Chairperson, hon Minister, Members of the Cabinet, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the successful Fifa Confederations Cup has left the prophets of doom eating humble pie.
Amagqwirha, amaxaxavithi angalithandiyo eli lizwe, adanile kungokunje. [Witches, disgusting people who do not love this country are by now dumbfounded.]
The unfortunate part, hon members, is that this onslaught does not only emanate from forces outside our Parliament who are jealous of the strides we have made to liberate this country, but also from some among our ranks that we thought were with us for some time, yet they were firmly batting for the other side. Parliamentarians should at all times be objective about our country. We can't wait for the most successful 2010 Soccer World Cup next year. We hope the successful performance of our team will make people who think that there are no successful coaches in this country think again. We have coaches in this country who have won the league. Gordon Igesund has won the league three times. We do have them. Dunga, who is the coach of Brazil now, was captain of Brazil in 1994. He was captain and is coaching now. You must understand these things. [Laughter.] You are new here! We have our own Lucas Radebe. We have our own Jomo Sono. Why do we overlook them? The ANC is not apologetic about these foreign coaches. We say: Let us give our kids a chance. Together with this guy, we can do more. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Clearly the road ahead for normal society remains a key challenge and sport is the barometer by which we measure our progress. These principles can only be realised through development programmes which are aimed at facilitating increased participation in sport and recreation in the black communities, villages and rural farm areas. Minister, we need you to give attention to these places.
We must have programmes to develop grassroots sport. It is therefore imperative that sports and recreational facilities be an integral part of all community development programmes. Minister, we want you to provide us with answers to the following questions: What is your department doing about sports development programmes in these areas that I have mentioned; what resources are you allocating to development programmes; what structures have you designed to ensure implementation of development programmes; and how can we evaluate the impact of this?
Furthermore, Minister, how are we approaching the federations that have benefited from their successes in the international arena? For example, we have won the Rugby World Cup and hosted the Indian Premier League, IPL. The Deputy Minister has just mentioned that they have made something like R15 billion. How much of that money goes to development? [Interjections.] We have ratified an Act, Minister, that empowers you to act without fear of contradiction ...
... uyaluma na okanye uwalibele la mazinyo sikunike wona, wasebenzise ayizo false teeth . Mphathiswa, xa siluma nawe luma. Iimanyano zezemidlalo zithi ikomiti iyalwa ube wena Mphathiswa ungalwi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... do you bite or have you forgotten the teeth that we gave you, use them they are not dentures. Minister, when we bite, you must also do the same. The federations claim that the committee is vigilant whereas you are not.]
The issue of facilities is a challenge to the development of young champions, especially from rural areas, and therefore the concept of club development, and club rugby in particular, is pie in the sky.
Chairperson, there are still municipalities that charge high amounts for the use of their sports facilities and amenities. In the same breath, there are white rugby clubs that have a 99-year lease from these municipalities, making it difficult for other clubs, especially black clubs, to access these facilities.
Minister, I want to quote from a document which was produced by the ANC on 28 May 1992, Ready to Govern [Interjections.] - and I hope that Cope is not going to claim that one:
Sport and recreation is a right of each and every person and not a privilege. Facilities and opportunities in sport education must be open to all, irrespective of age, physical condition, class and gender.
Sithi bopha Thahla, i-ANC iyaluxhasa olu hlahlo-lwabiwo-mali, babawela ukuba uqhubekeke. [We say viva Thahla, the ANC supports the Budget Vote, they would like you to continue.]
Minister, we will ensure that we employ effective oversight services and the above questions are going to be a high priority for this committee. Crucial ingredients in the portfolio committee's efforts would be to strengthen sport and recreation in the 21st century. The Sport Trust must indicate to us to which committees they distributed this kit, so that we can trace it. They should also indicate what criteria they used. The Lotto must stop giving money to these big federations, such as the Blue Bulls. They must give this money to disadvantaged areas.
The issue of the emblem is non-negotiable. There are not two emblems - there is one and it's the King Protea! The ANC has taken that resolution, sport bodies met in Durban in August and we all agreed to the King Protea. So there is no right-hand Springbok and left-hand Protea. It is only going to be the Protea, like it or not. You know, the late Steve Tshwete once said,...
... "Amabhulu, abelungu zange basibuze ukuba siyafuna ukucinezelwa na. Bavela bacinezela." [The Boers, white people, never asked if we would like to be oppressed. They just went ahead and oppressed us.]
We are better. We are discussing these things with you; accept that we are in power. [Time expired.]