The transformation of South African sport and recreation is an ideal that is going to be accomplished not by any volume of legislation pieces. This point needs to be made abundantly clear to those South African journalists who remain strangers to the history of sport in their own country, a situation that has made them unable to understand why this country, of all other countries in the world does need a government intervention to take sport and recreation to all and sundry, particularly those sections of our population who have consistently been denied their natural right to play and recreate.
Any attempt to address and redress this imbalance can only be through a state department. It has to be political.
To say that the sporting fortunes of + 40 million formerly marginalised South Africans can be decided by the good intentions of sports federations' administration is a misreading of the situation.
This Department, and not those federations' administrators is the engine of the transformation process,-and given the dynamics of the environment we want to influence, our frame of mind is to resist any temptation or pressure to do things that, at the end of the day, may turn to be counterproductive. We shall not, for instance, legislate for demographic representativity in our provincial and national teams, no matter to what levels present pressures may rise.
Our response, on the contrary, is the creation of a climate in which talent is identified, raised and allowed to shine.
That is why our focus, since the establishment of this Department, has been on the consolidation of elite performance and the realisation of a broadened mass participation base constituted mainly by the deprived and destitute black majority.
Without basic sport and recreational facilities for the disadvantaged our sport will not be transformed, no matter how many pieces of legislation go through Parliament.
Altogether 60 of these were built in the nine provinces at a cost of R10 269 039. During the same year, the Department convened a national facilities convention to formulate a national strategic plan around facility provision. International experts from the United Kingdom and Australia, among others, were invited to make inputs on the nature and durability of the facility to be built in the peculiar conditions of the country. A blue-print for future developmental plans emerged from the convention.
The Department also received an allocation from RDP funds for the construction of 126 facilities. Thus far 67 contracts have been processed and construction work will start early in 1997.
MASS RECREATION PROGRAMME
In the course of the year under review, the Department refocused around the idea of taking recreation to, in the main, the black communities in the rural and urban areas. The SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL GAMES AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES (SANGALA) was launch in February. The main launch was followed by the launching of its six projects, namely:
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INSTITUTE FOR DRUG - FREE SPORT
The Cabinet has approved the creation of an institute to regulate drugs in sport. A bill has been submitted to the Portfolio committee. It will pass through Parliament during 1997. In the meantime, the University of the Free State is handling the drug testing of athletes.
WOMEN IN SPORT
The programme/project was launched in a workshop in November last year. International experts were invited to assist in the effort to get girls and women (particular black ones) back into the sporting and recreational arena. The progress will culminate in the launching of a National structure during 15th March 1997.
NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTRE
The centre housed at the CSIR was expanded to enable athletes and sports enthusiasts to understand developments in key areas of their involvement. The new expanded centre which will provide viewership of a collection of sports videos, surf and sports site on the Internet and on the department's own web site, will be opened early in 1997.
TALENT IDENTIFICATION
A preliminary round involving 1600 children between 14 and 16 years of age was conducted in all provinces except Mpumalanga. A research process based on the testing results will culminate in the production of a training manual for teachers, coaches and sports officers, enabling them to conduct stage one (mass screening) of talent identification. The next round is scheduled for February 1997.
NATIONAL SPORTS MUSEUM
The idea is to help stimulate interest in sport amongst young South Africans by presenting them with a "shrine" of our sports heroes and heroines from the teens of the century up to now. South Africa is about the only country amongst the advanced sporting nations that does not have an institution of this kind. The Department has negotiated an agreement with a private company that is ready to pick the bill. The museum will be opened in Johannesburg in the second half of 1997.
INTERNATIONAL LIAISON
In the course of last year, the Department concluded a series of agreements with some governments and sport organisations. Prominent among these are agreements with the governments of Australia, Germany and Walt Disney of the USA. As a follow-up to the Australia agreement, delegations form Australia and New Zealand will visit South Africa in March 1997 when adoption agreements will be finalised. New Zealand is to adopt the Eastern Cape while Australia is still to decide which province it will twin one of M states with. Germany is set to adopt Mpumalanga.During 1997 we should be able to consolidate "letters of intent" with Algeria, Canada and the United Kingdom. Many more countries have indicated an interest in finalising similar agreements. These will help boost the Departments drive to get disadvantaged athletes and other personnel trained in a wide range of activities like coaching, physiotherapy etc.
The appointment of the political head of the Department as chairperson of Zone 6 countries will reinforce the sharing of skills and other human and physical resources to create a powerful sport subregion of the continent.
The Department and its provincial Minister wing will be launching a provincial academies in all the provinces during 1997, starting on the 19 March 1997 the North West followed by Free State on 25 March 1997.
A feasibility study for Gauteng is in progress and should be ready by end of March.
The construction of 136 facilities for sport and recreation will commence during 1997. One hundred and twenty seven of these will be basic multi-purpose outdoor facilities and nine (one in each province) will be multi-purpose indoor sports/recreation halls. A list of places involved is attached as Annexure A.
It is estimated that approximately 10 370 people will benefit from the provision of each facility. It is, therefore, envisaged that these facilities will be available to + 1;4 million people in total.
A contribution of R1 million will be made towards the construction of a further multi-purpose sports complex at Kwanobuhle, Uitenhage.
Continuous, sustainable programmes are organised by the Department in conjunction with Recreation South Africa and the Provincial Departments responsible for sport and recreation. This programme is known as the South African National games and Leisure Activities (SANGALA) programme. SANGALA is an ongoing departmental campaign with six components.
The focus will be on the total population of South Africa with an emphasis on the youth in the urban and rural areas. The Department envisages to involve more that 500 000 people from across the country in five of the six projects.
a. Community SANGALA: Approximately 400 000 participants form all nine provinces. b. Training SANGALA: Approximately 1 000 leaders from all nine provinces will be trained to present the SANGLA projects in their respective communities. c. Street SANGALA: Approximately 3 000 street children in the provinces of Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will be involved in recreational activities, games and life skills development to bring them back into the mainstream of society. d. The youth may also become involved in the Senior SANGALA project through training to become leaders of senior citizen groups in their communities. e. Rural SANGALA links very closely with Community SANGALA and brings life skills development, games and recreational activities to the rural areas and informal settlements where the infra-structure of the communities do not allow for sport. An additional 100 000 people from all nine provinces will be able to take part.
To ensure the mass engagement of sport enthusiasts in the campaign, a variety of programmes is being planned. These activities will include:
a. serializational of TV and radio series. b. re-inforcement of anti-crime messaging in booklets, c. photo opportunities with sport personalities, and d. Sport Mobilised Against Crime game schedules (SMAC).
These programmes will be facilitated in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
In 1996 the following officials were trained and it is envisaged that the same number of officials will be trained in 1997 via the Protea Mmuso Programme. Sport leader courses 23 Basic administration courses 118 Lead facilitators course 79 Facilitators course 83 Regional co-ordinators course 39 Course design courses - coaching 47 Course reviewers course 9
According to statistics given by 51 National Sports Federations, it is envisaged that nearly 15 000 sports trainers will be produced during 1997.
The Department, through its Training Sangala, plans to produce approximately 1 000 sport leaders in 1997.
The campaign to attract the greatest possible number of young people into organised sport and recreation will be waged through SANGALA. This is a community-based programme which includes projects such as Women in Sport and Girls under 14 and 16 campaigns, Street Sangala, World Challenge Day and basic participation in sport and recreation activities. Specific programmes dealing with the needs of the street children, the juveniles, drug rehabilitation and building of self esteem will also receive special attention. Strategic partnerships with the -provincial Administrations, the Non Governmental organisations like the NSC as well as Government Departments like Correctional Services, have already been forged.
The Cabinet has also approved a National Sport and Recreation Day early in September of every year. The Campaign envisaged includes a youth rehabilitation programme that has succeeded in converting known gangsters in to good citizens that worked successfully in the U.K.
Issued by the Department of Sport and Recreation, 11 February 1997
.