Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers present, Deputy Ministers, colleagues and people in the gallery, the first issue is that the National Sports Indaba has nothing to do with the ANC conference! Those people cannot vote for the Minister, whether they like it or not, because they are not delegates to the conference. [Interjections.]
The other issue is that in the presence of Minister Stofile hon McGluwa sang his praises. Now that the former Minister is not here, hon McGluwa is saying that the man failed the department. Why didn't he say that in his presence? Let us not wait until people are not here to defend themselves to make remarks.
Let me come to what I have been asked to do. Today marks almost the second last month before we celebrate our centenary as a liberation movement, both in South Africa and on the continent of Africa.
Kulilixa ke ngoko lokuba siqwalasele isivuno esithe sasifumana ekuphuculeni intlalo yoluntu oluNtsundu noluhlelelekileyo apha eMzantsi Afrika. Kananjalo kunyanzelekile ukuba siqwalasele ubume bethu nendima esithe sayidlala kwilizwekazi lase-Afrika. Kufuneka sikhangele ukuba iinjongo zethu nemimiselo yethu ihambe njani na kwaye ingaba isesekhondweni kusini na. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[It is therefore high time that we reflect on our productivity with regard to improving the lives of the African people and those who are also marginalised in South Africa. Furthermore, we must reflect on our situation and on the role we have played on the African continent. We must find out how our objectives and regulations have been implemented and if they are still relevant.]
The governance of sport in the country by the respective federations poses real challenges and is becoming hostile to the key agenda of transformation and development. You cannot speak about development without transformation or transformation without development. We need to be agents of change in sport, recreation and the social transformation of South African society. It is crucial that we confront the issues that hinder us in our quest to get the South African sporting fraternity to focus on what is beneficial to the growth of sport and dealing with the imbalances of the past.
We should understand that the sport setup for the previously disadvantaged was historically structured to serve a specific purpose in our society. They are generally separated in terms of operations, primarily because there was no coherent rationalisation under the past system in South Africa. This is a challenge for the South African Ministry of Sport and Recreation and this Parliament. If this were left unchallenged and were not addressed, it would be clumsy, inaccurate in some respects and inappropriate. Therefore we should constantly assess our progress and never compromise on the issue of transformation and development.
Our sports apparatus is so shocking - not to say pitiful - that we must first think of how to combat its defects, bearing in mind that these defects are rooted in the past, which has not yet been overcome, although it has been overthrown. We have not yet reached the stage where that particular culture has receded into the distant past. I say "culture" deliberately because in these matters you can only regard something as having been achieved when that thing has become part and parcel of our culture, social life and habits, despite those who seem to undermine this process.
As I continue to reflect on this I remind this House that we are not moving at the expected speed in transformation. Hon members will recall that during the 1992 to 1995 national sports unity talks, lengthy resolutions were taken. Two reforms were clearly at the cutting edge of the whole process, and would have given birth to a totally transformed national federation. Instead, the lack of development, transformation, social cohesion and unity has deepened. I therefore call upon those who lead sports to face increasing scrutiny which, I have no doubt, will inevitably result in questions regarding governance and practice.
The transformation of many sports from predominantly voluntary administration organisations anchored in an amateur ethos to professionally managed entities catering for a more sophisticated marketplace has created unique challenges for the governance of sport sponsorship. The above statement gives birth to a possible conceptual linkage between sport sponsorship and corporate governance. Principles such as accountability and transparency are nonexistent. How do you explain the issue of sponsorship commissions through sponsorship negotiations and brokering at the expense of broader development in South African football by the Premier Soccer League wing? How do you explain undisclosed bonuses in cricket? These are the challenges of governance.
As I reflect I arrive at the point where I am saying that there is a lack of integrative thinking and no application of common sense by the relevant stakeholders, particularly the decision makers, regarding issues of broader development when it comes to sponsorship transactions, commissions and bonuses. With the benefit of hindsight, one can see that this may have been ignited by the loophole in the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act, Act 18 of 2007, with specific reference to the accountability framework or the clause on issues pertaining to sponsorship. It is not clear what significant role in respect of oversight both the Department of Sport and Recreation and Treasury are playing in regard to major sponsorship transactions. We need to look at this issue and I concede that we need to do that with the assistance of those who mistakenly believe they are entitled to millions in commission.
Commissions should not be ingredients of individual wealth. We should rather spend these millions on broader development, with particular reference to the expansion and progress of school sport. As a result, at the ANC Polokwane conference we affirmed that at some point government would have to integrate ubuntu principles into public policies so as to comprehensively correct the distortions and imbalances not only in our heritage, but also in our socioeconomic and industrial relations.
When the ANC did this, we were essentially saying the following: We need to encourage mass participation and ignite school sport. We need to involve women and people with disabilities with a view to promoting equity. All schools must have a minimum offering of extramural activities. Physical education must be offered as a compulsory subject for learners in Grades R to 12.
Izibhambathiso esizithathayo mazibe namazinyo ukwenzela ukuba zilume xa kufuneka. Ixesha looxomoyi noonomoyi abangafuni kutshintsha, hayi, liphelile elo xesha! [We need to intensify the vows we make so that we are able to use them against any transgressions. The time for antitransformation agents has expired.] Dit is klaar. [It is over.]
Uza kuqhawuka ujingi abantwana bedlala ngoku. Kufa ayayo makwedini! [Rules are going to be tougher now. Let us pull up our socks.]
In connection with the above, it gives me pleasure to attest that some of the projected intentions of the Polokwane conference have been meaningfully executed. A case in point is school sport. Two departments, namely Basic Education and Sport and Recreation, and their respective Ministers did indeed institute and approve the planning framework and further developed an action plan on 22 and 23 June 2011. The interdepartmental task team met to consolidate the document and agreed on the implementation plan. As we speak today, multiple aspects have been covered, including school sport - but not Julius Malema. He is not a member. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.