Report: study tour to Northern Cape, dated 30 October 2001:
INDEX
Item Paragraph
Introduction A
Delegation B
Areas visited C
Welcoming by MEC D
Observations E
Meetings with sports bodies
and communities F
Observations G
Overall comments H
Recommendations I
A. Introduction
A delegation representing the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation visited the Northern Cape province from 9 to 12 June 2000. The purpose of the visit was to assess the progress made by the provincial department with regard to development and transformation of sport in South Africa. The delegation wanted to understand the problems and challenges experienced by the province. The Committee also wanted to assess the link and congruence between the programme of the provincial department of sport to the national vision on sport and recreation.
The delegation representing the Committee focused on the following:
1. Availability of sports facilities to all communities, which include the following:
(a) Provision of sports facilities to communities that were previously disadvantaged.
(b) Accessibility of sports facilities to all and in all areas.
(c) Sensitivity to disabled people when building sports facilities.
(d) The level of standard of facilities within different communities.
(e) The ownership of sport facilities by communities.
(f) The maintenance of facilities by both the community and the municipalities.
2. Accessibility of all sports to all communities, including the following:
(a) The integration of all to sports, irrespective of race and gender.
(b) The representativity of previously disadvantaged people in the provincial and regional teams of different sports codes.
(c) The back-up support that is given to financial disadvantaged sports people who are selected for participation in national and international tournaments.
(d) The promotion of the disabled people's participation on sport and recreation activities.
(e) The recognition of deserving sports people as role models and the use of such people as human resources by communities.
(f) The utilisation of sports people by the community and various structures in the programme of nation building.
3. Sport Development Programmes, which are run in the province.
4. The availability, accessibility and impact of the sports academies.
5. The relationship between the provincial department, the Standing Committee on Sport and the local government structures.
6. The relationship between the government departments, the sports bodies and other role players in sport such as the business sector.
7. The role of the community on sports issues.
8. Challenges that are encountered by the Sports and Recreation Department.
B. Delegation
The delegation was:
Ms R Bhengu (leader)
Mr J Louw
Mr C Frolick
Mr E T Ferreira
Mr L Myoli (Committee Secretary)
C. Areas visited
The delegation visited the following areas:
* Greenpoint School
* Old De Beers Ground
* Greenpoint Primary School
* Old Griqualand Rugby Union Field
* Pescodia
* Venus High School (Pescodia)
* Galashewe
* Ministry Offices
* Olifantshoek
* Paballelo Stadium in Upington
* Department of Sport in Upington
* Matjieskloof in Springbok
* District Council in Springbok
* Calvinia
D. Welcoming by MEC
On arrival in the Northern Cape, the delegation was welcomed at and collected from the Airport by the late MEC for Sport and Culture, Mr Brian Hermanus, accompanied by Mr A Babuseng and Mr Le Grange, officials of the department.
The delegation was taken to the Northern Cape Legislative Building in Kimberley and was officially welcomed by the chairperson of the standing committee on sports and culture, Mr P Tulase. The MEC briefed the delegation on the activities of his department. The delegation had an opportunity to view a video cassette of an awards ceremony honouring previously unrecognised sports people.
In his remarks the MEC said that they were a province at work. Indeed this was something that was seen in the course of the study tour, as key areas of the transformation programme were covered in this province. The MEC touched on a programme adopted by the provincial cabinet under the slogan "Cabinet meets the people", where the Cabinet goes out to and meets with people in different districts, churches, businesses and councils. He mentioned that one of the issues raised by groupings, in sports was sports facilities. He appealed to the delegation to take up the issue of a contribution from the lottery towards sport. He also spoke of a programme in the Northern Cape intended to highlight and raise the awareness of the community about the consequences of crime to young people under the slogan "a child in sport is a child out of jail".
Reference was made to negotiations with municipalities to ensure that they live up to their constitutional obligations regarding the provision and maintenance of facilities.
In his concluding remarks the MEC made a poignant call for special measures to address imbalances and distortions in sport.
The chairperson and leader of the delegation thanked the MEC for a detailed report and made the observation that the MEC and his department were well organised and prepared for the visit. She went on to state what the purpose of the visit was, and said that the Committee was trying to familiarise itself with what was happening in the province, what influences the provision of facilities, how the facilities are utilised by communities, how accessible the facilities are for communities of the different racial groups and problems experienced by communities with regard to sport and recreation.
The MEC, the standing committee and officials of the department were all well prepared for the visit. They gave all the information needed by the delegation. They had a detailed programme, which covered all regions in the province. All relevant structures in sport were part of the programme presented to the delegation. The MEC and members of the standing committee were part of the study tour to some of the areas visited by the delegation. Officials in the Department of Sport and Culture were part of the entire visit and were always pleasant and willing to work.
E. Observations
1. Greenpoint School
This was a newly built school, which was going to be officially opened in July 2000. It was built from funds donated by Iscor and the Sport and Education Trust. The school has 27 classes. The delegation was joined here by Mr G Miller and Mr S Jonas, who both represented the Community Development Forum, which had participated in the building and setting up of the school.
2. Old De Beers Ground
This facility was built in 1995 at a cost of R350 000. It is used for basketball and volleyball. Schools and federations were said to have free use of the facility. The facility had neatly cut natural grass. It is well looked after by both the community and the municipality.
3. Greenpoint Primary School
The delegation met and had informal interaction with Mr F Swaerbroek, Mr M Arthur, Mr M Gidley and Mr B Kidson, all from the Griqualand West Cricket Board.
The delegation had the opportunity to witness a cricket coaching clinic for the under 13s and 15s. Mr Z Abrahim, their coach, was putting the young boys through their paces. The majority of the boys were blacks from previously disadvantaged communities, which indicated to the delegation that there was an effort to afford the previously disadvantaged communities the opportunity to participate in sporting codes previously dominated by white people during the apartheid era.
4. Old Griqualand Rugby Union Field
The delegation made a brief stop-over to see a facility situated close to West End Township. The community also uses this facility for community activities. This facility is in the care of the Deputy Chairperson of the Sport Council.
5. Pescodia
The delegation visited a basic facility, situated just a few meters from Venus High School. The facility was built by the provincial department of sport, arts and culture from funds provided by the national Department of Sport and Recreation. This facility was in a good state. It had a dilapidated cricket pitch, for which the municipality was responsible.
6. Venus High School
There are three sports facilities in Venus High School, built with money from the Premier's Fund at a cost of R600 000. These facilities are used for soccer, cricket and hockey. The netball court was said to be on the other side of the school building.
7. Galashewe
The delegation visited the Yorkshire Cricket Club. The facility was built as a result of co-operation between the United Cricket Board, the Municipality, the Premier and MTN. This facility has pitches and nets.
De Beers was said to be responsible for providing sponsorships for club competition.
At the time of the visit the facility was in use. Young boys of between 12 and 17 were practicing cricket. From what was seen and with continued sustenance of the development programme, there is no doubt that South Africa will produce cricket stars of high calibre from previously disadvantaged communities.
The facility was in excellent condition and no cases of vandalism were reported, this being attributed to community involvement. Three townships have access to the facility.
The facility is also going to be upgraded, with help from Daimler Chrysler and Vodacom.
8. Olifantshoek
The delegation visited a sports facility in Olifantshoek, where an annual soccer tournament organised by the department to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, was held. The MEC for Sport was also there to welcome the delegation and officiate the tournament. An accompanying theme or message for the tournament was that of "a child in sport is a child out of jail". The leader of the delegation briefly addressed spectators and athletes.
An unfortunate part of these tournaments was the fact that the ground on which the clubs were playing did not have grass, and the reason cited was that water was not just scarce but very expensive to bring into the area. The leader of the delegation undertook to raise the issue with both the Department of Sport and Recreation as well as the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
9. Paballelo Stadium
The delegation visited the Paballelo Township to view the facility there and to establish which recreational activities were taking place there. The facility catered for soccer, netball and basketball. The facility was in an impeccable condition, being looked after by the municipality, which had provided floodlights. The facility was complete with a stand, well secured with new fencing and had neatly cut natural green grass for the pitch.
10. Matjieskloof
The delegation visited Matjieskloof Township a few kilometers away from Springbok to see three soccer and netball fields that had been built in 1996. The delegation was told that a lot of excavation work had to be done before these sports fields could be built, as the area is uneven. The building of each sport field had cost about R350 000. Not one of the three had any grass and there were no plans for this in the near future, as water was said to be very expensive in the area.
F. Meetings with sports bodies and communities
The delegation held a number of meetings in various towns, townships and villages. These meetings were aimed at:
Identifying sports development programmes taking place in the province.
Interacting with the communities in order to understand the experiences of different communities with regard to sport.
Assessing the level of community involvement in sport matters.
Giving the community an opportunity to give feedback about how the programmes of the Department of Sport and Recreation impact on them, as well as recommendations relating to sport and recreation.
1. Meeting in Ministry's Office
The delegation met with the officials responsible for extra-curricular services and the Griqualand West Sports Council. This meeting was held in the offices of the Ministry of Education, in 1 Albertyn Road, Newpark. Griqualand USSASA and community development forums also attended this meeting.
The leaders of the delegation provided a framework for discussion by explaining to the meeting the purpose of the visit and the focus areas of the meeting. In the discussions that followed, there were two outstanding issues:
The Sports Commission - the absence of communication between the provincial structure of the NSC and the Sports Commission.
School Sports - who is responsible for school sport the Department of Education or the Department of Sport and Recreation?
The leader of the delegation gave information to the meeting regarding sports related legislation that was in the pipeline. This legislation were explained within the context of problems that were raised by the meeting, and included the issue of a lack of sponsorship for clubs which are not at the level of the Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Ajax Cape Town. Among the issues raised, was the issue of funding based on the population of the province. People from the Northern Cape felt that funding should not be based on population, but on conditions prevailing in each province. In the case of the Northern Cape, the issue of poverty, scarcity of water and high rate of unemployment were viewed by the meeting as the most appropriate yardstick and base for funding instead of the population figures.
A clarion call was made by the leader of the delegation for all the structures to go back and look into the whole question of their interaction and contribution to the development of sport in their province.
2. Meeting at Department of Sport in Upington
The delegation had a session with representatives from the following structures: North West region of USSASA, NSC, rugby, adult netball and the Recreation officer from the municipality. A broad framework for discussion was tabled by the leader of the delegation, who said they were in the province to see, amongst other things the facilities in the province, the conditions of those facilities, the level of usage of these facilities, the accessibility of the facilities to all members of the community regardless of race, the accessibility of sport to all, what development programmes there were, and whether teams in the province reflected the demographics of the country or province.
The USSASA representatives talked about the mass participation programme and the healthy relations they had with the Department of Education, alluding to the assistance given to by the principals. USSASA also pointed out that pupils were still not able to compete in some competitions due to financial constrains.
The municipality was accused of not consulting with the community, particularly on the issue of reallocating the funding to another community without consultation with the community which was initially awarded the same funding for building a sports facility.
It was also pointed out that there are very few teachers involved in sport, and as a result the talent identification programme misses some of the children with sporting talents.
The most acute problem highlighted and experienced by the adult netball was the absence of sponsorships. The development of rugby at club level was continuing although there were distortions, as facilities were not readily accessible to pupils from previously disadvantaged communities because of transport problems.
Local council representatives alluded to the co-operation they continue to receive from the Sports Council. However, in the same vein mention was made about the absence of a Facilities Committee in the council itself, making it difficult for the relevant officer to operationalise his vision relating to the provision of facilities.
After identifying a lack of communication and sound interaction between the structures in the area, the delegation called on the representatives to put their house in order.
Ms A Botha, a member of the provincial legislature, undertook to raise all issues highlighted in the meeting with the provincial standing committee on sport and also with the MEC.
3. Meeting in District Council Building
The meeting took place at the district council building, where the delegation met with the following structures and sporting codes: SAFA District, netball, rugby, USSASA, tennis and cricket. Each of these structures was given an opportunity to share with delegates what each of them was doing in their respective fields. The problems highlighted by these structures centered on the issue of:
(a) Lack of funding from national federations.
(b) Absence of sponsorships and, as a result sport being funded from pockets of individuals involved in sport.
(c) Long distances between towns, which had the potential of killing sport in that region.
(d) Inadequate facilities, for example, with cricket there was only one field and no transport.
It was made clear by the leader of the delegation that the main focus is competent athletes, therefore the development programme becomes the central nerve of all sports activities. She pointed out that sports facilities should not be viewed as the end product of the delivery process, as they are only means through which athletes will be developed.
A plea was made for co-operation between federations and the three spheres of government particularly the local sphere of government.
The leader of the delegation pointed out that facilities provided by government structures should be informed by the programmes and needs of the sports bodies in the area. She emphasised that the business of sports bodies together with the government of this country was to produce competent players who would make South Africa excel in sports within the global village.
4. Meeting in Calvinia indoor sports hall
The meeting took place in an indoor sport facility at Calvinia stadium, the only facility that is publicly owned, as most of the facilities are privately owned. The meeting was graced by the presence of the speaker of the Northern Cape provincial legislature Mr C A T Smith and the Mayor of Calvinia, Mr C V Peterson. The following discipliness were also present, namely rugby, soccer, volleyball as well as the USSASA body.
The meeting was held at night and the delegation experienced the freezing temperature the area is well known for.
The leader of the delegation apologised to representatives of the different structures for arriving late at night. She also thanked the representatives for the patience shown by waiting in the freezing temperature for the delegation to arrive. She then explained the purpose of the visit, and said there was a national vision for sports where the government of the country wanted to transform sports and make it possible for people of South Africa to participate in sport activities of their own choice. She also mentioned that the ultimate goal is for South Africa to compete at international level as an equal partner. Four focus areas to make that possible, include:
(a) Providing communities with adequate sports facilities and maintaining those facilities.
(b) Breeding competent sports managers, administrators, coaches and athletes through development programmes and establishment of sports academies and sports development centres.
(c) Making sport facilities accessible to all, including disabled and rural communities.
(d) Ensuring that sports teams particularly the national team, represent the demographics of the country.
It was pointed out that what the delegation wanted to hear, was being done in the Northern Cape in relation to the four areas of focus mentioned above.
All sports codes represented in the meeting highlighted the following problems:
* The high poverty levels, which impacts negatively on sport in general.
* The fact that farming was the main source of income in the area.
* Lack of financial resources needed to send children who are doing well in sport and are selected to compete at national level.
* Long distances between towns were also highlighted as one of the hindering factors to participation of children from Calvinia in competitions.
* The issue of affiliation of the local teams to provincial structures. It was mentioned that some sports federations in Calvinia were not sure whether they should affiliate to the Western Cape structures, as they play most of their games with the Western Cape teams (Boland). This was due to the fact that they were closer to the Western Cape than to other towns in the Northern Cape.
* The fact that it was very expensive for local teams to affiliate to the sports federation.
* The fact that the facility in which the meeting was held, was not accessible to disabled people.
* The over-utilisation of the only public sports facility in the area.
* A call was made by the local people to the provincial Department of Education and Sport to make financial resources available for the development of sports facilities in the area thereby enabling school children to participate in sport at school level.
G. Observations
The delegation identified that Calvinia was trailing behind in so far as sports facilities were concerned. It was identified that because of the distance between Calvinia and Kimberley, where the department is located, Calvinia was not getting equal support to that of other towns from the Department of Education and Sport.
It would therefore be recommended that the Department of Education and Sport pay attention to the issues raised by this community and also find ways of keeping contact with sports bodies in Calvinia.
H. Overall comments
The late MEC for sport, Mr Brian Hermanus, was seen to be on top of the sports issues, with a clear programme of keeping the youth out of jails. The Premier of the province was also seen to be very supportive of sports development. The officials of the department were highly committed and prepared to work extra hours to ensure that programmes of sport were efficiently and effectively managed. The MEC was seen to be at the level of the people in terms of interaction and communication with structures on the ground. It was unfortunate that he passed away before the presentation of this report. This was the first province in which members of the standing committee on sport were part of the meetings that were held with the delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation. It was also clear in the meetings that the Standing Committee members had a full understanding of sports-related matters in the province.
The successor of the late MEC would find it easy to follow such a clear programme in sport.
I. Recommendations
The Committee -
1. noting that some sports facilities have no grass and that water in the Northern Cape is not just scarce but expensive to reticulate (recommended that special funding for the installation of synthetic grass at those facilities which have no grass be made available by the national Department of Sport and Recreation to the Northern Cape, thereby bringing the level of standard of facilities in the Northern Cape to the level of facilities that are found in other provinces);
2. noting that some of the facilities are neglected by the municipalities responsible for maintaining such facilities;
3. noting that some municipalities lack the capacity of providing and maintaining the sports facilities;
4. noting that members of the community, which such facilities are provided to improve their living standards, vandalise these facilities, and
recommends that -
(a) the provincial department of sport engages municipalities for purposes of identifying problems affecting municipalities in this regard;
(b) the provincial department of sport builds the capacity of municipalities around sports issues;
(c) sports forums be established at local level so as to facilitate community ownership to facilities, thereby preventing vandalism from taking place.
It is recommended that exchange programmes between the provinces be initiated so as learn from one another, the Northern Province being one province from whom a lot could be learnt.