Statement by MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Barbara Creecy

16 July 2008

On Friday the Home of champions will once again welcome Manchester United Football Club to our Shores for the Vodacom Challenge tournament. The European and Premier League Champions will take on Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs in matches in Durban and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro with the finals scheduled for Loftus on Saturday 26 July.

This year we have allocated R12 million to hosting prestigious events in the "Home of Champions". These include the finals of the third Vodacom Challenge between Manchester United, Chiefs and Pirates in July. The Eight Nations under-seventeen International Club Tournament, which will include big name teams from Europe and the continent, will take place in January 2009.  This year's Annual African Netball Club Tournament includes teams from Malawi , Swaziland , Lesotho , Botswana and Jamaica . The Annual Vaal Canoe Marathon in November is one of the three grand prix accredited canoe events in the country. This year 22 teams will participate in the Supersport Under-nineteen Tournament, including players from PSL teams and academies as well as teams from Angola and Zambia .

Fulfilling our Five Year Mandate 2004 - 2009

Before 2005, our Department fulfilled only a social function, with a focus on sport, recreation, arts and culture as a mechanism for promoting social stability, creating and fostering identity and deepening democracy. The adoption of the Competitive Sports Strategy and the Creative Industries Strategy in 2005 extended this focus to include broad-based black economic development, SMME promotion, increased participation of marginalised groups and the facilitation of economic and job creation opportunities within the sector.

To support the positioning of Gauteng as an economically active and sustainable city region, the Department has developed a range of sector strategies in line with the province's Growth and Development Strategy. These include:

• The Competitive Sport Strategy.
• The Creative Industries Strategic Framework.
• The Craft Strategic Framework.
• The 2010 Integrated Implementation Plan.

These strategies are underpinned by programmes that support the province's overall response to the challenges of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment as well as creating opportunities for growth. These initiatives include:

• Branding and promoting Gauteng as the preferred destination for competitive sport and positioning the province as the top driver of the South African creative economy.
  
• Supporting the growth of a knowledge-based economy, including the promotion of sectors such as creative industries and competitive sport.
  
• Making strategic economic infrastructure investments to support the growth of creative industries and the competitive sport sector.
  
• Mobilising major international initiatives such as the staging of the Lion King and Soccerex, which, together with the 2010 World Cup, provide the impetus to grow the sport, arts, and culture and recreation sectors.
  
• In all programmes we remain committed to mainstreaming target groups including people with disabilities, women and youth.

Hosting Fifa's 2010 World Cup

In 2007 we conducted an extensive independent audit of the province's state of readiness to deliver on the 2010 bid book commitments. Following the positive outlook provided by the audit, we are confident that we will stage the 2010 FIFA World Cup successfully. The Gauteng Provincial Government will ensure that we honour the commitments we have made to satisfy all FIFA's requirements and meet the high expectations of people throughout the continent and the world. The substantial improvements in sporting infrastructure, transport systems, telecommunications and public facilities will benefit the people of Gauteng long after the World Cup is over, leaving a lasting legacy for our province and enhancing the credibility of our bids for future events.

The 2010 Programme Unit based in the Department is responsible for the overall facilitation and coordination of all our provincial commitments towards 2010. This Unit works in close collaboration with the Local Organising Committee and Host City technical teams within the province.

The Department will ensure that the stadia infrastructure development across the province benefits our clubs and communities long after 2010 is over. Currently, seven PSL teams are based in Gauteng . Four years ago the Department began an initiative to ensure that Gauteng supporters are guaranteed at least fourteen league games on the PSL calendar.  The increase in the number of stadiums after 2010 has ensured sufficient availability of stadiums for the PSL teams as well as lower division teams who need home grounds. This year the department will focus on finalising construction of our 2010 Legacy Stadia namely Sinaba and HM Pitje Stadia.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to develop football, and other sports, so that South Africa can unearth and nurture sports talent to compete at the highest level. Sport clubs are an important part of developing organised sport. The department has a special focus on developing sports clubs in disadvantaged communities. In conjunction with sport federations, we are providing training in club administration, refereeing and coaching skills.

The Department will ensure that SAFA structures are strengthened with regard to management, good governance and improved delivery of the sport. All six SAFA Gauteng structures have been assisted to develop business plans that will be supported by the Department. SAFA Gauteng will be established with an independent office by the end of the calendar year. Four coaching programmes are to be staged for 100 coaches and 40 refereeing courses will be implemented.

The Creative Industries

Creative industries have emerged as a major economic force in the last ten years throughout the world. Further growth is set for the Gauteng 's creative talents. The Creative Industries Strategy ensures that Gauteng 's creative industries generate economic growth, job creation and export earnings whilst promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development. Following a ground-breaking mapping study of the creative industries in Gauteng recently, the Department is now equipped to take advantage of the large concentrations of creative industries in the province to further enhance job and wealth creation.

A study conducted by the University of Witwatersrand together with Creative Industries experts from the UK and South Africa in the music, craft, audio - visual, performing arts, design, heritage, cultural tourism, multi-media and fashion sectors to gain insight into activities of these creative industries in Gauteng revealed to us that the creative industries in Gauteng have emerged as a significant economic force.

The Gauteng Craft and Design Centre (CDC) will be based at the Sandton Art Gallery , which is ideally positioned in the heart of the Province's major retail area and provides the access to markets so desperately needed by regional craft producers.

More than R5.2 million has been budgeted to support the music industry in the Province. The funds will be used to grow musicians based in Gauteng and ensure that Gauteng retains its coveted status as the "Home of South African Music". An additional R1.25 million will be used to support the Puisano Jazz Programme. The funds will go towards improving the stage performance, image and professionalism of aspiring jazz musicians.

Following the success of the Moshito Music Market and Conference over the past two years, the Department will spend R2.5 million on the event this year. Moshito is collaboration between music stakeholders and government to provide the music sector with the opportunity to draw on global knowledge resources, discuss issues affecting the local music industry and to address challenges to growth together. This year the conference will also take place in smaller venues in Sedibeng and Ekurhuleni.

Social Inclusion

Of the Global City Region strategy relies heavily on increasing economic competitiveness and promoting shared economic growth. Simultaneously, the province has also recognized the need for social inclusion as an integral part of the GCR Strategy.

The Gauteng Social Development Strategy (GSDS) makes a clear connection between social and economic development. Social development interventions can promote the capacity of people to engage in productive and meaningful economic and social activities.

Our initiatives to support the social development strategy include:

• Involving youth, children, women and the disabled in sport and recreational activities in 50 community-based sports programmes across the province.
• Building school sport by providing equipment and coaching in 300 schools across the province.
• Organising the Pale ya Rona Carnival that involves over 9000 young people in creative arts activities.
• Hosting the five National Days which were attended by more than 100,000 people across the province in 2007.

Over the past four years, the Department has significantly increased the numbers of beneficiaries and improved the impact of our work in key focus areas. This has been coupled with a series of interventions to ensure qualitative improvements in the projects being delivered. We are increasingly confident that we will achieve the goal of completing the 5-Year mandate and laying the Foundations for Vision 2014.

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