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DA: Ismail Obaray says policy should support athletes, schools

Angie Motshekga
Angie Motshekga

6th May 2015

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The Democratic Alliance believes that sports policy should support
competitive athletes and teams that can become provincial sports
ambassadors. We welcome the targeted increase in the number of
athletes supported by sports academies and athlete support programmes.

Following yesterday’s budget debate by the MEC for Education, I will
not belabour the importance of school sport. The Democratic Alliance
notes that the department of Education and the department of Sport,
Arts & Culture have established joint district task teams to oversee
and facilitate improvements in school sport. We will be monitoring
work of the teams.

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Athletes should be identified at school level. While the department
has 16 priority sport codes, it will only support 10 formal talent
identification programmes in 2015/16. All the priority sport codes
must be accommodated within the talent identification programmes and
we must find our talented athletes wherever they are.

The Democratic Alliance believes that the talent identification
programmes should be about more than ticking boxes. Talent
identification programmes should not just go through the motions, but
should strive to find potential wherever it exists.

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There must be enough synergy between the different talent
identification programmes to promote athletes who are interested in
one sport and show potential to perform in another. Mokgadi Caster
Semenya started running to be fit for soccer. She did not become the
striker for Banyana Banyana, but an Olympic medallist and middle
distance world champion.

A healthy lifestyle is necessary at every stage of a person’s life.
Just as a child in sport is a child out of court, a community in sport
is a community out of court. We welcome the fact that 25 of the 30
sport projects planned by the department focuses on community sport
involvement. After all, Venus and Serena Williams starting playing
tennis on a community court in a park.

However, the access of communities to sports and recreational
facilities remain problematic. Many towns in rural areas lack the
basic sports infrastructure needed for community sport projects. Of
course it is not the main responsibility of the department to
construct facilities. Funds are allocated to municipalities in the
form of a Municipal Infrastructure Grant to see to the development and
maintenance of sports infrastructure. But the department, from the
very nature of its core function to promote sport, has a
responsibility to ensure the development of sport at municipal level.

The Democratic Alliance therefore urges the department to continue
working through SALGA to hold municipalities accountable for sports
infrastructure. If these interventions are not successful, we must
investigate alternatives to ensure that all communities have access to
sports infrastructure. Perhaps private-public partnerships and greater
collaboration with the private sector can assist in improving the
access of communities to sports facilities.

Historically, underspending on capital projects have been a challenge
in the department. It is disappointing that the department will again
be applying for roll-overs for projects that have not yet been
completed. We note, however, that the department is enthusiastic about
the capacity of its internal infrastructure unit to improve the
delivery of capital projects.

It is well understood that departments submit their prioritised bids
to the provincial Treasury and that allocations are made based on the
bids. But within the prioritisation that is required of a budget
process, departments must be allocated sufficient resources to perform
their core functions.

One of the unfunded mandates for 2015/16 is the implementation of the
Northern Cape Use of Official Languages Act, for which the department
requested R6 million. The Act goes to the heart of the department’s
strategic objectives on language matters, as it requires the
provincial government to be serious about multilingualism and the
development of marginalised languages. The Northern Cape has a
specific duty to see to the development of the Nama, Khoi and San
languages which are indigenous to our shores.

For the Act to be upheld and strategic objectives to be met, the
department will need the necessary resources to roll out programmes,
adopt policies and retain staff. We especially need to invest in
interpreters. As it is, the Cultural Affairs program receives 15% of
the department’s total budget. The Language Services sub-programme
receives about 1% of the department’s total budget. Hopefully, the
department can either reprioritise or secure funding in the adjustment
appropriation bill to ensure that the department meets its
responsibilities.

The work of the department goes to the heart of who we are. It speaks
to our culture, our languages, our sports and our communities.

The Democratic Alliance supports the budget vote of the department.

 

Issued by DA

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