Programme Director Mr. Ivor Brooker;
Member of the Executive Council for Health, Mr. Lebogang Motlhaping
Members of the Portfolio Committee for Sport, Arts and Culture
Mayors;
Councillors;
Head of Departments;
Senior Government Officials
Nominees in the different categories
Sport men and women present here;
Representatives of Sport Federations
Distinguished Guests;
Media Organisations in our midst;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Fellow South Africans;

Good Evening , Goeie Aand , Dumelang , Molweni

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great honour and privilege for me to be with you this evening at the 2nd Annual Northern Cape Provincial Sport Awards Ceremony where we will be celebrating the outstanding performances of our local sportsmen and women under the theme “Today’s Champions , Tomorrows Legends” .

This evening we will be rewarding our successful sports men and women for their outstanding efforts to make South Africans proud on and off the sporting field.  We do this to say thank you for their hard work to keep the enthusiasm of sport alive in the spirits and minds of all South Africans.

Ladies and gentlemen, our country is faced with a myriad of socio-economic challenges and ongoing protests at our higher learning institutions.

It is my firm belief that social cohesion will go a long way in helping government to overcome the challenges we are facing as a country. I say this because through social cohesion we are able to strengthen social relations in our society, enable citizens to possess shared values, have feelings of common identity and a sense of belonging to the same community, we will be able to build trust among societal groups.

When all this has been achieved it will then become easy for citizens of this country to collectively, not as isolated groups, work together with government to build a better South Africa. Yes, working together we can do more, but it starts with communities holding hands in a spirit of Ubuntu, social solidarity, civic responsibility, inclusivity, equality, national consciousness and identity.

Ladies and gentlemen, sport is one of the best catalysts of social cohesion like our former statesman, Nelson Mandela once said…” Sports can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination”

We are hopeful that the individuals and federations present here today, winners and non-winners, will unwaveringly sponsor and pledge their time and efforts to work together with the Department of Sport , Arts and Culture to provide a strategic direction to reposition and turn the sporting fraternity and; sport and recreation landscape in the Province around. More importantly we trust that their contribution will help the Northern Cape government to build social cohesive communities in our province through sports.

In the same vein, we believe that these outstanding men and women will also help to provide a compendium to transform the sport and recreation society into an agile, athletic and responsive community, poised to accelerate unity of purpose, social cohesion, patriotism and nationhood.

We would like to iterate that we host these Awards to promote participation and patriotism amongst our country men and women.  We do this to rally, galvanise and support all our sports personalities in their endeavors to excel and succeed.

With a history as painful as South Africa's, there are still many scars to be healed. We lived through times when the colour of your skin prevented you from stepping out onto the sports field, no matter how much talent you were blessed with. And these are pains that we will have to eradicate and remove through the process of transformation in sports.

The concept of transformation and empowerment and the motivations for and against the need thereof are often emotional, oversimplified not clear and therefore misunderstood.

We are acutely alive to the imperative of transformation for sport unity, social cohesion, sustenance, and well being of communities. The country can no longer afford another decade of endless debates on this topic, hence our steps towards the radical and progressive transformation of sport in our province.

At the same time we call upon the people of the Northern Cape to join hands with us in our campaign to provide a fresh perspective on transformation, a perspective that posits equity, equality, unity, quality, access and organisational culture at the centre of our national discourse.

We want to achieve inclusivity and consensus on what is been done towards the realisation of the objectives of the national goals and priorities.

However, since the 1994 democratic breakthrough our country still has a sporting and recreation landscape that does not talk to the Constitution of the Republic and our government’s national priorities.  The Province is still witnessing a sporting environment where there is a skewed picture of sporting facilities and opportunities.

It is the responsibility of this government to change the status quo and ensure that the Northern Cape have Provincial teams and structural arrangements that are a true reflection of the Provinces population. This includes, race and class question, gender, demographics, age and geographical location.

Therefore in order to ensure this , the Provincial Sport and  Recreation Authority Act has been proclamated . A milestone achievement for both the province and the country. This Act brings to the sector a total new ethos and approach in terms of civic participation, sport development and promotion. It further strengthens the accountability and governance of the sector to ensure the transformation of sport and recreation is realised as echoed in the National Sport and Recreation Plan, informed by the Eminent Person’s Group (EPG).

The Act will be operational from the 1st April 2017 when it’s Board which will be appointed through a public nomination process reflecting all five (5) Districts of the Province will be inaugurated and inducted.

The awards ceremony will endeavour to give prominence to the achievements of the fine athletes seated with us here today, who are indeed “today’s champions, tomorrow’s legends”, this is a real reward of excellence and it reflects service delivery at its best!

Ladies and Gentlemen

Community sport is an integral part of sport development and personal growth. We must provide young people with different pathways for personal growth during and after school-going period. This can only be achieved by reviving and bringing back life into community clubs. We want our communities to have all the expertise and facilities that will encourage them and all of us to consider sport and recreation as life-long activities that improve the quality of life and health. Our primary objective is to produce a wholesome individual and a unique cadre through sport and recreation.

Sportswomen and Sportsmen,

I know you, you know yourself , all of us sitting here know you  , but I ask myself , do the rest of South Africa and the world know you. 

My message to you this evening is “Brand Yourself “

Allow me to quote Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Amazon is also a search engine such as Google. I don’t think there is anybody in this room who does not know Google.

Bezos once said “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room “However, most people do little to build their brand. They go on with their life, working hard at school, excelling in sport , displaying brilliant drama performances and hoping someone will notice them. They may be talented, but they are not known.

You need to stand up and build a good brand and make your presence felt on the sport fields.

Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion tonight we pay tribute to our sport administrators, coaches and technical officials who for the time they have given themselves for the love of the sport, to see to the smooth operations, for imparting the skills and strategies to our athletes and for even taking charge of the game on the field.

Well done to all our finalists. In a short while our winners will be announced, but the fact that you are here tonight as a finalist at this prestigious event is an achievement in itself. To all the nominees and the winners here tonight, we wish you all future success in your chosen sporting codes and careers.

To the nominees who lost out this evening, this is not the end of the world, but it should spur you on to work harder to conquer next time around. Your turn will come. The world is waiting for you to conquer.

And to the winners I would like to say a warm congratulation to you and that this should not be the end of it all, continue to excel and keep flying the Northern Cape flag high.

I Thank you
Ke a leboha!
Ndiya bulela!
Baie dankie!