Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members of the House and distinguished guests, it gives me pleasure to rise in this House to debate Budget Vote No20: Sport and Recreation. Kindly pardon me - I said even if I do have the flu, I have to take part in the debate.
This Budget Vote comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the AU, chaired by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. As the ANC, we take pride in having developed a cadre of such high quality on the continent.
It is fitting to mention that, as South Africa is signatory to the sports protocol of the SADC, we have a role to play in the development of sport and building the continent of Africa. Allow me to express appreciation for Africa's sporting legends as our torchbearers and ambassadors in the quest to unite the continent through the noble cause of social cohesion. I will cite a few of them.
We have the legend George Weah, from Liberia; Zola Budd, Francois Pienaar, Bruce Fordyce, Hansie Cronje, "Tap Tap" Makhathini and Hazel Gumede from South Africa; and Abedi Pele from Ghana. The list is endless. We hope, Minister, you will take stock of these legends so that we can put them on the database. Then, as we celebrate the centenary of the AU, we can take stock and see how many we have developed, as a continent.
We shall be failing if we do not take stock and reflect on the sports struggle, pre-1994 to date. Some in South Africa do not want us to talk about that. South African sport has undergone immense struggles. Black sportsmen and sportswomen endured pain but never gave up.
We would like to cite the example of the first black golfer, "Papwa" Sewgolum, to win the Natal Open Golf Championship in 1963. He was refused entry to the whites-only clubhouse to receive his trophy and was made to receive it in the pouring rain by the then apartheid government. [Interjections.]
As communities, we acknowledge and agree that sport is a human right. We can get more information about what I am saying by reading the booklet, Meet the Heroes of the Sport Struggle. It is a booklet developed in the Department of Sport and Recreation. We commend you, hon Minister; you are a real champion. [Applause.]
The Sport and Recreation Strategic Plan 2012-16, especially Programme 3: Mass Participation, has set targets to create elite-level participation through school sport. [Interjections.] Without being disturbed by my counterpart here, we call upon the Minister to come up with a structured and monitored programme for the participation of all schools in sport.
Ngisahleti lapha phansi ngilalele bantfu labangati kutsi kwentekani etikolweni. Kuyasebenteka etikolweni, tikhona temidlalo etikolweni. Inkinga lekhona, Ndvuna yelitiko, sikhatsi. Kufanele sati kahle kutsi kucalwa nini ngoba ngivile kuphocwa bothishela. Bothishela bayasebenta futsi bafuna kulinganisa umsebenti ... (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)
[While I am sitting here, I am listening to people who don't know what is going on at schools. Things are happening at schools; there are sporting activities at schools. The only problem, Minister, is time. We must know exactly when the starting time is, because I have heard educators being blamed. Educators are working and they want to align their work with ...]
... the schools' curriculum and also meet the targets for sport. We therefore need your department to come up with a circular, like you did when you introduced the school leagues. It must come from your department so that scholar transportation can be regulated ...
... ukuze abantwana bakwazi ukubamba iqhaza kwezemidlalo futhi nothisha bangasebenzisi kakhulu isikhathi sabantwana ekwenzeni umsebenzi wokuqeda uhlelo lwezifundo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... to enable school children to participate in sports and so that teachers do not use the time for sports to complete the learning programmes.]
It is very important.
We acknowledge the 16-plus-one prioritised school sports codes.
Ngicela kusho kutsi lokuunye nguloku lesikubita ngekutsi yimidlalo yendzabuko. [May I say that the other one is what we call indigenous games.]
We acknowledge that you are introducing these indigenous games in the previous model C schools.
Lemidlalo ifaka ekhatsi umlabalaba, tingendvo naleminye leminyenti. Kodvwa- ke Ndvuna ngitsandza kusho kutsi ... (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)
[These sporting activities include Twelve Men's Morris, 'tingendvo' and others. However, hon Minister, I would like to say that ...]
... from what you have actually initiated, you also fall under the leaders that went before you, but according to you the youth come up with their own initiatives. You have set four initiatives. I must share this with you. Samuel Ntokana, a learner from Gomolemo in the North West, has come up with his own indigenous sport, which is called Lesego.
Minister, I would love you to invite that young man to the Schools Olympics to see what this indigenous game entails so that it may, perhaps, be included. This young man comes from the constituency of Comrade Mmusi. We applaud you, Comrade Mmusi. [Applause.]
Having said that, we call upon all government departments, the business sector and NGOs to make an effort to give financial support so that the NSRP will work.
Solomane siyakhuluma sitsi; imali ayikho. [We keep on saying that; there are no finances.]
We have added millionaires to the country. We have also added billionaires to the country, but we do not know where they invest their money. Let us have each and every millionaire donate R1 million or more to one of the 17 prioritised sporting codes, as highlighted. [Interjections.]
We commend the department for the support given to the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme in rural areas. However, the impact of the CRDP is a long way off from addressing all the previously disadvantaged communities. To cite an example ...
EMpumalanga kunabomasipala laba-18 kepha ngulabasiphohlonga kuphela labanalama-CRDP. Uma uwabuka akahambi ngendlela lefanele esigodzini saseHlanzeni. Kunayinye kumasipala weNkomazi bese kuba nalamane kumasipala waseNkangala. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)
[In Mpumalanga there are 18 municipalities but only eight have the CRDP. If one views them, they are not fairly spread out, because there is one in the Nhlazeni district of Nkomazi Municipality and four in Nkangala Municipality.]
You can see that we are a rural province, so it is important, as we do that, that we also make provision for other initiatives for the previously disadvantaged schools. For the rural areas, mass participation is the nerve of the development of sport, because these schools have nothing. They only thrive by having sporting activities and making the communities come together.
As I conclude, we request that Safa spends its R450 million in legacy funds as part of its efforts to boost sport in the country. As the committee we also call upon the department to monitor the use of the legacy funds by federations to ensure that the money is well spent. To create athletes, who will perform all over Africa and internationally, requires effective federations whose systems are working and who are funded accordingly.
Ngekusho njalo sitsandza kubonga kutsi yonkhe lemidlalo legujwako iyachubeka ngoba siyati kutsi kukhona tinkambu telusha, tindzawo talabaluphele tekutilolonga kanye netinhlangano tetemidlalo tekugucula nekutfutfukisa tenhlalo. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)
[Having said that, we are, however, grateful that all these sporting activities that we are celebrating are going ahead, because we know that there are youth camps, training facilities for the aged and sports organisations for change and social development.]
Therefore, we call upon everyone to rally behind them and support sport. [Time expired.]