14 August 2002
SPORT AND RECREATION AS A VEHICLE IN BUILDING A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL!
Members of Parliament
Media Representatives
Ladies and Gentlemen
I wish to welcome you to this parliamentary briefing dealing with sport and recreation.
Unfortunately, in recent days, sport has been hampered by negative publicity that overshadowed the excellent performances of our athletes with disabilities in France, our Commonwealth Games team, our team in Tunis at the African Championships, the Proteas in Morocco and despite their defeat, the Springboks against the All Blacks.
At a time when we need to be consolidating our efforts in firstly, taking sport to all corners of our country and secondly, building on the achievements of our sportsmen and sportswomen both on the continent and globally, we appear to be hamstrung by irritations and differences that could result in us losing focus.
I will be addressing a number of these issues with you that will include my decision to appoint a committee of inquiry into cricket transformation, the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 and the need for the establishment of a national academy for sport in the country.
I was highly disturbed by the actions of the individual who decided that his personal prejudices are more important than the good reputation that our country enjoys in international sport. The thuggish behaviour that we witnessed in Durban when the referee was attacked during the test match against the All Blacks has been condemned by most South Africans. However, there are still certain elements, both within the media and amongst the public, who not only attempted to justify the actions of the individual but are now defiantly supporting him as well. SA Rugby must be commended for their immediate response and deserve the support of all rugby-loving South Africans in their attempts to ban the individual from rugby matches played under their jurisdiction.
THE PROVISION OF FACILITIES FOR SPORT AND RECREATION
Under the "Building for Sport and Recreation" project, my department, in conjunction with provincial and local government structures, completed the building and upgrading of 55 facilities by March this year and the facilities are now in use by sport structures.
April 2002 marked the second phase of this project with 85 facilities in the pipeline at a cost of R90 million. During the third phase, we will provide a further 105 facilities in our attempts to address a backlog that in 1995 amounted to five billion rand. We are obviously not even scratching the surface in this regard. This impacts on the performance levels of our athletes and our ability to attract more people to participate in sport.
The South African Sports Commission has been tasked with putting in place a national sports facilities plan in order for all tiers of government, national federations, NGO's and the private sector to combine forces in the provision of facilities. This is essential if we hope to eliminate duplication and at the same time address the backlogs in disadvantaged communities who to this day do not even have access to rudimentary outdoor sports complexes, let alone facilities that are needed to produce future champions in sport.
A NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR SPORT
The Ministerial Task Team on High Performance Sport that I appointed has now completed its work and I am due to be making a presentation to Cabinet on the recommendations emanating from the report.
Essentially, it deals with the need to eliminate fragmentation and duplication that currently exist in SA sport and recommends a plan to make continental and international participation more competitive.
Already, the South African Sports Commission is ensuring that provincial sports academies are operational in all provinces. Through the sport and recreation distribution agency of the National Lottery Fund, nine provincial academies will be funded for a period of three years, with an annual maximum allocation of one million rand each. The main responsibility of provincial academies is to provide support to provincial level athletes and for those national athletes residing and training in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
It remains important that we now give effect to establishing a national academy that will play a pivotal role in addressing performance levels of our national teams and athletes. Such a project, by its very nature, requires a huge financial injection but it is an investment that we can no longer delay if we wish to have a sustainable high level of international performance and compete with our traditional rivals who all have access to such institutions.
We have the physical and scientific infrastructure as well as the expertise for such a national academy. Various universities, academics, professionals and stakeholders in the private sector have indicated their readiness to combine their resources in order to make a national academy, comparable to the best in the world, a reality. I am committed to ensuring that our athletes will have no reason in future to leave our shores to hone their natural skills and abilities elsewhere.
We need to turn the tide around and instill a winning culture within the broader sports movement in our country.
The resolve of our government to transform sport in all spheres has never been stronger. I will continue to insist on transformation in sport and the need for representivity. There remain elements opposed to inclusivity but I will not shift from the position of ensuring that an environment is created in sport that will not only bring about a winning culture but also winning teams and athletes representative of and supported by all South Africans.
CRICKET COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY
The committee of inquiry that I appointed to investigate the progress made with regard to transformation in cricket has had nothing but complete cooperation since they started their work. A groundswell of interest is evident in the provinces and I am satisfied that the committee will present opportunities to everyone wishing to make submissions.
As I have repeatedly stated, on completion of the committee's work, I will engage the United Cricket Board of South Africa in discussions in order to reach a common understanding on transformation in the sport.
ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2003
I have written to the President of the International Cricket Council, Malcolm Gray, and the CEO, Malcolm Speed, to assure them that we are looking forward to hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. Staging the event remains a priority for government and our commitment includes active support and involvement to ensure its success. The World Cup will serve as a major test of our ability and capacity to host international sports events and will herald the start of a drive by my department to launch a sports tourism initiative aimed at creating sustainable employment opportunities.
INQUIRY INTO SPORTS BROADCASTING RIGHTS
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has released a discussion paper on the Inquiry into Sports Broadcasting Rights.
The issue concerns the acquisition of exclusive broadcasting rights of national sporting events by subscription services, restricting television acce!an afford the costs.
This comprehensive document has been drafted in order to generate public comment on matters relating to the broadcasting of national sporting events.
The three television broadcasters have been abiding by an interim agreement reached after ongoing discussions with my ministry.
I want to appeal to national federations and all other stakeholders in sport, especially the general public, to acquire the document and to submit written representations to ICASA by the closing date of 04 October 2002. The document can be obtained directly from ICASA or on their website at www.icasa.org.za
SA GAMES
We will be hosting the inaugural SA Games in Pretoria from 25 to 30 September 2002. All nine provinces will be taking part in nine codes of sport (soccer, netball, athletics, swimming, sevens rugby, cricket, table tennis, field hockey and goalball). The Games will provide exposure to our budding elite performers in the under-23 age group who will become our future international stars. These Games will serve as a springboard for the proposed four-year cycle in sport, culminating in participation in the Olympic Games. We foresee a natural progression from participation in the SA Games, followed by the Zone 6 Games, the All-Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
MANCHESTER COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Our team at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester did very well to return home with 46 medals - their biggest haul since our admission to the Games.
They will be guests of the President and be invited to Parliament in due course.
The Commonwealth Games Association had to prepare the team with limited financial support. Government provided R8,5 million for team preparation, step-out gear and transportation. This situation once again emphasizes the need for us to build the brand, Team South Africa, with the objective of achieving a unified approach to the organization and management of South African teams in multi-sports events.
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY
South Africa is emerging as a leading role player in the world-wide campaign against doping in sport. Cape Town has been identified as a possible venue for the establishment of a regional office for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), a structure established by the international sports movement and governments around the world to combat the scourge of doping in sport.
As a foundation board member of WADA, South Africa has taken the lead on the continent with regard to doping in sport. The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) that has been created through legislation has secured a number of contracts to do testing at international sports events.
The current controversy involving the Australian rugby player, Ben Tune, once again highlights the need to adopt an international anti-doping code of conduct. It is envisaged that such a code will result in the standardization and harmonization of all aspects of doping in sport and thus eliminate any discrepancies that currently appear in anti-doping practices.
I have discussed my concerns with my Australian counterpart who serves with me on the foundation board of WADA as such cases tend to undermine the protocols governing anti-doping. Dr Ismail Jakoet, who serves on the ethics and education committee of WADA and is also the chairperson of SAIDS, is correct when he argues that anti-doping regulations of the International Rugby Board !appear to have been violated in this case.
All we seek is even-handedness in the application of anti-doping regulations so that our own sportspersons are not disadvantaged. We cannot be strict in the application of anti-doping regulations, yet our competitors appear to flout the same regulations that they assisted in drafting.
The Board of SAIDS is up for review in September.
I have also been nominated by Africa to contest the position of Vice- Chairperson of WADA.
For further information, contact:
Graham Abrahams
Tel. 021 465 5506
Fax. 021 465 4402
Cell. 082 453 2244