REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SPORT AND RECREATION ON THE 2010/11
BUDGET VOTE 19 AND STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2010-2014 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPORT AND
RECREATION, DATED 16 APRIL 2010
1. Background
and Overview
The
Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation having
considered the directive of the National Assembly (NA) to consider and report
on the 2010/11 Budget of the Department of Sport and Recreation tabled by the
Minister for Sport and Recreation in terms of the requirements of the Public
Finance Management, Act 32 of 2000 reports as follows:
2. Introduction
2.1 In compliance with the NA referral, the Portfolio
Committee held budget vote hearings on the 9 March 2010 with the Department of
Sport and Recreation to consider the referred budget and strategic plan. The statutory bodies and other entities that formed
part of the budget hearings included the following:
o
South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), represented by the Chief
Financial Officer, Mr Khalid Galant
o
Sports Trust, represented by the Sports Development Officer, Ms Anita
Mathews
o
South African Rugby
o
South African Sport Confederation
and Olympic Committee, represented by the President-Mr Gideon Sam
o
Cricket
2.2 Also in attendance:
Hon Gert Oosthuizen,
Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Vernie
Petersen, Director General of Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA); Mr M Matlala; Chief Financial Officer of SRSA; Ms Lulu Sizani, Chief Director of Corporate Services; Ms Noma Kotelo, Director for Siyadla Programme (SRSA) Ms Kelly Mkhonto,
Chief Director for Mass Participation Programme; Dr V van der Spuy, Chief Director for Strategic and Executive Support of
SRSA, Mr Lichakane Phori,
Committee Secretary; Ms S Bawa, Committee Assistant;
Mr Mphumza Mdekazi,
Researcher for the Committee; Ms Zukiswa Jara, Executive Secretary to the Chairperson.
3.
Overview by the Hon Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation
3.1 Hon Deputy Minister of
Sport and Recreation, Mr Gert Oosthuizen
attended the meeting on behalf of the Minister of Sport and Recreation, Hon Dr
Rev M Stofile who could not attend due to other
commitments of the Executive. Hon G Oosthuizen
tendered the Minister’s apology to the Committee and explained that the
Department of Sport and Recreation had formulated a Strategic Plan for
2010-2014 which underpins the strategic objectives of the department. He
highlighted the three major focus areas of mass participation, sport
development and high performance.
3.2 He further explained
that the budget for the year under review had been informed by the strategic
objectives set out in the Strategic Plan to be presented to the Portfolio
Committee by the Director General, Mr Vernie
Petersen. The Deputy Minister alluded that the department was about to complete
the final draft of the White Paper on Sport and Recreation in
3.3 The Deputy Minister
informed the Committee that all stadiums for the 2010 FIFA South Africa World
Cup had been completed in line with deadlines set by FIFA. He indicated that
the 2010 Government Unit regularly submitted progress reports to the
Ministerial Committee on 2010 FIFA World Cup of which the Minster of Sport and
Recreation was a member. He emphasised that the 2010 Government Unit was
accountable to the Presidency and therefore provided regular progress reports
on the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
3.4 The Deputy Minister
pointed out that the economy of the country had also been affected by the
global economic downturn which had resulted in most departmental budgets being
dramatically reduced by the fiscus. Accordingly, the
Department of Sport and Recreation also received a cut in its budget for the
year under review. He thanked the Committee for the opportunity given to the
department to present its Strategic Plans for 2010-2014 and Budget for
2010/2011.
4. Presentation on the Strategic Plan
2010-2014 of the Department of Sport and Recreation
4.1 The Director General of the Department of Sport and
Recreation, Mr Vernie Petersen led the presentation
of the Department’s Strategic Plan for 2010-2014 to the Portfolio Committee. The
presentation focused on the three key strategic programmes of the Department namely, Mass Participation,
Sports Development and High Performance.
5. Key Strategic Focus Areas: 2010-2014
5.1
Mass Participation Programme
5.1.1 Mr
Petersen stated that Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) should continue to pursue
initiatives that increase the number of participants in Sport and Recreation.
The Department has to broaden its focus to the area of recreation and
strengthen its relationship with the Department of basic Education in the
delivery of the school sports programme. He further indicated that the
department intends to increase the mass participation base through effective
sports promotion programmes and intensive media campaigns.
5.2 Sports Development
5.2.1 Mr Petersen indicated that the Department
intends to focus on facilitating the transition from mass based programmes to
high performance through coordinating and monitoring the important areas of talent
identification and development as well as the delivery of scientific support to
national development athletes. The development programmes would be supported by
an effective national athlete tracking system. Furthermore the Department intends
to roll out a national sport facilities plan. The sport facilities plan would
enable the department to monitor the use of facilities and ensure proper
maintenance thereof.
5.3 High Performance
5.3.1 Mr Petersen informed the
Committee that the Department intends to improve working relations with its key
strategic partner in nourishing talent in high performance sport in our
country. Therefore Sascoc becomes the relevant
strategic partner of the department since its mandate is to deliver in the
focus area of high performance. The department intends to improve our country’s
international ranking through adequate scientific support to our athletes.
5.3.2 He stated that the Department
realised that the above strategic focus areas needed to be supported by strong
regulatory framework, adequate financial resources, reliable sports information
and functional sports academies. The Department will continue to work closely
with departments such as Basic Education, Tourism and Health in order to further
the spirit of corporative governance. In addition, the Department intends to
intensify its coordination efforts on the 2010 government guarantees to ensure
the hosting of successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. The department further intends
to finalise the White Paper on sport and recreation that will set the tone for the
blueprint for sports in our country. The key focus of this policy document
would be transformation of sport and promotion of excellence in sport.
6. Budget
Allocations and Variances in Expenditure: 2010/2011
The Committee was informed that the 2010/11 Sport and Recreation
Budget is essentially divided into six programmes namely:
Administration, Sport Support Services, Mass participation,
International Liaison and Events, Facilitites
Coordination and 2010 FIFA World Cup Unit.
6.1 Programme
1: Administration
6.1.1 The programme has been allocated R 87.8 million, which
represents an average nominal increase of 3.91 per cent when compared to the
2009/10 financial year. Expenditure has increased from R 44.4 million in
2006/07 to R84.5 million in 2009/10, at an average annual rate of 24 per cent,
mainly due to the merger of the former South African Sports Commission with
Sport and Recreation South Africa in 2007/08.
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal |
Real |
Nominal % change |
Real % change |
||||||||||
|
R million |
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2009/10 - 2010/11 |
2009/10 - 2010/11 |
|||||||||
|
Administration |
84.5 |
87.8 |
97.6 |
100.2 |
3.3 |
- 2.2 |
3.91 per cent |
-2.62 per cent |
|||||||
|
Sport Support Services |
124.2 |
102.1 |
130.3 |
135.2 |
- 22.1 |
- 28.5 |
-17.79 per cent |
-22.96 per cent |
|||||||
|
Mass Participation |
460.0 |
467.0 |
499.0 |
523.0 |
7.0 |
- 22.3 |
1.52 per cent |
-4.85 per cent |
|||||||
|
International Liaison and
Events |
9.2 |
23.3 |
25.3 |
26.8 |
14.1 |
12.6 |
153.26 per cent |
137.36 per cent |
|||||||
|
Facilities Coordination |
6.4 |
6.6 |
8.3 |
8.6 |
0.2 |
- 0.2 |
3.12 per cent |
-3.35 per cent |
|||||||
|
2010 FIFA World Cup Unit |
2 199.5 |
558.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
TOTAL |
684.3 |
1 245.5 |
760.5 |
793.8 |
561.2 |
483.0 |
82.01 per cent |
70.58 per cent |
|
||||||
6.2 Programme 2: Support Services
Programme
6.2.1 Sport
Support Services programme has been allocated 102.1 million, which represent an
average nominal increase of -17.79 per cent when compared to the 2009/10
financial year. The reason is because this programme increased substantially
from R 81.3 million in 2006/07 to R 124.2 million in 2009/10, at an average
annual rate of 15.1 per cent. The 42.7 per cent growth in spending in 2009/10
was due to the rollover of R 15 million from 2008/09 for the training of
volunteers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Scientific Support sub-programme
allocation is projected to grow at a much slower average annual rate of 24.3
per cent over the medium term, due to increased expenditure on consultants to
train more athletes through the Sport Science Institute in preparation for the
2012 Olympics and for research on medical and scientific interventions.
6.3 Programme 3: Mass Participation
Programme
6.3.1 Mass
participation programme grew at an average annual rate of 45.1 per cent from
2006/07 to 2009/10, mainly due to the expansion of the mass participation grant
and additions to the conditional grant for school sport projects in 2006/07 and
2010 legacy projects in 2007/08. This, together with additions for mass
mobilisation and the legacy project, increased the budget for the Community
Mass Participation sub-programme by an average annual rate of 50.5 per cent
between 2006/07 and 2009/10.
6.3.2 Expenditure in the sub-programme is expected
to grow at the slower average annual rate of 5.4 per cent over the medium term,
due to the completion of the 2010 mass mobilization programme. School Sport
sub-programme budget decrease at an average annual rate of 9.9 per cent over
the MTEF period. This is because the costs of accommodation and transport for
learners in national competitions, previously carried by the national
department, will in future be shared by provincial departments. This shift is
evident in the decline in projected expenditure on venues and facilities from R
25.5 million in 2009/10 to R 4 million in 2010/11 and on transport provided
from R 7 million in 2009/10 to R 4.5 million in 2010/11. The Portfolio
Committee will be
6.4
Programme 4: International liaison and events
6.4.1
This programme is aimed at facilitating and negotiating government to government
agreements and the ensuing programmes of cooperation. Spending in this
programme is projected to grow to R 26.8 million at an average annual rate of
42.8 per cent. This is due to the addition of promoting sport tourism to
sub-programme’s international sport commitments. This entails organising
hospitality centres during major events such as the Olympics, Paralympics and All Africa Games as well as the promotional
activities at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
6.5: Programme 5: 2010 FIFA World Cup
6.5.1 The Department reported that
during the 2008/09 financial year,
value added tax ticket refunds to FIFA amounted to R 15 million for the 2009
FIFA Confederations Cup and are estimated at R 40 million for the 2010 FIFA World
Cup.
7. Public Hearing on the
Budget Vote
7.1 Cricket
7.2 South African Rugby
7.3 Sports Trust: During the hearing, the Sports Trust was
represented by Ms Anita Mathews. She
highlighted different projects that have been undertaken by the Trust. She
indicated that the Trust was satisfied with the allocations made towards it by
the department. However Sports Trust urged the Department to re-direct some of
the funds from the Mass Participation Programme into their coffers since the
Trust had a better track record of providing basic facilities and sports
equipment in disadvantaged communities.
7.4 South African Sport and Olympic
Committee: The allocations made towards support for high performance sport were
grossly insufficient compared with other countries competing in the international
Olympics for team preparation. SASCOC also raised concern over the delays in
the transfer of allocations during the current financial year. The Confederation expressed its
concern over the fact that the Department was transferring funds only after the
sports events had already taken place. The Confederation further informed the
Committee that sports kits and equipment in most provinces were being bought
and stored without being given to sports people to utilise them.
7.5 South African Institute for Drug
Free Sport: The Institute for Drug Free Sport was represented at the hearings
by its Chief Financial Officer, Mr Khalid Galant. He indicated that the Institute was satisfied with
the allocations made towards the Institute by the department. The budget allocated
to the Institute had increased tremendously by about 70% in comparison to the
previous financial year. However there’s still a shortfall as the need for more
research and drug testing had increased substantially.
8. Committee Concerns and
Challenges
8.1 The Committee raised serious
concern over the fact that the strategic plan of the department was not
underpinned by the measurable business plans.
8.2 The Committee expressed concern
that the department had no monitoring mechanism to ensure that federations and
other sports bodies were implementing the resolutions of the “Sports Indaba”.
8.3 The Committee further expressed
the serious concern over the lack of consultation and cooperation between the
Departments of Basic Education and Sport and Recreation in the implementation
of a better school sports programme.
8.4 The Committee was concerned that
the 2010 Government Unit was not accountable to Parliament and its reporting
lines were not clearly set out.
8.5 The Committee further expressed its
concerns around the lack of readiness of some of the base camps identified as
training facilities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Committee warned that any sloppy
preparations in regard to base camps could have tremendous reputational
damage to our country. Therefore the R27 million allocated by the National
Treasury for improvement of standards at the base camps must be used for the
desired purpose.
8.6 The Committee expressed its
concern over the dispute between the Free State Rugby Union and City of
8.7 The Committee further expressed
concern over the allocations given to the LoveLife
programme. The R27 million allocations to LoveLife were unjustified since no tangible evidence
existed to support the view that such allocations were beneficial towards sport
development and the fight against AIDS and HIV amongst our youth.
8.8 The Department continued to be
faced with the challenge of a disjuncture between its mandate and what it
actually does on the ground in the delivery of sports and recreation services
to the country.
8.9 The Department also suffered the
problem of low staff morale which affected the organisational culture and
affected its capacity to deliver on its mandate.
8.10 The Committee again raised the
issue of royalties which had become an insurmountable problem as it continued
to be a matter emphasised by the Auditor General. The Committee expressed
serious concern regarding the lack of corrective measures on matters raised by
the office of the Auditor General.
9. Committee’s Deliberations
and Recommendations
Having deliberated on the 2010/11 Budget Vote 19, the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation
recommends as follows:
9.1
The Department of Sport and Recreation should assist municipalities in
the Province to improve critical skills shortages and the filling of vacant
positions through sports tourism and programmes aimed at producing sports
facilities managers.
9.2
The quality of data compilation with regard to service delivery in the
arena of sport development in the Provinces should be improved by the Department
of Sport and Recreation.
9.3
The Department of Sport and Recreation should provide a comprehensive
report on the allocations made through LoveLife
funding for the sports clubs and organisations dedicated to development of
sport at grassroots and rural areas.
9.4
The Department
should continue to engage with the Department of Basic Education in an
endeavour to revive and improve the standard of sport in public schools. The
Committee expressed serious concern over the amount of R29 Million allocated
for school sport during the year under review relative to the total number of
schools in disadvantaged and rural communities.
9.5 The Director General for Sport
and Recreation should table quarterly progress reports to Parliament in respect
of the departmental performance in the various Provinces which were
beneficiaries of the DORA Grant.
9.6 The Committee expressed its
displeasure at the larger fiscal allocations to richer provinces such as
9.7 The Committee recommended
that the Department needed to find mechanism to resolve the issue of
uncollected royalties owed to the department by other entities. The department
needed to find common ground with the national treasury and the office of the Auditor
General on how to resolve this matter in order to prevent another audit query
during the next financial year.
9.8 The Department should consider increasing
the allocations made for the support of high performance sport to assist our
team of athletes to perform better in the international arena.
9.9 The R9 million allocated to SASCOC for team
preparation for the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics was inadequate and needed
to be transferred without any delays.
9.10 The Department should integrate the
resolutions of the “Sports Indaba” into their strategic objectives and closely
monitor the implementation thereof by the sports bodies and federations.
9.11 The Department needed to address the high
staff turnover and low staff morale within its ranks and reward good performance.
The lack of permanent appointments at higher level within the Department was a major
challenge which called for urgent corrective measures.
9.12 The
Committee strongly recommended that a levy of one rand
should be collected from every ticket sold during sport events and levies saved
towards sport development programmes to emulate countries such as
9.13 The 2010 Government Unit within the
Department should address the issue of readiness of base camps for the visiting
teams since lack of suitable training facilities could harm our reputation as
host country for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, the Department was
required to submit a comprehensive report on the readiness of base camps for
participating teams of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Committee had observed the dramatic
decline in the budget allocations for the special project of the 2010 FIFA
World Cup since most of the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums had been completed in
line with the deadlines set out by FIFA.
10. Conclusion
Having considered the budget vote and strategic plan of the Department
of Sport and Recreation, the Portfolio Committee recommends that the House
endorse the 2010/11 Budget Vote of the
Department of Sport and Recreation.
Report to be considered