Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, I am glad to start this debate by congratulating Thulani Serero, who scooped multiple Premier Soccer League awards. I further congratulate Orlando Pirates, the 2010-11 PSL champions and Nedbank Cup winners. I just hope and pray that the Phefeni Glamour Boys are next on the list.
Chairperson, sport and recreation's intrinsic worth is common cause and is critical to the health and wellbeing of people. Sport is a catalyst for nation-building and social cohesion. In fact, it sits at the pinnacle of human transformation and gives every sportsman and woman a full understanding of the world in which they live. Therefore it is important not only that sports facilities and services are of good quality, but also that the public resources used to finance them are spent wisely and efficiently.
We are an unhealthy nation - the greater proportion of our population is classified as obese, and mortality rates are high. In a survey commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline last year, 61% of respondents were found to be morbidly obese. In another study done by the University of the Western Cape, 25% of learners surveyed were obese and 80% did not participate in sport.
Therefore, Cope supports the Community Mass Participation Programme and urges the department to act decisively against all provinces that are underspending. Underspending impacts negatively on service delivery. It undermines the realisation of objectives and, at the extreme, the performance of the department becomes questionable. A major problem with the mass participation programme is that there is no clear impact or footprints on the ground while the programme consumes a large chunk of the budget. I know the hon Minister will definitely agree with me that there is no clear and meaningful value for the money being spent on the mass participation programme.
Cope still embraces the Minister's proclamation of reviving school sport in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education. We would like to know whether the bottlenecks to the following are being dealt with decisively: the school sport regulatory framework, an annual programme of school sport events, a schools mass mobilisation programme, facilitation and co- ordination of school sports championships in accordance with the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Basic Education, and the facilitation of the development of a national school sport structure.
Has the Minister introduced a programme to identify areas in dire need of sports facilities, as he promised? How many multipurpose sports centres were built countrywide using the E10 million in foreign funds, as he promised?
The South African Institute for Drug-free Sport does not seem to be adhering to the requirements. It is failing to promote anti-doping in South African sports. In a recent survey it was reported that schoolboy rugby players were using steroids, and 60% of participants in the survey tested positive.
The Congress of the People supports the budget. We also hope that this budget will reach every school and every learner in the deep rural areas of our country. Thank you. [Time expired.]