Chairperson and hon members, South Africans are generally in a celebratory mood and we could see it today in this debate as well, following the outstanding achievements of our national soccer, rugby and cricket teams in competitions over the past few weeks.
The performance of our national teams have been brilliantly complemented by the will of our people, supporters, administrators and organisers of events, to show to the world that working together as a nation we can, indeed, achieve much more. As a continent and the nation we can rightfully proclaim, "Ke Nako!" [Now is the time!]
This is further affirmed by the positive evaluation of the Confederations Cup by Fifa. In the next eleven months all of us must display the resolve to address the areas that require attention to make the Fifa 2010 World Cup the best ever.
During the debate I listened carefully to what the opposition speakers had to say and I struggled to find any ideological differences. It seems that we have succeeded in getting the opposition to converge behind the ideas of the ANC programme of action, and their support in this regard is welcomed. [Applause.] It is also noticeable that the opposition has taken the issue raised by the hon President, during the state of the nation address, seriously that we must rise above petty political differences and focus on issues of national importance for the nation to succeed.
Over the next five years, the contribution of the ANC in this committee will continue to focus on the interventionist role government must play in eliminating huge societal disparities in order to improve access and the creation of equal opportunities in sport. By so doing, we will be informed and guided by our policy positions derived from national conferences and our election manifesto.
The key ingredient of our approach will always centre on the bottom-up involvement and participation of our people in decision-making processes that affect their lives, and that includes sport. It was this commitment that saw more than 13 million voters reaffirming their support for the ANC in the general elections. We thus have a commitment to the people to oversee that our mandate is translated into programmes that will address youth empowerment and increase the number of women and girls participating in sport, especially in the rural areas. Several speakers also mentioned that it is crucially important for the department to realise the strategic objectives of school sport and mass participation.
As the ANC, we will continue to challenge and break down the barriers of racism, class superiority and gender discrimination in sports federations. The grip that finance capital has on access to sport needs to be broken down as it is counterproductive to the transformation objectives of the nation.
It has become common practice for sponsors, businesses, the media and old boys to influence team selections, the appointment of coaches or even determine the outcome of leadership contests in federations. We also need to discuss the issue of ticket pricing with the South African Rugby Union. This issue was highlighted again during the current Test Series between our country and the British Lions. The SA Rugby Union, Saru, relies on market forces to determine ticket prices. Tickets with a price tag of more than R1 000 for 80 minutes of action, under current economic conditions, is simply too expensive for most South Africans.
This area requires attention to ensure that our people have access to sporting events. Perhaps, a lesson can be learned from the pricing structure of the Confederations Cup, where tickets were as cheap as R85,00, and the 2010 World Cup should address this matter. During the Indian Premier League, IPL, Cricket Tournament, tickets were very cheap and made accessible to the majority of the people.
Failure to do this will result in access being restricted to those who can afford to pay ridiculous amounts of money to go and watch a match. On the other hand, stadiums will be packed with visiting supporters while locals are excluded. South Africans must benefit from the hosting of international events, including attending these events. [Applause.] And a large percentage of the profits must be directed towards the development of sport in previously disadvantaged areas.
During the debate, rightfully, various speakers across political parties referred to the development of school sport, mass participation, sports development in rural areas and the funding of sport. While successes have been achieved in certain areas, it is also noticeable that we still need to strengthen the South African Sport Act so that we can derive from that a coherent sports strategy, which is at the moment sadly lacking in the country. This plan or blue print must be the glue that holds everything together. It must address the funding of sport and the allocation of responsibilities between the different spheres of government, federations and stakeholders. Unless this happens, we will continuously return to the question of funding and the allocation of roles and responsibilities.
The last speaker, the hon Van der Linde, mentioned that he understands why the ANC wanted to disband the United School Sport Association of SA, Ussasa. You can ask your colleague next to you, Sir; we were never in favour of the disbandment of Ussasa. What we said was that Ussasa must return to its original mandate. That mandate was to promote school sport at grassroots level. Unfortunately, the organisation started focusing on just running national tournaments and events. We also said that when they return to it, they must also return to financial prudence and ensure that teachers take the leading role in Ussasa, and not people who are no longer involved in school sport.
As far as the hon MacKenzie is concerned, I can understand, to some extent, the comments that were made. It is quite simply because the hon member comes from a party that has absolutely no policies. You must still go to a conference, you must still elect the leadership, and only then can you engage with us in an ideological debate on policies. It seems to us that as you walk from the Marks Building to committee meetings, you manufacture your policies.
We will continuously strive to get the support of everyone involved. We support this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]