Voorsitter, ek wil nie baie tyd aan ``Bokkie Week'' bestee nie. Eerstens het ons 'n verklaring uitgebring. My kollega het daaroor gepraat en die Adjunkminister het gereageer. Al wat ek wil s, is dat as dit in die Wes-Kaap gebeur het, sou Helen Zille soos 'n ton bakstene op sulke mense, wat sulke dinge aan kinders doen, afgekom het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr T D LEE: Chairperson, I don't want to spend a lot of time on ``Bokkie Week''. In the first place, we have issued a statement. My colleague has discussed this and the Deputy Minister has responded. I only want to say that if this had taken place in the Western Cape, Helen Zille would have come down like a ton of bricks on such people who do such things to children.]
Secondly, the chairperson issued a challenge, it seemed, when he spoke about taking part in sport. I accept that challenge and I challenge you to a game of golf at the Fancourt Country Club Estate in George, if it is accepted by Fancourt.
Mnr die Voorsitter, dames en here, byna elke Sondagaand die afgelope paar weke, het ons vasgenael voor ons TV's gesit wanneer daar 'n gholftoernooi was en die een of ander Suid-Afrikaner weer in die laaste rondte was. Daar was nogal 'n Oosthuizen ook. Ons het vasgenael gesit. Ongeag of die toernooi in Suid-Afrika, in Afrika, die Ooste, Europa of die grote Amerika gespeel was, was 'n Suid-Afrikaner of Suid-Afrikaners onder die voorlopers.
Die goue draad wat deur hierdie voorlopers en wenners loop - die Minister het 'n lys van die manne genoem wat voorgeloop en gewen het - kan tot by sy oorsprong in die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation gevolg word. Dit is waar die oorsprong is.
Of dit nou Louis Oosthuizen - die Adjunkminister s dis familie -Brendan Grace, James Kamte of Lee-Anna Pace is, die bakermat, die oorsprong, bly dieselfde, naamlik die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation.
Dit is om hierdie rede dat ek vandag my toespraak wil opdra aan Ernie Els en aan hom hulde bring vir die enorme rol wat hy speel in Suid-Afrika, die Suid-Afrikaanse sport in die algemeen, maar Suid-Afrikaanse gholf in besonder. Dit is hy wat ons op die wreldverhoog plaas en dit daar hou. Dit is hy. "The Big Easy" is 'n Suid-Afrikaanse ambassadeur par excellence.
Die nalatenskap van Ernie l nie net in die hoeveelheid "majors" wat hy gewen het en ander titels wat hy verower het nie, maar in dit wat hy vir ons nalaat. Ons weet, as gevolg van die feit dat hy 'n klomp "major" gholftoernooie gewen het, het hy geld en roem verwerf, maar ons gun dit vir hom. In dieselfde asem het Suid-Afrika ook roem verwerf. Sy eintlike nalatenskap is die aantal protgs wat deur die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation gelewer word - die mense na wie die Minister nou net verwys het.
Laat my ook toe om vandag hier erkenning te gee aan Hannes van Niekerk, wat daar bo sit, as die hoofuitvoerende beampte van die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation, en aan Carl Reinder, ook van die stigting. Hulle is die spil waarom alles draai. Hulle is die mense wat vir ons die Ernie Else en daardie mense lewer. So van geld gepraat, ons moet ook nie van die enorme finansile bydrae wat mense soos Johann Rupert en Dr Hasso Platner maak, vergeet nie. Hulle altrusme sal my altyd bybly en ons as land moet hulle eer en salueer.
Dit is dus geen wonder dat drie van die vier spelers in die junior span wat Suid-Afrika in Junie in Japan sal verteenwoordig, van die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation afkomstig is nie. Dit is so wragtig 'n prestasie! (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, over the past few weeks, on almost every Sunday night when there was a golf tournament in which some or other South African was participating, we were sitting glued to our television sets. There even was an Oosthuizen. We were glued.
Regardless of whether the tournament took place in South Africa, Africa, in Europe or in big America, one or several South Africans were among the front runners. The golden thread that runs through these front runners and victors - the Minister named a list of men who were front runners and who won - can be traced back to its origin in the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. This is where the source is.
Whether it be Louis Oosthuizen - the Deputy Minister says he's a relative - Brendan Grace, James Kamte or Lee-Anna Pace, the cradle, the origin, remains the same, namely the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation.
For this reason I would like to dedicate my speech today to Ernie Els and pay tribute to him for the enormous role he is playing in South Africa, in South African sport in general and in particular in South African golf. He is the one who placed us on the world stage and who is keeping us there. He is the one. "The Big Easy" is a South African ambassador par excellence.
Ernie's heritage does not only lie in the number of majors and other titles he has won, but in what he leaves behind for us. We know, because he has won quite a few major tournaments, that he has gained wealth and fame, but we grant him that. In the same breath South Africa has also gained fame. His true heritage lies in the number of protgs that are produced by the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation - the people the Minister was referring to a moment ago.
Allow me here today also to acknowledge Hannes van Niekerk, sitting up there, who is the CEO of the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation, and Carl Reinder, also from the foundation. They form the pivot around which everything revolves. They are the ones who produce people such as Ernie Els and others like him. Speaking about money, we should also not forget about the enormous financial contributions by people such as Johann Rupert and Dr Hasso Platner. Their altruism will always stay with me and as a country we should honour and salute them.
So it is no wonder, then, that three of the four players in the junior team that will be representing South Africa in Japan in June originate from the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. That really is an achievement!]
The question then is, "What can we as South Africans learn from the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation experience?" The first thing is that we need role models that will inspire the youth to greatness, and therefore the role that people like Bobby Locke, Papwa Sewgolum, Gary Player and now Ernie Els have played must never be underestimated and must never be forgotten.
Secondly, a strong family structure and support system should be in place in order for the budding stars to achieve their dreams. To this end, the contribution that Ernie's father, Neels, and his family made to his development and achievements can serve as an example to all of us, and that is true.
Thirdly, sheer talent is not enough. It takes sacrifice, perseverance, dedication and hard work to reach the top. There is no quick fix. Therefore, Mr Minister, those of us who propagate a quota system must think again. They are not serving the cause of this country, nor do they serve the cause of the players.
Stars like Breyton Paulse, Makhaya Ntini, Herschelle Gibbs and Charl Langeveldt have stated over and over again that they abhor the quota system. In fact, Charl Langeveldt withdrew from the Protea team when he suspected that he had been included in the team because of the colour of his skin. We should applaud him for taking this stand.
The next batch of rising stars in golf are people like Kim Daniels and Sylvia Masango, who are girls, Devon Thomas, Leorin Pillay, Mojalefa Xaba, Siyanda Mwandla and Karabo Mokoena. All of them are tremendously talented young golfers who will grace the national and international stage in the very, very near future. They will be there, not because of the colour of their skin, but rather because their talent was identified early, and their extraordinary skills were honed to perfection at the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation.
Laastens het ons geld nodig en dis hier waar ek waardeer wat mense soos Johann Rupert en Dr Hasso Platner vir gholf doen.
Elke moontlike sent uit die fiskus moet effektief en met oorleg aangewend word om sportontwikkeling te help. Dit is om hierdie rede dat ek nie saamstem dat amper R50 miljoen aan 'n medalje bestee was nie. Ek stem saam dat ons ons sportsterre die hoogste erkenning moet gee, maar om so oordadig te wees, gaan die verstand te bowe, veral noudat ons so sukkel, en ek is bly dat ons geld gekry het om ons span na die Olimpiese Spele te stuur.
Hierdie oordadigheid het nie gestop by die funksie nie, maar daar is gerugte dat die "after party" in die Minister se suite 'n drankrekening van oor die R90 000 gehad het. As dit waar is, mnr die Minister, skuld u die land 'n verduideliking.
'n Ander ding wat my dronkslaan, en dis nie die drankrekening nie, is dat instansies soos die Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens, SAL, eerder oorsese spelers, in plaas van ons plaaslike spelers, borg. Kon die geld wat hulle vir die Argentynse gholfspeler, Angel Cabrera, gegee het, nie maar eerder na James Kamte of na Evance Vukeya van die Soweto Country Club of na Nkosinathi Dauwa gegaan het nie? Die SAL en ons moet leer dat "charity begins at home" (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Lastly, we need money, and this is where I appreciate what people such as Johann Rupert and Dr Hasso Platner are doing for golf.
Every possible cent from the fiscus should be employed effectively and after deliberation, in order to assist with sports development. For this reason I do not agree with spending almost R15 million on a medal. I agree that we should confer the highest accolade on our sports stars, but such extravagance defies all logic, especially now that we are really struggling, and I am grateful that we received the funding to send our team to the Olympic Games.
This extravagance did not end at the function, and there are rumours that the after party in the Ministerial suite ran up a liquor bill exceeding R90 000! If that is true, Mr Minister, you owe the country an explanation.
Something else that makes me dizzy, which is not the liquor bill, is that institutions such as the South African Airways, SAA, would rather sponsor overseas athletes instead of our local athletes. Could the money they gave the Argentine golf player Angel Cabrera not rather have gone to James Kamte or Evance Vukeya of the Soweto Country Club, or to Nkosinathi Dauwa? The SAA and we must learn that charity begins at home.]
Imagine a child who is prodigiously talented at sport, any sport, and is born to a poor rural family. She has little prospect of a proper education and even less of fulfilling her sporting potential. The DA's vision for South African sport is one where that child's talent would not be lost to her circumstances.
Through a system of dedicated talent scouts she would be identified at an early age, either at school or at a nearby sporting facility, through a dedicated talent search programme.
If she were good at athletics, her family would be offered a bursary for her to attend one of the 20 top athletics schools in the country, where she would have access to the best facilities and training. After school, and assuming that that was the path she still wanted to follow, she would be invited to attend an academy of excellence that was properly funded and benchmarked against international best practice, where her talent would be further developed and her skills honed. If she was good enough, she would then be independently selected by a provincial team and, if warranted, ultimately selected to the national team.
In other words, the DA's vision is a system structured specifically to offer the opportunity and to provide the means for any person with the requisite talent to achieve their full potential.
Mnr die Voorsitter, daar is by my geen twyfel dat die Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation 'n enorme suksesverhaal is, en wat byna jaarliks, sonder uitsondering, gholfspelers ... [Tyd verstreke.] [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, without a doubt the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation is a huge success story which almost annually, without exception, produces golf players ...] [Time expired.] [Applause.]