Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, leaders of sports domains and federations, director-general and your team, ladies and gentlemen, ... mandiqale ndiphose amazwi ovelwano kusapho lakwaShiceka, olwakwa-Padayacheie kunye noluka Mam' uNyanda, abathe basishiya. Sivelana nezi ntsapho, kwaye sithi koogxa bethu baseMzantsi Afrika sigxwala nani emswaneni wenkomo. Silila nani zihlobo, kwaye siyanibulela ngokusiboleka la malungu entsapho zenu singumbutho we-ANC. Andibalibalanga abadlali abathandathuhlanu base-Motherwell abasweleke phambi kwePasika. Nakwezo ntsapho ke sithi ngxe. Lalani ngenxeba. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
... let me start by expressing my sincere condolences to the Shiceka, Padayachie and Nyanda families who have lost their loved ones. We are thinking of you during this difficult time. To our fellow South Africans, your loss is our loss. We symphathise with their relatives. As the ANC, we are grateful for their contribution. I have not forgotten the six rugby players from Motherwell who passed away just before the Easter weekend. Our hearts go out to their families in their time of sorrow. We say we are very sorry. May they find comfort.]
This debate is taking place in the year of the centenary of the ANC. Were it not for this movement, I can guarantee you that we would not be where we are today. Let me start with the positives; I will come to the negatives.
I wish to congratulate President Hoskins of the SA Rugby Union on his election as vice-chairperson of the International Rugby Board. At the same time, we also acknowledge and congratulate Mr Haroon Lorgat, who is serving on the International Cricket Council. We also have Dr Danny Jordaan, who is serving on the Fifa 2014 subcommittee. This confirms our ability to provide leadership, and is a sign that our sport is moving in the right direction.
The role of Sport and Recreation should be to address the government objective of building a nation united in action for change. I am convinced that sport in this country is ideally located to play a significant part in this context. However, in order for sport to fulfil such a role, the transformation of sport should be at the heart of it. The reality facing us is that unity in sport, 18 years down the line, can only be consolidated through transformation. Sporting codes might be united, but whether or not they are united in action for change is a moot point.
I am often confronted by ordinary sportspersons questioning me about who the main beneficiaries of unity are. This raises a host of possibilities, but the undeniable fact is that a sizeable part of the sporting fraternity are still not enjoying the fruits of unity.
In an assessment of the work of the Ministry of Sport and Recreation during the past six months, I urge you, Jola, to focus on a few key issues: transformation, development and the ever present racism in sport.
Furthermore, the normalisation of the sport of boxing and putting it back on track cannot be overemphasised. This is a task that also includes returning the relationship between amateur and professional boxing to normality. We in the ANC wish for boxing to be granted its rightful amount of television air time. Here we are referring to the fact that the SABC has not been broadcasting boxing as it is supposed to.
Furthermore, the budget for boxing has remained the same every year since its inception in 2001. Issues of inflation and other issues are not taken into consideration when the annual allocation is made. What sickens us is the lack of involvement of sponsors, despite efforts made by government to stabilise the leadership and management of boxing, which meet the requirements of the King Report on Corporate Governance.
The SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport has been enjoying mixed success. Its funding was increased and some bodies, which were not under its jurisdiction, have now been voluntarily subjecting themselves to its regime. However, some of the other federations have not been co-operating to the same degree. Therefore, we require legislation that will compel every federation to be under the jurisdiction of the SA Institute for Drug- Free Sport.
We are concerned about the use of so-called recreational drugs, in the light of certain recent cases. We feel that protocols should be amended to make more provision for testing for such substances.
We are also concerned about the use of drugs at school level, and urge the institute to approach the Department of Basic Education. There is the problem of doping in schools. There was also a problem with legal jurisdiction in schools. Perhaps, hon Minister, you should engage with your counterpart, the Minister of Basic Education, so as to see how we can address this issue.
An increase in the use of recreational drugs has been detected and is becoming a problem in the fabric of our society. It is also luring children away from sports grounds to drug corners. We hoped to see a reduction in this, but the fact is that the use of cocaine and tik has increased in our society. We feel that the jurisdiction of the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport should be extended to conducting tests in schools. This will require further capacitating of this institute. I am sure that, working together with the Minister of Basic Education, this will be done.
Aba bantwana bayayotywa ezikolweni, bakugqiba benze amanyala enyoka. Endaweni yokuba badlale ibhola, baqhunywa ngumnya ne-tik, hay'ke emva koko iba ngubhentsu-bhentsu kuqhum' uthuli. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[These children are intoxicated at schools and they later engage in horrible acts. Instead of playing ball, they smoke dagga and use the drug tik. Thereafter it is just chaos!]
I want to refer to the reign of the ANC in the Western Cape, and I am now coming to you in the Western Cape. There were problems which caused people to become African refugees. [Interjections.] I just want to highlight something which was done by the ANC when it was in charge of the Western Cape.
During the reign of the ANC in the province of the Western Cape, we introduced the Sport Stepping Stones programme, which saw young coaches being deployed to crime-infested areas that were luring children into being involved in drugs, instead leading them into playing sport and taking part in recreational programmes. Unfortunately, the Premier, Mrs Refugee ... [Laughter.] ... canned this successful programme, and this resulted in children from Manenberg ...