le batho ba ba sa itekanelang mo mebeleng. Metshameko ya batho ba ba sa itekanelang e tshwanetse go fiwa t?hono e e tletseng ka gonne batho ba ba fitlhelela dikgele di le dintsi. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[These programmes should see to it that they include women, children and the disabled people. Sports for disabled people should be given full support as these people achieve most of the medals.]
The ANC Polokwane conference resolved that the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup should leave a lasting legacy to our communities. We thank the Local Organising Committee together with the SA Football Association for the football turf, which includes a programme of building clubhouses for our communities. Fifty-two football turfs are supposed to be built and the National Lottery has agreed to fund 24 football turfs, as hon Van der Linde has indicated. At the moment, eight facilities have been completed. At present, as presented to the portfolio committee, the remaining 19 facilities will be completed in June.
A ditirelo tse tsa metshameko di agiwe kwa di tlhokegang teng. Re tshegetsa gape le lenaane le lefapha le tlileng go le tsayang la go kwadisa ditirelo tsa metshameko tse di leng teng mo nageng. Se se tla re thusa gore re itse gore re na le mabala a le makae e bile a kwa kae, a a tlhoka go tlhabololwa kgotsa go agiwe a ma?wa. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[May the sports centres be built where they are needed. We also support the programme which the department has initiated of registering available sports facilities. This will help us know how many sports fields are available and where, whether they need to be developed or to be built afresh.]
We therefore request the department, in conjunction with other federations, schools and municipalities, to come up with a festival of sporting and cultural events, so that they can mobilise and make our communities aware of these facilities and continue to keep the vibe created by the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. Our communities should learn to embrace these facilities as their new homes and should also ensure that they are properly maintained and protected.
We also want to thank the Lottery Distribution Agency, the Foundation for a Safe South Africa, Microsoft SA, Torque Information Technology, the Kelly Group and all the stakeholders who contributed to making this project a success. The Youth Development against Violence through Sport programme is also an initiative implemented by the department as part of the legacy programme and it is supported by the German government. We also support this programme, and it must benefit the needy, those living in poor and disadvantaged urban and rural communities.
We also want to thank and support the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, amongst others, which will be hosting a provincial soccer, rugby and golf reconciliation challenge in December, which will involve all sports lovers. Their cultural show, the Mangaung Arts and Culture Festival, or Macufe, will be featuring activities that will be able to showcase our African heritage, and all the programmes will be linked to the build-up programmes for the celebration of the centenary of the one and only Congress of the People, the one which adopted its Freedom Charter in 1955 in Kliptown, the oldest liberation movement on the continent, the ANC.
In my closing remarks, Chairperson, I want to quote Robert Putman when he says:
Sport and recreation provides the catalyst for community gatherings, from small functions to major events, where people play, talk and share experiences. Importantly, it has a positive effect that reaches many levels of our society - in short - sport and recreation creates social capital. This is important because places with high levels of social capital are safer, better governed and more prosperous compared to those places with low levels of social capital.
The ANC supports Budget Vote No 20.
Ke a leboga. [Legofi.] [Thank you. [Applause.]]