Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, the speeches on this Budget Vote present us with a chance to talk about the real face of Sport and Recreation in South Africa. Sport and recreation are a human right that is recognised by the ANC's policies, our Constitution and the United Nations, to name a few.
Under the apartheid regime the colour bar was used not only to dissolve any possibility of social cohesion, but also to block black, coloured and Indian sportspeople from developing and excelling in sports. In addition to this, no recreational facilities were ever planned or built for black communities.
Through the Freedom Charter the ANC called for the elimination of the colour bar in cultural life, sports and education. Through countless boycotts and negotiations we managed to establish a sports department that promised to serve all South Africans.
In spite of these achievements, we in the ANC think it is still crucial to remember the contributions of sports heroes who played under difficult conditions, for example, Ace Ntsoelengoe and Kalamazoo Mokone, who were widely regarded as the best soccer players that South Africa's townships ever produced. However, like many other talented black footballers, they grew up playing in the dusty streets of their home towns. After being neglected by local sporting bodies because of the country's former racist regime, international sports bodies welcomed them. In spite of their being an inspiration to black sportspeople, the full potential of these players was never realised. This kind of sad history must be discontinued right now by the ANC, where sportspeople are denied support or are excluded from sports in their own country and are remembered only when they are dead.
In response to the need to extend sports opportunities in disadvantaged communities, the department has launched the National Sports Volunteer Corps to harness the skills of former players, coaches and administrators.
Our Mass Participation Programme really imbues the spirit of inclusivity. It focuses on encouraging people to participate in sports. In this programme we co-ordinate and build capacity, and promote special projects focused on HIV and Aids and the participation of women, senior citizens and those with disabilities. We focus on marginalised areas that are adversely affected by the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
In this financial year we intend using the mass participation and sport development grant to increase participation in different sporting codes by supporting school sport, club development and sports hubs. We in the ANC are encouraging the provinces to spend their provincial grants effectively, and to prevent the roll-over of such essential funds, as this affects communities for whom sports services are intended.
We are happy that soccer plays a phenomenal role in social cohesion and community development. We have noted how the Fifa World Cup spawned infrastructure development, capacity building, job creation and economic growth across the country.
The department is in the process of implementing South Africa's first multiracial School League programme in our schools. In practice schools that make it through five competition levels will participate in a national competition. The School League programme was launched in Mamelodi, in Tshwane, and currently approximately 11 000 schools are participating in this programme. Up to R33 million has been set aside for the implementation of this programme. We believe this mechanism will enable the country to improve its overall performance in international sports competitions.
We in the ANC believe that sports facilities should be erected in schools all over South Africa, particularly in townships and rural areas, where we find some of the most adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment.
The participation of educators in the development of sports in schools is integral to the success of plans for sports in the country. In 2011-12 we placed our focus on emphasising the roles and responsibilities of teachers in school sports. This will be achieved by the purchasing of sports equipment and developing an implementation plan for school sports structures and government departments for all levels of competition and 16 sporting codes. In the spirit of inclusivity that we mentioned earlier, we do not support one sporting code more than another, but promote all sporting codes, including indigenous games, in our programmes. Over the medium term we intend to empower educators in code-specific coaching, technical officiating, team management and sports administration.
Attention needs to be focused on transformation in our programmes if we want to encourage the participation of women in sport. The Mass Participation Programme must assist women residing in rural areas and townships to establish clubs at the district and regional levels and right up to the national level.
I submit that this programme must assist in the creation of women's leagues for football, rugby, cricket and other sporting codes. The achievement of Banyana Banyana in their qualification for the 2012 London Olympics bears testimony to the untapped talent that needs to be harnessed.
However, government cannot be the sole provider of sporting services. Our role as a government is to help establish the conditions and environment for sports development. Sponsorship opportunities must come from our private and international donor communities, whom we encourage to help boost our player representativity. The ANC supports the Vote. [Time expired.]