Issued by: Office of the President
126 NEW SPORTS FACILITIES TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN UNDER-PRIVILEGED COMMUNITIES
A massive building programme - expected to begin within the next two months - will see 126 basic sports facilities erected in under-privileged communities in all nine provinces, according to Sports and Recreation Minister Steve Tshwete.
The RDP Programme Steering committee earlier this month accepted the Department's business plan detailing the R50 million programme, Minister in the Office of the President Jay Naidoo said. "This is the first time the RDP has allocated money to the Department of Sport and Recreation."
A basic sports facility comprises a grassed, irrigated soccer/rugby field of standard dimensions; two multi-purpose courts for tennis, netball and basketball; change room and toilet facilities; a kiosk; goal posts; a ticket office and a fence around the perimeter.
Tshwete said it would cost an average of R350 000 to construct each facility. "We estimate that 621 communities in South Africa lack even the most basic facilities for sport and recreation...and the situation is getting worse.
"It is recognised throughout the world that people who are deprived of facilities for sport and recreation turn to other, more damaging pastime...like alcohol and drugs. Their inactivity leads to frustration, with a correlating increase in crime. It is a futile exercise to try and address these problems while not making provision for people who have nothing to keep them occupied in their free time," he said.
Another result of the lack of sports facilities is the fact that people from disadvantaged communities are largely unable to parti- cipate in, or receive proper coaching, in any sort of sport. "This is not only detrimental to the development of people, but also to the development of sport in general."
Tshwete said the Department aimed to provide a basic outdoor and indoor sports facilities by the year 2000 to all communities who did not have them. "Ninety-five basic sports centres were constructed last year and a survey of these communities showed there had been an increase in sports participation of between 2 percent and 106 percent," Tshwete said.
"We are indebted to the RDP Office for making it possible for us to augment our R20 million facilities budget by R50 million so we could build 126 additional sports centres," he said.
Naidoo said the programme would see a minimum of 3 000 temporary jobs for semi- and unskilled workers, and 200 permanent jobs created in the construction and maintenance of the new sports facilities.
Each province identified the most needy communities for the sports centres and R4,9 million has been allocated to each province to build 14 new sports facilities, Naidoo said.
ISSUED BY: Mandy Jean Woods Director: Communications Ministry in the Office of the President Phone: (012) 341-5569 Fax: (012) 341-9616 Pager: (011) 804-2777 code 71799
For further information please contact Mandy Jean Woods in Pretoria.