Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on 21 May 2013 we visited Iqhayiya Secondary School in Khayelitsha and Tafelsig Secondary School in Mitchells Plain where, as part of our school sport programme, we donated sport apparel, equipment and attire to encourage all our schools to participate in school sport activities, including physical education. At the same time, on 22 May 2013, we visited Rocklands in Mitchells Plain, the birth place of the UDF, which was founded 30 years ago, to hand over a community outdoor gym facility as part of the launch of a nationwide roll- out of outdoor gyms to the disadvantaged communities of South Africa.
Whilst we were doing this work, we took advantage of the opportunity to honour Gary Kirsten for his role and participation in cricket, both as a player and coach. We presented Gary with a collage of pictures and a bouquet of proteas as a symbol of the emblem of our national cricket team, the Proteas.
We also took advantage of the opportunity to honour Lusapho April for his sterling work in athletics and for winning the Hannover Marathon in Germany twice in three years. We showered Lusapho with gifts of athletic equipment and a bouquet.
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate both men on their achievements. I would like to congratulate the Springbok Sevens on their historic achievement in rugby of being ranked number two in the World Sevens Series.
Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate all sportsmen and sportswomen for their individual and collective achievements in sport and recreation during the 2011 to 2012 period. You did South Africa proud and we love you. I also want to welcome all sportsmen and sportswomen in the gallery, who came here today to grace this important Budget Vote debate with their presence.
Ladies and gentlemen, it will be remiss of me not express our deepest gratitude to all stakeholders and spheres of government for the successful hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations, Afcon, 2013. We are looking forward to the same success as we prepare for hosting the African Nations Championship in 2014.
Let me to start by invoking the words of the late ANC president, Oliver Reginald Tambo, and I quote:
Racial discrimination, South Africa's economic power and the use of sport and culture for oppression and exploitation of all black people are part and parcel of the same thing.
As a direct and structured response to the assertion of Oliver Tambo, at the Sports Indaba on 22 November 2011 delegates representing the broad spectrum of our sport and recreation sector unanimously adopted a declaration, and I quote:
As a country and as a people we have inherited an inequitable, unequal and divided sport and recreation landscape. The racial practices of the former apartheid regime resulted in a fragmented sport system that had a detrimental impact on the development of sport and recreation in South Africa.
Our Vision 2030 does not only give meaning to our strategic objective of an active and winning nation, but it also gives purpose to the essence of our existence and spells out the core values that enjoins us, as a sporting fraternity, to transform and develop sport for the better. Therefore, today we are gathered here to take stock of how far we have traversed that goal.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to report that the National Sport and Recreation Plan has been costed. We will present it to the Treasury for endorsement and thereafter to Cabinet as a matter of urgency. Cabinet will have to budget at least an approximate amount of R10 billion toward the fulfilment of the objectives of the national sport plan. This is possible.
It is also fulfilling to learn that the national sports plan has been anchored in the heart of the National Development Plan. We are enthused by the fact that the national sports plan rests on the giant shoulders of the national development agenda of this country. Our 2013 budget speech seeks to answer the question: How far have we gone to foster nation-building and nurture social cohesion as we continue to make a case for sport?
One of the simple answers to such a question is the electrifying experience when Amabokoboko won the World Cup in 1995 in extra time, with Joel Stransky scoring a drop goal. Nelson Mandela, together with Francois Pienaar, hoisted the trophy in jubilation, symbolising a nonracial and united nation. This victory alone was one that made the country dance and sing in unison, regardless of colour, race or ethnicity. Indeed, the country was united in action.
The hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa propelled our commitment to build national unity and foster social cohesion. Our 2010 Fifa World Cup close-out report attests to this when it states, and I quote:
The social impact of the World Cup includes contributions to the image of South Africa and Africa, social cohesion and nation-building.
In the same vein, together with all South Africans, we witnessed during the Super 14 finals in 2011 the Blue Bulls playing against the Crusaders at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, for the first time in the history of South Africa. The clash between the Blue Bulls and Stormers at the same venue also had the same effect of uniting our people.
The whole world continued to witness our people, black and white, standing side by side, united behind Amabokoboko, at these matches. During these historic events, our people, black and white, were sharing boerewors, pap and umqombothi in the shacks of Soweto; singing Shosholoza and Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika in an electrifying spirit. This is the force that sport has to unite people and undermine the man-made barriers of hatred.
Our undivided commitment to the promotion and support of women in sport has been one of the flagship programmes of Sport and Recreation South Africa, SRSA, and we have stood firmly behind many women in sport, including the likes of Noni Tenge, Marcia Meresca, Caster Semenya, Nathalie du Toit and many other icons in women's sport.
Our support for Netball SA, and our zeal to officially launch the first- ever netball league in South Africa, speaks volumes of this commitment. Moreover, our noble support for the South African women's hockey team is an indication of our resolve to change the quality of life of all our women in South Africa. We don't mince words when we say: Wathint'abafazi wathint'imbokodo, uzakufa! [You strike a woman, you strike a rock, you will die!] Finish and klaar! [Applause.]
We stood firmly behind Mark Boucher when he was accidentally struck in the eye during the match between South Africa and England in Britain in 2012. We continue to stand firmly behind Joost van der Westhuizen in his battle with motor neuron disease and have even awarded him the Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achievers Award.
We were there when Baby Jake Matlala was embarrassed by the huge medical costs he faced during his illness; we hosted a Baby Jake Matlala gala dinner to raise funds for the payment of his medical costs and other related matters.
We stood behind Caster Semenya during her ordeal with international sports bodies when she was being discriminated against because of her gender.
We did the same for Oscar Pistorius when he challenged the world and changed perceptions about the ability of the people with disabilities. Inspired by our spirit of ubuntu, we knocked at every door possible with cap in hand to raise resources, some of which we managed to use to give decent burials and send-offs for many of our sportsmen and sportswomen. Today many family members and friends of these fallen sport icons are convinced that the ANC-led government cares. [Applause.]
It is this courage and bravery that keep some of us going. It is this commitment to the good of our people that gives support to our lives. It is through the commitment to work and the spirit of robustness that we are managing to continue to change the face of sport in South Africa today. We are escalating our efforts to change the school sport landscape since we came into sport and recreation. Again, schools are not all the same because of the history of the Republic of South Africa.
Today, in South Africa, schools are becoming centres of learning and play. Schools today in our country are fast growing into institutions of education, innovation and recreation. Physical education has been declared compulsory in this country. What we need to do, going forward, is to make physical education a stand-alone learning area in all public schools of the Republic.
Last year, when we launched the school sport programmes, we also announced our Ministerial School Sport Bursary Scheme aimed at supporting students from disadvantaged communities who excel in sport and are also academically deserving.
The bursary comprises an amount of R100 000 paid towards the education and sport requirements of a learner. We believe that this intervention is also a lifeline and a lifeboat for many poor families, who cannot afford to send their children to better schools in our country. [Applause.]
The revival of school sport in South Africa has opened many windows of opportunity for numerous South Africans. It has opened opportunities for sports veterans, legends and retired sportsmen and sportswomen. Many of these veterans, legends and retired sportspersons have enrolled and been registered on the SRSA database as coaches, technical officials, sport administrators and the likes. We are not going to support individuals. We will support people who come to us and are registered. If you are not registered, please come closer so that you can be registered and then you can use your skills to support our children.
In an effort to recognise our sporting greats, icons and legends, preliminary engagements are under way to investigate the feasibility of establishing a national sport hall of fame. Coupled with this vision, exceptional athletes, coaches, administrators and technical officials will have the opportunity to be profiled, while they are living, in the little green book. The second edition of this book will be produced in July 2013. No hall of fame run by individuals will be recognised by us.
In line with the above, in November 2013, we will celebrate and reward achievements in sport and recreation. We will provide a platform for luminaries in sport, on and off the field, to be acknowledged by the nation at the prestigious SA Sports Awards. The SA Sports Awards for 2013 will take place in November at the Sun City Superbowl. It will be a humdinger of razzmatazz, such as has never been seen before. [Interjections.] You love Beyonc, and we will deliver her for you!
As we will engage with our counterparts in the Ministry of Higher Education to reintroduce sport and recreation education at the teacher training colleges, as well as including it in the curriculum of FET colleges, SRSA together with the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority, Cathsseta, has launched a postgraduate bursary scheme for postgraduate and PhD students in sport and recreation to the tune of R3 million to study towards a masters and doctoral degree in sport and recreation.
The Post-Graduate Development Programme in Sport Sciences is supported by providing access for students to SRSA administrative resources to assist them with their studies. This wealth of knowledge will be shared with many coaches and sport science professionals in order to assist in school sports, grassroots sports development and high-performance sports.
As part of building social cohesion and nation-building, this year we will pay a fitting tribute to Nelson Mandela for his contribution to the struggle for freedom and democracy.
This event will be consistent with the government programme to give 67 minutes of our time in honour of Nelson Mandela and the United Nations resolution on the Nelson Mandela International Day. We will honour the work of struggle heroes by hosting an inaugural Nelson Mandela Sports Day, which will be launched in June 2013, in partnership with the SA Rugby Union, Saru, and the SA Football Association, Safa. [Applause.]
It is important to first reflect that we did all of the above with a simple budget allocation of only R848,4 million for the 2012-13 financial year, with an increase of only R45,7 million from the previous 2011-12 financial year. Of this amount, R525 million rand was allocated to the School Sport Mass Participation Programme, which made up 62% of the budget. This was mainly due to the mass participation conditional grant where the focus is on increasing participation in various sports codes by supporting school sport, club development and sports hubs.
During the same period, the school sport budget of SRSA increased from R27,3 million in 2011-12 to R42,6 million in 2012-13. Here the emphasis is on supporting the delivery of sport programmes to learners and continuing with empowering educators in code-specific coaching, technical officiating, team management and sport administration, with the focus on the 16 priority sporting codes. With these limited resources at its disposal, SRSA is progressively improving the delivery of sport and recreation services as outlined in my opening remarks.
We should all redouble our efforts to vigorously continue making a case for sport. The government's swift response to our case for sport will allow us to continue with delivering our programmes, as expected, in the face of competing priorities.
Although the resources allocated to SRSA in 2012 were meagre, the department was able to successfully deliver the following flagship programmes: sport and recreation equipment and attire for schools; construction of multipurpose community fields in poor communities and schools; rolling out of the school sport programmes; national school sport championships; support for Olympians and Paralympians before, during and after the 2012 London games; reviving netball and support for the Netball Diamond Challenge; reviving basket ball and support for the basket ball league; enhancing the work of Boxing SA and the SA Institute for Drug-free Sport, Saids; support for the work of the Africa Cup of Nations Organising Committee; and the hosting of the SA Sports Awards. There are many more projects.
It is against this background that our comment in the House this afternoon is that the 2013-14 budget allocation for the department remains minimal in real terms. Of the current year's allocation of R1,073 billion, 73%, which is R815 million, is transferred to provinces, municipalities and sports federations. Therefore only R258 million will be utilised by the department for all its activities as well as salaries.
The department received a special allocation of R156 million for the 2014 African Nations Championship. This amount is divided between the Chan Local Organising Committee - R36 million - R120 million for host cities.
In order to breathe life into the above statement, SRSA tabled its strategic plan for the fiscal year 2012 to 2016 in Parliament in March 2012, and again presented the strategic plan, as well as our Annual Performance Plan, for the 2013-14 financial year on 7 and 8 May 2013 in both Houses of Parliament.
With these documents we aim to give the nation a clear picture of the planned programmes and activities of SRSA for the next five years, as well as the budget allocations and estimates for such years. They are broken down into the annual plans and activities that are aimed at realising the stated objectives in our plans going forward.
At the same time, our department will, on an annual basis, position itself to integrate the national sports plan as adopted by Cabinet. To this end, in order to fulfil the obligations of the national sports plan and the Annual Performance Plan 2013-14, SRSA, together with the Department of Basic Education, will continue to implement the school sport programme in 2013. This programme will rest on the giant shoulders of the school sport leagues across the country. It will, again, culminate in the national school sport championship in December 2013.
To provide a solid foundation, our department will continue to roll out the school sport programme underpinned by the following critical pillars: physical education; top school leagues; SA schools national championships; and the national multicoded age group tournaments.
As the national School Sport League unfolds, the role of the sport clubs at each level will be to make available talent scouts to identify talented sportsmen and sportswomen, as well as officials.
Our Ministerial School Sport Bursary Scheme will continue this financial year and will offer bursaries to talented children identified at the national multicoded sporting events. Although we have made progress, the successful roll-out of school sport is currently hampered by, among other things, a shortage of facilities, a lack of accredited capacity and inadequate parental support.
As we announced last year in the House with our appointment of the Eminent Persons Group on Transformation, one of the key components of the National Sports Plan is the Transformation Charter and Scorecard. The baseline of transformation in South African sport ... Thank you very much. Time is against me. [Applause.]