Sports Minister sets a transformation ultimatum

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has given all sporting bodies in the country little choice whether or not to comply with the latest transformation needs.

On Monday 25 March in his acceptance speech in Johannesburg during the release of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Sport Transformation pilot study to evaluate preliminary transformation status and the practicality of transformation charter implementation, Mbalula made it clear: “You either join, support and comply, or face the consequences.

“For the first time in the history of the evolution of sport in our country, we have a pilot performance evaluation system with a summary of the dashboard enabling us to gauge transformation status and indicators.

“We, Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA), will support you as we have been doing, however if you choose to neglect or undermine transformation we will withdraw our support. This is not a threat but a stern warning to any recalcitrant individuals and sport bodies.

“Any federation or sport body will be benchmarked according to transformation priorities and failure to comply will result in the withdrawal or withholding of this component of the grant. In future it will pay to be a transformed federation.

“Federations that do not invest in development structures will not receive funding from SRSA until they play ball and put their houses in order.

“The National Sport and Recreation Act enjoins the Minister to issue guidelines and requirements for the recognition and registration of federations and sport bodies. From now on going forward we are invoking these guidelines to deregister and not recognise untransformed and wayward sport bodies.

“As indicated in the past, hosting and bidding for major events no longer will be allowed without a clear demonstration from the federation that such hosting and bidding will advance South Africa’s developmental agenda.

“No team(s) or individuals participating in major events here at home and abroad will receive Government support if such individuals and teams are not responsive to the transformation needs of their sector.

“The national anthem, the national colours and national symbols no longer can be used to honour and decorate events of racist, sexist and divisive sport bodies. Symbols of nation building, of non-racial sport, of unity in sport and social cohesion must be reclaimed as sources of inspiration and triumph of the human spirit over evil.

“We are also on record having stated that it is not a threat, but a clear intention to withdraw the national colours, the national symbols and deregister federations that are not implementing the score card and thereby subverting transformation.”

Mbalula, however, admitted that the challenges facing sporting codes in the country will not be resolved by a numbers game called the quotas system, and that it is unsustainable and counter-productive.

“However, the National Sport and Recreation Indaba have agreed to continue to implement the quota system in the interim but to put systems in place to phase out the quota system in the long run.”

He added that, “The key to creating an active and winning nation is the urgent need to build a solid sport infrastructure; to build and revamp existing facilities; to rejuvenate our coaching and training framework; to inculcate a strong club and league system; and to promote a strong culture of Olympism.

“We are cognisant of the fact that the lack of grassroots structures at schools and club levels is our Achilles’ heel. Until we get the basics right, the dream of an inclusive and integrated sports system will be deferred forever.”

The EPG has identified the following sporting codes for pilot evaluation:

• Athletics

• Cricket

• Football

• Netball

• Rugby

Where to from here for South Africa?

Mbalula continued, “The constraints placed by the lack of facilities in our communities pose a real threat and are inhibiting our dream of universal access to sport facilities. As the report points out, without facilities children cannot play, and without play there will be no teams and no clubs.

“To this end, we accept the recommendation of the urgent need to accelerate the finalisation of the sport facility status survey and strategy to deal with this major strategic constraint.

“The current responsibility for SRSA on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is to monitor and support the development of a number of additional sport and recreation facilities servicing poor communities.

“Following the mandate given to SRSA at the sports Indaba and also at our joint conference with the local municipalities to look into the possibility of transferring and ring-fencing the 15 per cent allocation to municipalities, SRSA engaged with National Treasury, and submitted the first and second application towards the transfer of the ring-fenced grant from MIG to the budget of SRSA. The process was put on hold by national treasury and will be reviewed in the 2015/16 financial allocation.

“The allocation would enable SRSA to build an adequate facility infrastructure for the poorest of the poor municipalities and plan better for affluent municipalities that already have decent facilities and are not utilising the funds as mandated.

“SRSA completed the classification framework, norms and standards revised [sic], sustainability plan and facilities framework. These documents will assist in finalising the facilities audit that the department currently is working on. The Department of Science and Technology has been consulted to assist in the methodology of the audit.

“As we receive the report, we invite Legislatures, Local, Provincial and National spheres of government to interact frankly with the report and join hands in the implementation of the recommendations.

“To our federations and sports bodies we are calling upon you to embrace the challenges posed by untransformed codes and clubs. We implore you to demonstrate leadership as everything will stand and fall on leadership.”