Chairperson and hon members, there was a time when South Africans strongly believed that sport and recreational activities were likely to play a significant role in our racially divided society. Unfortunately, that has not been seen to be happening. Participation in sport is very low, especially in our schools, which explains why we are not doing well, even with our national teams.
There are obviously many benefits in sport participation, especially for children. We therefore need to interrogate the cause or causes of our lack of achievement. Could it be that our children feel so despondent because even if they have obvious talent, the chances of them advancing in sport are determined by arbitrary unwritten conditions?
There seems to be no coherence in the manner in which the government departments work. The Department of Human Settlements, for instance, will boast about the number of houses they have built for people in an area, but when you visit that area, you will find no sporting facilities. It is as if they are saying that children in that area do not deserve to take part in sports. Transformation in sport remains something we pay lip service to, with no commitment from decision-makers. National sports teams remain skin-colour- coded. If we are lucky, we will see one black player in the cricket or rugby team, despite the fact that many black children participate in these sports at school. Similarly, you will find only one or two white players in the national soccer team.
The burden of disease weighs heavily on South Africa, and therefore it is in the interest of the Department of Health to have citizens participating in sports as part of a healthy lifestyle. Young people engaged in sport are generally well behaved compared to their counterparts. Physical education, as the Minister has indicated, has to be enforced in all the schools; after all, they say, mens sana in corpore sano.
There is a general lack of sports facilities as much as there is poor upkeep of those that are available. Stadiums such as those in Mabopane and Mmabatho are left to rot and fall into disuse, yet another one is rising in Soshanguve, a stone's throw away from the other.
A closer look can be taken at the circumstances surrounding the glaring omission of Caster Semenya from Sascoc's Operation Excellence, Opex. This can be looked into.
We in the UCDP pray for strength for the Minister and want to dissuade him from pursuing, as he has promised, the 2012 Comrades Marathon champion, Ludwick Mamabolo's, case. He promised that it would be followed up, while Dr Victor Ramathesele, the Chairman of the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport, Saids, has said it will be dropped as far as they are concerned.
We are very grateful, Minister, that there is no other place than Sun City where events of importance can be held. That is the product of the UCDP! [Laughter.]