Department of Sport's Job creation & National Sports Plan; Response to State of the Nation Address

Meeting report

Adoption of Committee minutes
The minutes relating to the meeting discussing the Committee’s proposed programme for 2012 were tabled.

Mr T Lee (DA) proposed that the presentation on 6 March by Boxing South Africa (BSA) and the National Lottery must encompass all sports codes.

Mr M Dikgacwi (ANC) suggested that the National Lottery should bring a document spelling out how it traditionally distributed funds to federations.

The minutes were adopted.

Job Creation: Department of Sport and Recreation presentation
The Chairperson welcomed the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA or the Department) and noted that the Minister, and accounting officers from the Department would be expected to appear before the Committee regularly, and relevant information must be made available. He noted that the core business of the Committee was guided by four major signposts of transformation, development, governance and leadership. Every presentation therefore should attempt to address these points. He noted that there should be a “healthy tension” between SRSA and the Committee.

Mr Alec Moemi, Director General, SRSA, tabled his presentations. He noted that the Department would not withhold any information from the Committee, as the relationship between the two was complementary. Although the primary purpose of this meeting was to evaluate progress in creating employment opportunities, it was appropriate that the Committee be informed of other developments in the sporting arena. Sport was increasingly becoming an important and growing generator of employment in a number of countries and in South Africa. However, a survey conducted by an independent company could not specify the exact figures of unemployment because this information could not be classified independently of other departments.

BMI, an independent sport research company, had indicated that the sporting sector in South Africa contributed to the creation of 60 800 full-time jobs, 9 500 part-time jobs and about 13 250 volunteer-posts, totalling 83 550 in all in 2011. When stadiums were constructed in 2010, this had created 100 000 construction jobs, 44 000 security jobs and 15 000 volunteers assisted FIFA and the Local Organising Committee. A draft functional structure was developed in 2010/11 but it needed to be reviewed in line with the new strategic initiatives documented in the SRSA Road-Map. The National Sport and Recreation Plan would be finalised shortly.

He noted that the SRSA was undergoing restructuring in line with the new strategic plan set by the Minster during the Indaba resolutions. The Department would not fill any vacancies until the restructuring phase ended in April. Currently,  the Department had a staff complement of 210, which included 93 women and 3 disabled persons. As part of the job creation initiatives, the Department was running an internship programme for about 18 people, and was hoping to increase this to 26 in the next three years.

The key contributor to job creation was the Mass Participation Programme (MPP). The programme aimed to promote mass participation within communities and schools through selected sport and recreation activities, empowerment of communities and schools in conjunction with stakeholders, and development of communities through sport. Hub coordinators would be appointed to manage and coordinate the activities within the hub, to ensure that the activities were adequately promoted, to oversee the work of the activity coordinators, and to monitor their performance and report. A stipend of R1 800 would be paid to hub coordinators and a R1 200 stipend would be given to activity coordinators (volunteers) responsible for the promotion of specific assigned activities.

Mr Moemi noted that provinces were allowed to utilise 6% of their allocated funds from the conditional grant to employ officials to assist in the management of the grant and the implementation of the mass participation programme at a grass roots level. Currently, only six of the provinces were utilising this 6% allocation, whilst Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West were not. The North West province was embroiled in a litigation case and the Department was awaiting the outcome of the trial.

The MPP assisted about 5 281 coordinators in the last financial year, as compared to 60 in 2004. Of these, 66% were females, 39.95% were males and 0.5% were people with disabilities. The Department was supporting Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) service providers through the purchasing of gym equipment, sport attire, catering, consultants, IT equipment and other issues. As part of its sustainable development drive, the Department would consider an overhaul of the supply chain management process so as to ensure greater opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

The Department would also conduct further research on the impact of sport and recreation activities on economic development, rural development, tourism, the green economy and job creation.

He noted that two public entities were supported by SRSA, namely Boxing South Africa (BSA), with 21 staff members, and the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport, with 7 staff members.

Discussion
Mr Lee wanted to know how long it took the Department to fill vacancies, as this was part of its core mandate, asking why it was apparently difficult to fill the posts, and when they would all be filled.

Mr Moemi said the Department had a staff complement of 210 workers, and only 14 vacancies were not yet filled. He reiterated that SRSA had decided against proceeding with appointments because it was in the middle of restructuring its operations in line with the new strategy and Indaba resolutions. It had been agreed between SRSA and the unions that only after restructuring would the posts be filled, and possibly more vacancies created. He said that the difficulties in finding and appointing staff were not peculiar to SRSA, but were found in other government departments. The Cabinet had taken a decision compelling all prospective level 13 employees to be vetted by the Qualifications Authority and the National Intelligence Agency before assuming duty. The process was tedious and could take three to four months to complete. However, it was being done, in accordance with the Cabinet ruling, and to shield SRSA from undue risk. The vacancy issue had been raised with the Governance Cluster, and there was agreement on conditional employment, under which the contracts of employees who failed to pass the vetting system would be suspended and the money lost would be recovered.

Mr Lee asked what would happen to the 6% conditional grant that provinces had not used.

Mr Moemi said there had been a misunderstanding between the SRSA, National government and provinces on under spending by Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West provinces. SRSA was proposing that coordinators for the Mass Participation Programme should be employed on a long term basis, but National Treasury was opposed to that.

Mr Z Luyenge (ANC) said this presentation was an eye opener. He agreed that sport was increasingly able to contribute to the creation of jobs, but wanted to know how SRSA could ensure that this actually happened. There was no indication in the report of the actual number of vacancies. He asked if the Department was working together with provinces in creating jobs.

Mr Moemi said that the Department was working with provinces to drive job creation and the MinMEC had, in 2011, addressed the issue. The major challenge was that federations were often autonomous. SRSA had introduced a dual funding strategy that would see federations getting a guaranteed budget for their day to day operations, and a conditional special package was given to federations that met specifications and priorities of the Department. SRSA would no longer give political premiums to federation when they hosted major sporting tournaments or events, without due consideration. Care had been taken to ensure that smaller struggling federations were not overburdened. Due to the restructuring process, federations would receive their grant allocations late in May or June.

Mr Luyenge asked if SRSA had any method or mechanism for honouring and recognising sports legends. Many of them were now living in poverty.

Mr Moemi responded that on 13 February the Minster introduced the National Sports Volunteer Call, which was a programme aimed at engaging former sports legends who had won international accolades, and talented community members who may not have professional training but who had a passion for sport. He cited Caster Simenya’s coach as an example. The department also wanted to celebrate quality and not mediocrity. Even when they lost matches, South Africa’s teams should receive a heroes’ welcome when returning home. The individuals under the programmes would receive training in coaching and a stipend would be provided for them. The Department was considering introducing a national insurance scheme for sports people, as the employment fund had a limit of supporting an individual for only six months after retirement.

He also added that during the restructuring process, the SRSA was debating whether it was prudent to allow children below the age of 18 to be contracted by teams as this had, in most cases, interfered with their academic commitments. SRSA argued that there should be a condition that the employers fund for young players’ studies. This was a problem associated with sports that were predominantly black run.

Mr Luyenge commented that in this sports legends initiative, SRSA should be careful about excluding other groups. There were many talented people who, as a result of apartheid, had been disadvantaged and discriminated against.

Mr Luyenge wanted to know whether there was any progress on the money requested by the Minister of Sport and Recreation from the National Lottery. He also enquired how National Treasury could be persuaded to invest in sport.

Mr Moemi explained that the Minister had requested R200 million, but unfortunately the term of office of the Sports Chamber in the National Lottery had then expired and former members were not empowered to make such a decision. After further engagement with the Lottery, it had then been agreed that the terms of office of that Chamber would be extended by three months to allow them to settle outstanding issues. The Sports Trust would receive the funds on behalf of SRSA. In other countries their national lotteries sponsored sports fully but in South Africa sports received the smallest allocations, despite SRSA having lobbied for the establishment of the organisation.

Ms L Mjobo (ANC) wanted to know the exact number of men in the 210 staff complement.

Ms P Lebenye (IFP) sought to know how many volunteers ended up getting permanent employment with SRSA.

Mr Moemi said he did not have the specific figures with him. A number of interns had been employed on a permanent basis by SRSA or by other departments. SRSA was correcting some anomalies, such as the fact that interns with qualifications in marketing were being employed as personal assistants, which disadvantaged their career growth.

Mr Dikgacwi asked how BSA would be able to solve its problems with only 21 staff members and a budget of R2 million.

Mr Moemi responded that BSA was not a national federation but a licensing board, so it did not require a staff complement beyond its current size, and even this was too high. SRSA had engaged National Treasury on BSA’s financial woes and an additional R3, 5 million had been given to BSA. However the entity should be able to sustain its operations. SRSA was amending  the Boxing Act so that the entity could fully own broadcasting rights, and it was negotiating with SABC on broadcasting matches to promote the sport.

Mr Dikgacwi asked what the federations and provinces were doing to help create jobs. He thought the jobs created in 2010 were not sustainable, and thus wanted specifics on what other measures and technology SRSA was implementing to energise job creation.

Mr Dikgacwi asked for a copy of the investigation into match fixing scandals, particularly the cases involving Bafana Bafana.

Mr Moemi said that the Department did not have a copy of the investigations into mach fixing scandals, but would request it from the relevant party. It was considering amending the SRSA Act to give the Minister power of intervention where there was maladministration or misappropriation of funds, since this was not covered in the current Act. At present, matters arising were dealt with first internally by federations, and only if no solution was reached would the matter be referred to SASCOC, and only thereafter could the Minister finally intervene.

Mr W Rabotapi (DA) wanted to know what measures the Department had taken to help provinces that were not utilising their 6% conditional grant. He asked what, in particular, SRSA was doing in relation to facilities in the North West that were deteriorating, not being used, or not being replaced.

Mr Moemi answered that money that would not be used for Mass Participation programmes could be channelled towards other commitments. The Department was aware that some of the infrastructure was dilapidated and it was currently looking at the National Facilities Plan, which was expected to be completed by June. It was also conducting an audit of the facilities around the country to ascertain the capacity, categorisation and ownership. The Department would brief the Committee on progress in due course. This was one of the issues that dealt with development and transformation of sport.

Mr G Mackenzie (COPE) doubted the authenticity of statistics on jobs created, arguing that they were vastly inflated and did not give a true reflection of all people that were employed during the World Cup. He suggested that it would be prudent if the Department did its own surveys.

Mr Mackenzie suggested that SRSA should be incorporated into the Economic Cluster, and not the Social Cluster.

Mr Moemi said that SRSA was already participating in the Economic Cluster and plans were under way to move it from the Social Cluster. A working committee on economics of sports had been established to look at the matter.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) wanted to know the contribution of the non government organisations (NGOs) loveLife, Score and Sports Trust in creating jobs. She asked if there was any database where Members could access information on 2010 World Cup volunteers, so that Members could make use of them in their own provinces.

Mr Moemi answered that the Department had a database of all volunteers used during the World Cup and would supply the Committee with the information.  The volunteers would be utilised during the impending AFCON games in 2013. He added that the SRSA would make available a report on the contribution of NGOs to the creation of jobs. The Department was in the process of reviewing its relationship with the parties to merge their operations into the School Sports programme. It had engaged with loveLife to have sports legends implement most of its programme, and for it to provide training where necessary, which would allow the Department to cut on spending and channel funds towards other commitments. Adidas had agreed to fund Score so that it could continue with its projects.

Ms Tseke asked how far federations had gone in implementing the artificial turf programme.

Mr Moemi said that the programme had been implemented by provinces, although in a haphazard manner, without taking into account maintenance. Whilst that was a legacy of the 2010 World Cup, other sports could benefit, and there was a joint effort with rugby to implement the programme.

Mr Dikgacwi suggested that the Department use information on School Sports to help in galvanising the job creation strategy.

Mr Moemi answered that the Department was already encouraging that effort, and had met with companies involved in the projects and agreed on employing local labour. Each programme could create about 18 jobs.

Mr Mackenzie was happy that the Department had finally considered cutting funding to loveLife, who had previously received more than all other federations combined. He supported the idea of conditional funding, but said it would be difficult to regulate the employment of young players because FIFA allowed them to be contracted at the age of 16.

Mr Luyenge said that people had been “fooled into believing” that FIFA would leave South Africa better off financially, but the opposite had been true, as outsiders, and not Africans, had been those receiving the highest pay, especially technical staff for FIFA. For this reason, he suggested that it was wise to engage SAFA and monitor it before funding its projects, as its contribution was in question.

Mr Moemi said SRSA would continue to fund programmes on football development and other programmes, but would engage SAFA first to explain the matters raised by Members and to clear the issue of match fixing scandals.

National Sports Plan: Department of Sport and Recreation presentation
Mr Moemi reported that the Sport Indaba had adopted 77 resolutions and that report would be submitted to the Committee very shortly. SRSA was at the moment costing the National Sports Plan and had managed to complete three of the exercises, with the rest expected later in the year after the results of the audit into facilities were made available. The report on the audit would be sent to Cabinet before handing over to the Committee.

He noted that the SRSA’s Sports Plan was very attractive. The school sports project was one of the many that had been incorporated in the Plan. SRSA was also in the process of looking at a new programme aimed at recognising excellence and support systems, which would see athletes who excelled internationally being given scientific support and access to training infrastructure. The plan was guided by the three pillars of Recreation, the Participation Promotion Campaign and school sport. 

The aim was to give every individual a chance to grow his or her talent. Around 5% of the people competing in sport were regarded as particularly talented. The rest participated because of enthusiasm and hard work, but were certainly not championship material. The strategy would ensure that every individual participated, and would also allow the best performing individuals to be selected and given professional support through their entire careers.

It was a shame that a country like South Africa, which had a relatively high Gross Domestic Product (GDP), many resources invested in sports, and a large population was not performing well compared to countries like Kenya who had few resources and a small GDP, smaller population size and lesser resources. The problem in South Africa was that federations were supporting a limited number of chosen people. The Department sought to broaden the base so that a large pool of talent was harnessed. This inclusive programme would eventually lead to the realisation of the country’s objectives in sport. The rollout of the schools programme was underpinned by three pillars: namely,  physical education, the Top Schools leagues and Youth Olympics.

Chapter two of the Sports Plan dealt with physical fitness, which was meant to promote sport skills development, healthy living among all learners and to fight the challenges of obesity which were on the rise among South African learners. Independent schools and Model C schools were performing well in this regard.

The Department was currently drawing a government schools sports league. The Top School League Programme involved schools registering their teams to participate in the Leagues' five competition levels, leading to the National School Festivals. These competitions were at the levels of intra-School, Inter-school, District, Provincial and National. A good example of a Top School League was the Premier Soccer League (PSL) model.

The Youth Olympics focused on individual talented athletes at a particular level of the competition. The selected athletes would compete with other talented athletes from other areas. The athletes were identified by professional talent scouts, sports clubs and federations during the roll-out of the Top School League, to form different teams or squads representing the respective Area, District, Province or the National team. A good example here was the SAFA National Squad.

Intra-school leagues had been introduced, and started even at primary level. Although most of the children became competitive at the age of 13-15 years, swimming tournaments could be introduced at the age of 5. Most competitors would continue only until the age of about 25 in competitive sport. The Under-15 league (children between 9 and 13 years) would be sponsored by Milo. The number of schools taking part would be scaled up from 640 to 4800. The Coca-Cola League was for children aged between 13 and 15 years and the Department had reached an agreement that would see the Khaya Majola tournament scaled up from 16 to 40 schools, with additional entries from historically challenged schools.

The Department was looking for other sponsors to launch a league of pupils between 15 and 18 years. Though it was difficult to pair poorly performing schools with best performing ones, this would have to be done if the country was to achieve racial integration. The Craven Week would be scaled up from 27 schools to 50, with additional schools coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result, a new Top Schools League would be introduced and would involve the Khaya Majola Tournament and Craven Week.

A Sports Olympic was earmarked for November, for all the schools that won provincial tournaments. The Olympics would assist the Department in identifying talent and recognising talented individuals who had in the past failed to proceed with their sporting careers after their schools lost.

Discussions were under way with the Department of Education to separate life orientation from physical education,  with the former comprising many subjects including physical education. Such a programme would mean that the Department of Education must train teachers and source new talent to teach on the programme. SRSA was also looking at borrowing the SAFA National Youth Olympics Olympic squad, run by its subsidiary, to help in informing the Schools Sport Programme. Based on the South African Coaching Framework adopted in November 2011, SRSA would support federations to launch their coaching programmes nationally and provincially. 

The coaching programmes would target educators to enhance their capacity through accredited training on the different areas supporting school sport. A level 1 coaching programme would be introduced for teachers who had registered with and been accredited by federations.

The Department would launch the Inter-school League, with the opening match scheduled for the following week at Mamelodi High School. All the provinces had indicated their readiness, except KwaZulu Natal, which claimed that it would be ready by then. The tournament would be held at Municipal level, and through intra-school competitions, teachers would select the best athletes.

In May another tournament would be held at Local Level where schools in the area would take part in a competition through a fixture competing for a top log position. In June top schools in the log from the District would compete for top position in the Provincial log. In December, the winning schools in the province would represent a Cluster.

Mr Moemi noted that this programme would offer athletes participating in the school sport system with multiple retainer and exit opportunities to compete at higher levels. Those who failed to make higher levels could still also be identified and developed by the different clubs. Federations would begin implementing the programmes at an earlier stage. At District level, the Department would begin rolling out the development support programme and exposing exceptional athletes to professional training and internships. The schools of participants who won at the district level would also benefit from professional support, kits and relevant facilities.

In line with capacity building, SRSA had adopted the coaching framework in November last year, and the programme was under way, with teachers already registering for training. An internship programme would be introduced soon for all educators and trainers. In the past, the country had not gained much from programmes implemented but it was hoped that the new turn around strategy would guarantee a talented pool of athletes.

SRSA was, however, faced with a number of challenges. One critical aspect was to ensure that the playing field was levelled to afford all schools a chance to participate in the School Sport Programme. There was an absence of facilities in most rural schools and communities (including rugby fields and cricket ovals). Schools that had no land for development of sport facilities were being offered a chess programme, supported with the necessary material, including the best chess tutors. Another challenge was the shortage of most sporting equipment, such as sport kits. Some schools had problems accessing equipment, and after investigation it emerged that clubs did get equipment but some was of inferior quality, despite exorbitant prices charged. After a meeting with National Treasury it was agreed that the Department would request companies to submit quotations, and SRSA would then determine who met the specifications of reasonable price, quality, number of stitches and weight. A lot of money had been wasted by buying equipment that was inferior, leading to high replacement costs. There was a general inability to afford most sporting consumables (those items that have to be replenished over and over, such as balls). Other problems included the absence of skilled personnel such as umpires, technical officials, professional coaches, and scientific support practitioners in most rural areas. There was still an uneven spread of competition opportunities, as most private entities preferred to host competitions in the affluent and resourced schools. However, the new National Sport Plan was designed to address these difficulties, and as soon as National Lottery funding was made available, SRSA would consider partnering with other companies to drive the policy.

Mr Moemi also noted the inadequate support and participation by most parents in the sporting activities of their children. Children in independent schools tended to receive support from their parents, not only in the form of money but also by active involvement in sport. He asked Members to urge parents, particularly those in rural schools, to support their children’s’ participation. Community sport structures to support school sports also tended to be weak. In future, federations and provinces would be compelled to fund provincial clubs using the money from the conditional grant.

Mr Moemi then outlined the need to maintain integrity in school sport by putting firm anti-doping measures and education in place. The Institute for Drug Free Sport had to be supported by the Department after being taken to court by parents of some children who tested positive to doping. As a result the legislation governing the operations of the entity was being amended and parents would be required to sign a form giving permission for their children to participate in sports and be tested for doping, so as to give this entity more leverage in carrying out its mandate.

Regional Sports Hubs
Mr Moemi noted that the SRSA was developing 52 infrastructure hubs in the 52 districts demarcated by the Demarcating Board. This would allow municipalities to join resources together and build one vibrant infrastructure facility. The location of the facilities would be determined by ease of access -especially at a District capital where the transport network was good. The facilities would cater for outdoor sports, multi-disciplinary sports codes, education and training (with multipurpose arenas, district and regional sports academy). Universities would not continually receive money from the Department to run elite high performance training programmes but would do outreach programmes to communities to allow for other less talented individual to participate in development.

In rural areas these sports hubs would be furnished with a library, clinic and a youth centre while urban centre-located facilities would have restaurants, hotels and shops, among other necessities. Outdoor infrastructure hubs would have a mini stadium with a capacity of about 1 000 spectators, and tennis, rugby, athletics, hockey and football training facilities. In addition, facilities would be included for sports such as beach soccer, beach volleyball and a sand court (38 x30 square metres). The total development area for all facilities would be about 14 to 15 hectares of land, and the projected cost of urban facilities was R25 million and R18 million for rural facilities.

The FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust on Football artificial turfs would be used as a catalyst for the roll-out of regional sport hubs programmes. The Department would hold an inclusive, bigger and better sport awards event in October, and School Sports had been integrated into the programme. Negotiations were under way with SASCOC to change some of the structures, as well as reconstituting the voting system, which was not truly representative. A tender had been issued for a company that would administer the event. Mr Moemi appealed to members to each adopt a hub or sporting code to support the Department in implementing its programmes.

Discussion
Mr Luyenge applauded the presentation, saying it gave hope and contained convincing and real proposals that had made him want to adopt soccer as his sporting code.

The Chairperson agreed that the presentation provided insightful information on development and transformation, and addressed long-term goals of integration and change in society. He urged Members to adopt a hub or any sporting discipline. Members had been awakened by the call to be involved in change rather than complain without using their power to influence sport development. He proposed that the details of the presentation be discussed another day as there was not sufficient time at this meeting. He noted that this Committee would be calling on senior officials from SRSA to account to the Committee regularly, and it would be useful for senior members from the Department to accompany the Committee during its oversight visits.

The meeting was adjourned.

Adoption of Committee minutes
The minutes relating to the meeting discussing the Committee’s proposed programme for 2012 were tabled.

Mr T Lee (DA) proposed that the presentation on 6 March by Boxing South Africa (BSA) and the National Lottery must encompass all sports codes.

Mr M Dikgacwi (ANC) suggested that the National Lottery should bring a document spelling out how it traditionally distributed funds to federations.

The minutes were adopted.

Job Creation: Department of Sport and Recreation presentation
The Chairperson welcomed the Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA or the Department) and noted that the Minister, and accounting officers from the Department would be expected to appear before the Committee regularly, and relevant information must be made available. He noted that the core business of the Committee was guided by four major signposts of transformation, development, governance and leadership. Every presentation therefore should attempt to address these points. He noted that there should be a “healthy tension” between SRSA and the Committee.

Mr Alec Moemi, Director General, SRSA, tabled his presentations. He noted that the Department would not withhold any information from the Committee, as the relationship between the two was complementary. Although the primary purpose of this meeting was to evaluate progress in creating employment opportunities, it was appropriate that the Committee be informed of other developments in the sporting arena. Sport was increasingly becoming an important and growing generator of employment in a number of countries and in South Africa. However, a survey conducted by an independent company could not specify the exact figures of unemployment because this information could not be classified independently of other departments.

BMI, an independent sport research company, had indicated that the sporting sector in South Africa contributed to the creation of 60 800 full-time jobs, 9 500 part-time jobs and about 13 250 volunteer-posts, totalling 83 550 in all in 2011. When stadiums were constructed in 2010, this had created 100 000 construction jobs, 44 000 security jobs and 15 000 volunteers assisted FIFA and the Local Organising Committee. A draft functional structure was developed in 2010/11 but it needed to be reviewed in line with the new strategic initiatives documented in the SRSA Road-Map. The National Sport and Recreation Plan would be finalised shortly.

He noted that the SRSA was undergoing restructuring in line with the new strategic plan set by the Minster during the Indaba resolutions. The Department would not fill any vacancies until the restructuring phase ended in April. Currently,  the Department had a staff complement of 210, which included 93 women and 3 disabled persons. As part of the job creation initiatives, the Department was running an internship programme for about 18 people, and was hoping to increase this to 26 in the next three years.

The key contributor to job creation was the Mass Participation Programme (MPP). The programme aimed to promote mass participation within communities and schools through selected sport and recreation activities, empowerment of communities and schools in conjunction with stakeholders, and development of communities through sport. Hub coordinators would be appointed to manage and coordinate the activities within the hub, to ensure that the activities were adequately promoted, to oversee the work of the activity coordinators, and to monitor their performance and report. A stipend of R1 800 would be paid to hub coordinators and a R1 200 stipend would be given to activity coordinators (volunteers) responsible for the promotion of specific assigned activities.

Mr Moemi noted that provinces were allowed to utilise 6% of their allocated funds from the conditional grant to employ officials to assist in the management of the grant and the implementation of the mass participation programme at a grass roots level. Currently, only six of the provinces were utilising this 6% allocation, whilst Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West were not. The North West province was embroiled in a litigation case and the Department was awaiting the outcome of the trial.

The MPP assisted about 5 281 coordinators in the last financial year, as compared to 60 in 2004. Of these, 66% were females, 39.95% were males and 0.5% were people with disabilities. The Department was supporting Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) service providers through the purchasing of gym equipment, sport attire, catering, consultants, IT equipment and other issues. As part of its sustainable development drive, the Department would consider an overhaul of the supply chain management process so as to ensure greater opportunities for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

The Department would also conduct further research on the impact of sport and recreation activities on economic development, rural development, tourism, the green economy and job creation.

He noted that two public entities were supported by SRSA, namely Boxing South Africa (BSA), with 21 staff members, and the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport, with 7 staff members.

Discussion
Mr Lee wanted to know how long it took the Department to fill vacancies, as this was part of its core mandate, asking why it was apparently difficult to fill the posts, and when they would all be filled.

Mr Moemi said the Department had a staff complement of 210 workers, and only 14 vacancies were not yet filled. He reiterated that SRSA had decided against proceeding with appointments because it was in the middle of restructuring its operations in line with the new strategy and Indaba resolutions. It had been agreed between SRSA and the unions that only after restructuring would the posts be filled, and possibly more vacancies created. He said that the difficulties in finding and appointing staff were not peculiar to SRSA, but were found in other government departments. The Cabinet had taken a decision compelling all prospective level 13 employees to be vetted by the Qualifications Authority and the National Intelligence Agency before assuming duty. The process was tedious and could take three to four months to complete. However, it was being done, in accordance with the Cabinet ruling, and to shield SRSA from undue risk. The vacancy issue had been raised with the Governance Cluster, and there was agreement on conditional employment, under which the contracts of employees who failed to pass the vetting system would be suspended and the money lost would be recovered.

Mr Lee asked what would happen to the 6% conditional grant that provinces had not used.

Mr Moemi said there had been a misunderstanding between the SRSA, National government and provinces on under spending by Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West provinces. SRSA was proposing that coordinators for the Mass Participation Programme should be employed on a long term basis, but National Treasury was opposed to that.

Mr Z Luyenge (ANC) said this presentation was an eye opener. He agreed that sport was increasingly able to contribute to the creation of jobs, but wanted to know how SRSA could ensure that this actually happened. There was no indication in the report of the actual number of vacancies. He asked if the Department was working together with provinces in creating jobs.

Mr Moemi said that the Department was working with provinces to drive job creation and the MinMEC had, in 2011, addressed the issue. The major challenge was that federations were often autonomous. SRSA had introduced a dual funding strategy that would see federations getting a guaranteed budget for their day to day operations, and a conditional special package was given to federations that met specifications and priorities of the Department. SRSA would no longer give political premiums to federation when they hosted major sporting tournaments or events, without due consideration. Care had been taken to ensure that smaller struggling federations were not overburdened. Due to the restructuring process, federations would receive their grant allocations late in May or June.

Mr Luyenge asked if SRSA had any method or mechanism for honouring and recognising sports legends. Many of them were now living in poverty.

Mr Moemi responded that on 13 February the Minster introduced the National Sports Volunteer Call, which was a programme aimed at engaging former sports legends who had won international accolades, and talented community members who may not have professional training but who had a passion for sport. He cited Caster Simenya’s coach as an example. The department also wanted to celebrate quality and not mediocrity. Even when they lost matches, South Africa’s teams should receive a heroes’ welcome when returning home. The individuals under the programmes would receive training in coaching and a stipend would be provided for them. The Department was considering introducing a national insurance scheme for sports people, as the employment fund had a limit of supporting an individual for only six months after retirement.

He also added that during the restructuring process, the SRSA was debating whether it was prudent to allow children below the age of 18 to be contracted by teams as this had, in most cases, interfered with their academic commitments. SRSA argued that there should be a condition that the employers fund for young players’ studies. This was a problem associated with sports that were predominantly black run.

Mr Luyenge commented that in this sports legends initiative, SRSA should be careful about excluding other groups. There were many talented people who, as a result of apartheid, had been disadvantaged and discriminated against.

Mr Luyenge wanted to know whether there was any progress on the money requested by the Minister of Sport and Recreation from the National Lottery. He also enquired how National Treasury could be persuaded to invest in sport.

Mr Moemi explained that the Minister had requested R200 million, but unfortunately the term of office of the Sports Chamber in the National Lottery had then expired and former members were not empowered to make such a decision. After further engagement with the Lottery, it had then been agreed that the terms of office of that Chamber would be extended by three months to allow them to settle outstanding issues. The Sports Trust would receive the funds on behalf of SRSA. In other countries their national lotteries sponsored sports fully but in South Africa sports received the smallest allocations, despite SRSA having lobbied for the establishment of the organisation.

Ms L Mjobo (ANC) wanted to know the exact number of men in the 210 staff complement.

Ms P Lebenye (IFP) sought to know how many volunteers ended up getting permanent employment with SRSA.

Mr Moemi said he did not have the specific figures with him. A number of interns had been employed on a permanent basis by SRSA or by other departments. SRSA was correcting some anomalies, such as the fact that interns with qualifications in marketing were being employed as personal assistants, which disadvantaged their career growth.

Mr Dikgacwi asked how BSA would be able to solve its problems with only 21 staff members and a budget of R2 million.

Mr Moemi responded that BSA was not a national federation but a licensing board, so it did not require a staff complement beyond its current size, and even this was too high. SRSA had engaged National Treasury on BSA’s financial woes and an additional R3, 5 million had been given to BSA. However the entity should be able to sustain its operations. SRSA was amending  the Boxing Act so that the entity could fully own broadcasting rights, and it was negotiating with SABC on broadcasting matches to promote the sport.

Mr Dikgacwi asked what the federations and provinces were doing to help create jobs. He thought the jobs created in 2010 were not sustainable, and thus wanted specifics on what other measures and technology SRSA was implementing to energise job creation.

Mr Dikgacwi asked for a copy of the investigation into match fixing scandals, particularly the cases involving Bafana Bafana.

Mr Moemi said that the Department did not have a copy of the investigations into mach fixing scandals, but would request it from the relevant party. It was considering amending the SRSA Act to give the Minister power of intervention where there was maladministration or misappropriation of funds, since this was not covered in the current Act. At present, matters arising were dealt with first internally by federations, and only if no solution was reached would the matter be referred to SASCOC, and only thereafter could the Minister finally intervene.

Mr W Rabotapi (DA) wanted to know what measures the Department had taken to help provinces that were not utilising their 6% conditional grant. He asked what, in particular, SRSA was doing in relation to facilities in the North West that were deteriorating, not being used, or not being replaced.

Mr Moemi answered that money that would not be used for Mass Participation programmes could be channelled towards other commitments. The Department was aware that some of the infrastructure was dilapidated and it was currently looking at the National Facilities Plan, which was expected to be completed by June. It was also conducting an audit of the facilities around the country to ascertain the capacity, categorisation and ownership. The Department would brief the Committee on progress in due course. This was one of the issues that dealt with development and transformation of sport.

Mr G Mackenzie (COPE) doubted the authenticity of statistics on jobs created, arguing that they were vastly inflated and did not give a true reflection of all people that were employed during the World Cup. He suggested that it would be prudent if the Department did its own surveys.

Mr Mackenzie suggested that SRSA should be incorporated into the Economic Cluster, and not the Social Cluster.

Mr Moemi said that SRSA was already participating in the Economic Cluster and plans were under way to move it from the Social Cluster. A working committee on economics of sports had been established to look at the matter.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) wanted to know the contribution of the non government organisations (NGOs) loveLife, Score and Sports Trust in creating jobs. She asked if there was any database where Members could access information on 2010 World Cup volunteers, so that Members could make use of them in their own provinces.

Mr Moemi answered that the Department had a database of all volunteers used during the World Cup and would supply the Committee with the information.  The volunteers would be utilised during the impending AFCON games in 2013. He added that the SRSA would make available a report on the contribution of NGOs to the creation of jobs. The Department was in the process of reviewing its relationship with the parties to merge their operations into the School Sports programme. It had engaged with loveLife to have sports legends implement most of its programme, and for it to provide training where necessary, which would allow the Department to cut on spending and channel funds towards other commitments. Adidas had agreed to fund Score so that it could continue with its projects.

Ms Tseke asked how far federations had gone in implementing the artificial turf programme.

Mr Moemi said that the programme had been implemented by provinces, although in a haphazard manner, without taking into account maintenance. Whilst that was a legacy of the 2010 World Cup, other sports could benefit, and there was a joint effort with rugby to implement the programme.

Mr Dikgacwi suggested that the Department use information on School Sports to help in galvanising the job creation strategy.

Mr Moemi answered that the Department was already encouraging that effort, and had met with companies involved in the projects and agreed on employing local labour. Each programme could create about 18 jobs.

Mr Mackenzie was happy that the Department had finally considered cutting funding to loveLife, who had previously received more than all other federations combined. He supported the idea of conditional funding, but said it would be difficult to regulate the employment of young players because FIFA allowed them to be contracted at the age of 16.

Mr Luyenge said that people had been “fooled into believing” that FIFA would leave South Africa better off financially, but the opposite had been true, as outsiders, and not Africans, had been those receiving the highest pay, especially technical staff for FIFA. For this reason, he suggested that it was wise to engage SAFA and monitor it before funding its projects, as its contribution was in question.

Mr Moemi said SRSA would continue to fund programmes on football development and other programmes, but would engage SAFA first to explain the matters raised by Members and to clear the issue of match fixing scandals.

National Sports Plan: Department of Sport and Recreation presentation
Mr Moemi reported that the Sport Indaba had adopted 77 resolutions and that report would be submitted to the Committee very shortly. SRSA was at the moment costing the National Sports Plan and had managed to complete three of the exercises, with the rest expected later in the year after the results of the audit into facilities were made available. The report on the audit would be sent to Cabinet before handing over to the Committee.

He noted that the SRSA’s Sports Plan was very attractive. The school sports project was one of the many that had been incorporated in the Plan. SRSA was also in the process of looking at a new programme aimed at recognising excellence and support systems, which would see athletes who excelled internationally being given scientific support and access to training infrastructure. The plan was guided by the three pillars of Recreation, the Participation Promotion Campaign and school sport. 

The aim was to give every individual a chance to grow his or her talent. Around 5% of the people competing in sport were regarded as particularly talented. The rest participated because of enthusiasm and hard work, but were certainly not championship material. The strategy would ensure that every individual participated, and would also allow the best performing individuals to be selected and given professional support through their entire careers.

It was a shame that a country like South Africa, which had a relatively high Gross Domestic Product (GDP), many resources invested in sports, and a large population was not performing well compared to countries like Kenya who had few resources and a small GDP, smaller population size and lesser resources. The problem in South Africa was that federations were supporting a limited number of chosen people. The Department sought to broaden the base so that a large pool of talent was harnessed. This inclusive programme would eventually lead to the realisation of the country’s objectives in sport. The rollout of the schools programme was underpinned by three pillars: namely,  physical education, the Top Schools leagues and Youth Olympics.

Chapter two of the Sports Plan dealt with physical fitness, which was meant to promote sport skills development, healthy living among all learners and to fight the challenges of obesity which were on the rise among South African learners. Independent schools and Model C schools were performing well in this regard.

The Department was currently drawing a government schools sports league. The Top School League Programme involved schools registering their teams to participate in the Leagues' five competition levels, leading to the National School Festivals. These competitions were at the levels of intra-School, Inter-school, District, Provincial and National. A good example of a Top School League was the Premier Soccer League (PSL) model.

The Youth Olympics focused on individual talented athletes at a particular level of the competition. The selected athletes would compete with other talented athletes from other areas. The athletes were identified by professional talent scouts, sports clubs and federations during the roll-out of the Top School League, to form different teams or squads representing the respective Area, District, Province or the National team. A good example here was the SAFA National Squad.

Intra-school leagues had been introduced, and started even at primary level. Although most of the children became competitive at the age of 13-15 years, swimming tournaments could be introduced at the age of 5. Most competitors would continue only until the age of about 25 in competitive sport. The Under-15 league (children between 9 and 13 years) would be sponsored by Milo. The number of schools taking part would be scaled up from 640 to 4800. The Coca-Cola League was for children aged between 13 and 15 years and the Department had reached an agreement that would see the Khaya Majola tournament scaled up from 16 to 40 schools, with additional entries from historically challenged schools.

The Department was looking for other sponsors to launch a league of pupils between 15 and 18 years. Though it was difficult to pair poorly performing schools with best performing ones, this would have to be done if the country was to achieve racial integration. The Craven Week would be scaled up from 27 schools to 50, with additional schools coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result, a new Top Schools League would be introduced and would involve the Khaya Majola Tournament and Craven Week.

A Sports Olympic was earmarked for November, for all the schools that won provincial tournaments. The Olympics would assist the Department in identifying talent and recognising talented individuals who had in the past failed to proceed with their sporting careers after their schools lost.

Discussions were under way with the Department of Education to separate life orientation from physical education,  with the former comprising many subjects including physical education. Such a programme would mean that the Department of Education must train teachers and source new talent to teach on the programme. SRSA was also looking at borrowing the SAFA National Youth Olympics Olympic squad, run by its subsidiary, to help in informing the Schools Sport Programme. Based on the South African Coaching Framework adopted in November 2011, SRSA would support federations to launch their coaching programmes nationally and provincially. 

The coaching programmes would target educators to enhance their capacity through accredited training on the different areas supporting school sport. A level 1 coaching programme would be introduced for teachers who had registered with and been accredited by federations.

The Department would launch the Inter-school League, with the opening match scheduled for the following week at Mamelodi High School. All the provinces had indicated their readiness, except KwaZulu Natal, which claimed that it would be ready by then. The tournament would be held at Municipal level, and through intra-school competitions, teachers would select the best athletes.

In May another tournament would be held at Local Level where schools in the area would take part in a competition through a fixture competing for a top log position. In June top schools in the log from the District would compete for top position in the Provincial log. In December, the winning schools in the province would represent a Cluster.

Mr Moemi noted that this programme would offer athletes participating in the school sport system with multiple retainer and exit opportunities to compete at higher levels. Those who failed to make higher levels could still also be identified and developed by the different clubs. Federations would begin implementing the programmes at an earlier stage. At District level, the Department would begin rolling out the development support programme and exposing exceptional athletes to professional training and internships. The schools of participants who won at the district level would also benefit from professional support, kits and relevant facilities.

In line with capacity building, SRSA had adopted the coaching framework in November last year, and the programme was under way, with teachers already registering for training. An internship programme would be introduced soon for all educators and trainers. In the past, the country had not gained much from programmes implemented but it was hoped that the new turn around strategy would guarantee a talented pool of athletes.

SRSA was, however, faced with a number of challenges. One critical aspect was to ensure that the playing field was levelled to afford all schools a chance to participate in the School Sport Programme. There was an absence of facilities in most rural schools and communities (including rugby fields and cricket ovals). Schools that had no land for development of sport facilities were being offered a chess programme, supported with the necessary material, including the best chess tutors. Another challenge was the shortage of most sporting equipment, such as sport kits. Some schools had problems accessing equipment, and after investigation it emerged that clubs did get equipment but some was of inferior quality, despite exorbitant prices charged. After a meeting with National Treasury it was agreed that the Department would request companies to submit quotations, and SRSA would then determine who met the specifications of reasonable price, quality, number of stitches and weight. A lot of money had been wasted by buying equipment that was inferior, leading to high replacement costs. There was a general inability to afford most sporting consumables (those items that have to be replenished over and over, such as balls). Other problems included the absence of skilled personnel such as umpires, technical officials, professional coaches, and scientific support practitioners in most rural areas. There was still an uneven spread of competition opportunities, as most private entities preferred to host competitions in the affluent and resourced schools. However, the new National Sport Plan was designed to address these difficulties, and as soon as National Lottery funding was made available, SRSA would consider partnering with other companies to drive the policy.

Mr Moemi also noted the inadequate support and participation by most parents in the sporting activities of their children. Children in independent schools tended to receive support from their parents, not only in the form of money but also by active involvement in sport. He asked Members to urge parents, particularly those in rural schools, to support their children’s’ participation. Community sport structures to support school sports also tended to be weak. In future, federations and provinces would be compelled to fund provincial clubs using the money from the conditional grant.

Mr Moemi then outlined the need to maintain integrity in school sport by putting firm anti-doping measures and education in place. The Institute for Drug Free Sport had to be supported by the Department after being taken to court by parents of some children who tested positive to doping. As a result the legislation governing the operations of the entity was being amended and parents would be required to sign a form giving permission for their children to participate in sports and be tested for doping, so as to give this entity more leverage in carrying out its mandate.

Regional Sports Hubs
Mr Moemi noted that the SRSA was developing 52 infrastructure hubs in the 52 districts demarcated by the Demarcating Board. This would allow municipalities to join resources together and build one vibrant infrastructure facility. The location of the facilities would be determined by ease of access -especially at a District capital where the transport network was good. The facilities would cater for outdoor sports, multi-disciplinary sports codes, education and training (with multipurpose arenas, district and regional sports academy). Universities would not continually receive money from the Department to run elite high performance training programmes but would do outreach programmes to communities to allow for other less talented individual to participate in development.

In rural areas these sports hubs would be furnished with a library, clinic and a youth centre while urban centre-located facilities would have restaurants, hotels and shops, among other necessities. Outdoor infrastructure hubs would have a mini stadium with a capacity of about 1 000 spectators, and tennis, rugby, athletics, hockey and football training facilities. In addition, facilities would be included for sports such as beach soccer, beach volleyball and a sand court (38 x30 square metres). The total development area for all facilities would be about 14 to 15 hectares of land, and the projected cost of urban facilities was R25 million and R18 million for rural facilities.

The FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust on Football artificial turfs would be used as a catalyst for the roll-out of regional sport hubs programmes. The Department would hold an inclusive, bigger and better sport awards event in October, and School Sports had been integrated into the programme. Negotiations were under way with SASCOC to change some of the structures, as well as reconstituting the voting system, which was not truly representative. A tender had been issued for a company that would administer the event. Mr Moemi appealed to members to each adopt a hub or sporting code to support the Department in implementing its programmes.

Discussion
Mr Luyenge applauded the presentation, saying it gave hope and contained convincing and real proposals that had made him want to adopt soccer as his sporting code.

The Chairperson agreed that the presentation provided insightful information on development and transformation, and addressed long-term goals of integration and change in society. He urged Members to adopt a hub or any sporting discipline. Members had been awakened by the call to be involved in change rather than complain without using their power to influence sport development. He proposed that the details of the presentation be discussed another day as there was not sufficient time at this meeting. He noted that this Committee would be calling on senior officials from SRSA to account to the Committee regularly, and it would be useful for senior members from the Department to accompany the Committee during its oversight visits.

The meeting was adjourned.