Department Budget: briefing

Meeting report

SPORTS AND RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
11 March 2003
DEPARTMENT BUDGET: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Ms N Bhengu (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Presentation on Sports Budget

SUMMARY
The Department of Sport and Recreation presented the main themes and aims of the Minister's budget speech for 2003. The Committee raised concerns with access to facilities and other issues concerning maintenance of facilities.

MINUTES
Briefing by Department
Mr Fredericks apologised for the absence of Mr Hendricks and Mr Pango.

Mr Fredericks outlined the main themes of the Minister's budget speech: the ICC World Cup, the role of sport in relieving poverty, hosting and bidding strategy, building for sport and recreation, moral regeneration, social crime prevention, equity for women in sports and the Ministerial Task Team. He then introduced Ms Cloete to explain the details of the budget.

Budget
Ms Cloete said that there is an increase in the baseline allocation for the next financial year and that the 'Building for Sport and Recreation' (BSR) programme constituted the largest share of the budget.

Mr Fredericks said that the decrease in the budget 2004/5 was a result of BSR falling away. This would impact greatly on the Department of Sport and Recreation budget as a whole because funds had been deviated from poverty alleviation monies for the projects of BSR. Ms Cloete said that transfer payments amount to 83% of the budget and include sporting federations, the Institute for Drug Free Sports, the Sports Commission and BSR.

She explained that each programme (detailed in their previous presentation) was further sub-divided into sub-programmes and each of these then has its own statistics and figures.

Mr Fredericks said that Programme 2 figures for 2003/4 were deceiving as additional funds from the Department of Trade and Industry were allocated for the Cricket Legacy project. This is evident in the increase in the baseline allocation. The increase was a step forward in terms of reprioritisation.

Mr Fredericks also referred to the increase in the administration budget due to the extension of the Siyadlala television series from 26 to 52 episodes.

Research on 30 federations is being conducted to keep accurate statistics on the institutions and individuals that yield the most successful results.

Discussion
Ms N Lamani (ANC) commended the team on the Siyadlala series. She expressed concern about facilities and asked what is being done to resolve problems.

Mr Fredericks agreed that the issue of facilities had been a concern since 1994. Recent studies revealed a backlog amounting to R5 million. The focus of projects was to create jobs and the Department was fortunate to receive money from poverty relief funds and the Head of Department. They are not themselves responsible for the building of facilities.

He described the Municipal Building Grant as an integrated plan for particular localities regarding infrastructure development. He pointed out that proper planning would avoid duplication of facilities. The aim now is to lobby properly because sports facilities are necessary for people and recreation in general.

Mr E Lucas (IFP) asked whether there was any control on monies passed to local authorities as this was part of delivery and must be monitored. He raised a question about drugs in sport.

Mr Fredericks explained that there was no control over local authorities and what they did with the allocated funds. The establishment of a committee to perform this function is being considered, but the Department of Provincial and Local Government was responsible for that.

Mr Fredericks noted that South Africa was the first country to legislate for statutory structures on drugs. However, the policing of drugs does not constitute a major part of the budget, but the development and preparation of athletes took priority in the budget.

Mr R Pieterse (ANC) raised the issue of a school safety campaign and its impact on sports in general. He said that children do not have access to facilities and this appeared to be the norm in schools and sports.

Mr Fredericks said that he was in constant contact with the Department of Education. The recently appointed Chief Directorate would formulate new protocols for physical education and extramural activity in schools. He outlined the Young Champions Programme which, in association with the South African Police, would identify problem areas in which to tackle the prevalence of crime and other social problems. Local authorities are expected to sustain the campaign once kickstarted by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Clubs which are established would have to be sustained while administrators are trained to continue rendering services. Mr Fredericks said that each month would focus on a different theme in keeping with awareness and safety in the communities.

Mr H Chauke (ANC) referred to the Building Sport and Recreation Programme (BSR) and asked how many facilities were built and whether there are measures in place to coordinate the efforts.

The Chair said that information regarding budgets presented should include how much has been delivered in terms of allocation and the recent output for targets to evaluate the impact of the budget and money spent. All this should be included as well as those factors hindering implementation.

Mr Fredericks responded by pointing out that 87 facilities had been built in nine provinces during the current financial year. Eighty four Community Sports Councils were established. The rollover amounted to R5 million.

Mr Chauke asked how the rollover funds were utilised.

Mr Fredericks said that a transfer payment had been made so that the Cricket Legacy project could be initiated in conjunction with South Africa Breweries, Standard Bank and other members of the private sector.

The Chair said that facilities were not an end product but merely a tool. She asked how particular areas were identified for the building of facilities and how social problems were addressed with the building of the facilities.

Mr Fredericks said that guidelines were primarily along the lines of poverty relief and the upliftment of people in their respective communities. Local authorities identified areas through integrated development plans. These are then approved by the MEC and then forwarded to the Minister for approval. The indicator then is the number of jobs created with the building of the facility.

Mr Chauke asked whether the quality of peoples' lives is improved in terms of the allocation received and the aims of the Department.

Mr Fredericks replied that there is tangible evidence of people's lives having improved. He expressed pleasure at the budget increase because more money leads to more work, which would then reach more people.

The Chair said that indicators presented did not relate to the concept of "getting the nation to play". Poverty is measured in terms of the prevalence of social problems in a community. Success in eradicating poverty would be measured by the decrease of social problems resulting from the presence of a facility in that particular community. Lives must be changed.

Ms Lamani raised the question of children being denied access to facilities.

Mr Louw asked how monitoring measures would be implemented and expressed concern that jobs are temporary instead of permanent.

Mr Lucas suggested that a meeting between interlinking Departments should be convened. He said that positive input would lead to a resolution and that end-results should be monitored.

Mr Ntuli said that there were difficulties in rural areas because people are desperate for facilities. A committee to guide the building of facilities should be agreed upon for the sake of transparency.

Mr Fredericks said that the fundamental issue is making a difference. He referred to Schedule 5 where provinces decide for provinces and decisions are taken irrespective of what they are advised of. The Department itself wants to see outcomes and is convinced that differences have been made. The Department of Sport and Recreation was relatively smaller than other Departments and they do as much as possible with the limited funds.

Mr Pieterse reiterated Ms Lamani's point regarding access to facilities. Municipal Infrastructure Grants would not see sport as a top priority on a national scale. Little was done in terms of "recreation".

Mr Fredericks agreed that people should have basic facilities where they live. Although communities should be encouraged to play a part in claiming back the facilities, fencing off of facilities was a safety precaution for the community as a whole.

Responding to Mr Pieterse, he said that mass participation was encouraged so that all ages could play. It is the responsibility of the Sports Commission and local government to provide the space and facilities to "recreate". He noted the difficulty in interacting with corporate and local government. As far pamphlets were concerned, he said that Tourism South Africa had advised the separate marketing of each event instead of one effort incorporating all events.

The Chair observed the inability of the National Department to ensure co-operation between local and provincial structures and the Department itself. The Committee is then expected to assist without being made aware of the problem.

Mr Fredericks said that there was no problem regarding provinces, but that the problem lay with local authorities.

The Chair raised the issue of former colleges with unused facilities and suggested an integrated approach with the Departments of Education and Public Works to discuss the effective usage of existing facilities.

Mr Fredericks agreed that the Defence Force and Transnet had such facilities but their budgets did not allow for the maintenance of these facilities. But they would follow up with them.

The Chair suggested that an audit be done to assess how many colleges with facilities had been closed. Thereafter, discussions should be convened to facilitate maximum usage of the facilities. NGO's could also be brought on board with programmes of training and deployment. She asked how the Department intends to evaluate the lack of capacity at local government level. She pointed out that funding would only increase once projects to be funded have been identified.

A Member said that the discussion should be expanded to encompass all factors, especially that of supervision. Scholars are seen to be vandalising facilities and he understood the necessity for fencing and the fees levied for the use of facilities.

Having concluded the discussion on the presentation, the Committee finalised other issues.
The Chairperson explained that the Public Policy Analysis Workshop would be moved to another date. The Department would be expected to answer questions at the workshop. The Sports Commission and the Institute for Drug Free Sport would be invited to attend a meeting the following week.

The meeting was adjourned.