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Policy speech 2000/2001
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Sports, Arts Culture

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

POLICY SPEECH: 2000/2001

FOR THE DEPARTNMENT OF SPORT, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE

BY MEC BALINDLELA

16 MARCH 2000



Introduction

Honourable Speaker, Honourable Premier, Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is with great honour that I present the 2000/2001 budget proposals for the promotion of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture in the 
Eastern Cape.

The Vision

A prosperous, united and peaceful Eastern Cape where the spiritual, intellectual and material upliftment of the people are fully realised 
through Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture; thus ensuring the dignity of all its citizens.

The key objectives of the 2000/2001 budget

The Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture has a very clear focus as it prepares for the new financial year. This focus is with 
regard to key objectives. We have been able to achieve this focus from very clear national and provincial policies of our government, as 
well as from assessing the positive impact that we have made in our communities during the 1999/2000 financial year. We also appreciated 
the valuable inputs that have been made by our stakeholders in assisting us to focus on reaching the strategic goals of this government, as 
far as our functions are concerned.

The Department is guided by the following key objectives:

* Service delivery to communities

* Work organisation with systems that enhance efficient and effective service

* Financial management that is clean, transparent, participative and accountable

* Personnel that works collectively, is empowered, resourceful, productive and is committed to best practice service delivery

* Communication, transparency and accountability to the public

The budget as a statement of activities

In order to meet the key objectives stated above, in the 2000/2001 financial year, we will engage in a number of activities that will be 
supported by the budget that we are presenting today. Our presentation of these objectives will be outlined in two sections, as follows, 
external and internal. The external focus will determine how we deliver services to our communities. The internal focus will concentrate on 
the improving the management of our department.

SECTION 1: OUR EXTERNAL FOCUS
SERVICE DELIVERY

1. Job creation and maximising the economic benefits

Honourable Speaker, in the next five years of government, the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSAC), will be faced with 
huge economic challenges. The new millennium has brought with it huge economic challenges for our people and the government as a whole. The 
high levels of unemployment in our Province require us to develop integrated strategies that will address these problems. Honourable 
Speaker, we have to ask the question:

* How can sport, arts and culture assist communities in generating income?

* How can government assist these communities in rural development and urban renewal using the sport, arts and culture vehicle?

In the next years, starting with 2000/1 we will continue with activities that seek to create jobs and maximise the economic benefits of our 
people.

Honourable Speaker, in answering these questions the Department has set aside a sum of

R 577 000,00 in the 2000/2001 financial year, to assist the communities.

Cultural Industries

The Department has embarked upon a broad range of projects in support of the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS). This is a strategy 
that seeks to promote economic development of communities. Our cultural workers have begun to take the opportunity of participating in 
South Africas economy by engaging in these cultural industries. Such participation can be in a number of economic sectors such as:-

painting, sculpture, public arts, traditional ware and clothing
 fashion and graphic arts
 film television, photography, video and broadcasting
 books, magazines, newspapers
tournaments, festivals, drama, theatre, dance, music
 heritage sites, commemorations, museums

The film and television industry has the capacity to contribute significantly towards the development of the economy of the Province of the 
Eastern Cape. To this end, the Department will transfer an amount of R1m to the University of Fort Hare to fund the Eastern Cape Audio 
Visual Centre. This facility is designed to broadcast and operate on a professional level, yet be available to the disadvantaged 
communities and others at affordable prices.

Communities and cultural groups will be assisted in:

* Organisational development, e.g. the formation of co-operatives

* Development of business plans for presentation to financial and development agencies

* Product development, quality control, pricing and marketing of goods.

Honourable Speaker, there is a great opportunity for integrating cultural tourism and cultural industries. This integration will seek to 
raise the profile of the Eastern Cape and establish a distinct Eastern Cape for national and international markets.

These projects will be implemented in partnership with the Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs), the Centre for Investment and Marketing 
in the Eastern Cape (CIMEC) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

Museums

Our museums can also contribute towards the development of cultural tourism. In order to enhance this potential value and to market museums 
better for domestic and foreign tourists, a sum of R20 000 has been set aside for the publication of a guide on Eastern Cape Museums. An 
example of this is the recently-held Prickly Pear Festival at the Uitenhage Museum on 4 March 2000. Museums attract thousands of 
international and domestic visitors each year. Attendance figures at the East London Museum, for example, were 10688. Amongst these were 
visitors from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, the UK and the USA. The existence of 
museums as solid tourist attractions has obvious direct and indirect economic benefits to the communities in which they are located.

The job creation project at Shawbury Mission station is a good example. During 1999/2000 the Directorate of Museums and Heritage Resources 
obtained R800 000 from the Norwegian government through the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism towards that end. The idea was 
to link heritage and development, and utilise heritage resources as a vehicle for job creation. All in all, 20 people were trained in 
baking, sewing, the keeping of pigs and chickens and brickmaking. This project will continue in the year ahead. We have received an 
indication that further funding will be available for other historic mission settlements.

Honourable Speaker, we will now deal with our infra-structural projects which are directly linked to job creation.

2. Infrastructural development and maintenance in 2000/1

Whilst infrastructural development is not the core business of the department, we realise the importance that facilities play within our 
communities. In the past, there has been duplication of various facilities within communities by departments and other role players, and we 
hope to avoid this by adopting an integrated approach towards facility provision. The department has been proactive in linking with the 
relevant stakeholders eg. the Youth Commission, the National Department of Sport and Recreation and Local Government. A workshop has been 
organised for the 27 March 2000 with local government and other relevant stakeholders where an integrated approach in facility development 
will form an integral part of the agenda.

In this financial year, an amount of R 3 m has been set aside for sport and recreation facilities to be erected at Bizana, Lady Frere and 
Engcobo. A further R 883 000,00 will be allocated to the levelling of sport grounds in thirteen identified villages in the first phase. 
These villages are located in Bizana, Mt. Ayliff, Maluti, Flagstaff, Lusikisiki, Tsolo, Ngqeleni, Ngqamakwe, Ndabakazi, Salem, Ntabethemba, 
and two in Sterkspruit.

In conjunction with Local Government, the Department will train 180 persons in management and maintenance of Sport and Recreation 
facilities. A sum of R 60 000 has been allocated for this project.

An amount of R1, 1m for the building of three additional cultural centres in the Province. These cultural centres will provide space for 
the manufacturing of crafts and serve as outlets to tourists. The Fish River area in Peddie and the Wild Coast have been identified as 
strategic areas.

The development of the Wild Coast Museum in Port St Johns, which was started in the 1999/2000 year. This project, which is being handled by 
the Department of Public Works, is proceeding in partnership with the Port St Johns TLC. The choice of site has unfortunately led to 
considerable delays. An amount of R 811 000,00 has been set aside for this project.

* The Department is actively involved in the construction of the second phase of the Mandela Museum, namely the development of the Qunu 
Community Exhibition and Youth Centre. Although this is a national project, the provincial department has allocated funds from the MEC 
discretionary funds to the Qunu and Mvezo communities for development.

* A sum of R500 000 has been set aside for community heritage projects. The success of the community heritage projects in redressing 
imbalances in the portrayal of heritage in the Province and the role they have played in helping communities rediscover their past, has 
inspired us to extend this concept.

* In the year ahead a sum of R100 000 has been set aside to assist in the transformation of exhibitions at the Barkly East and Burgersdorp 
museums.

Honourable Speaker, the Department has been involved in "healing the nation" by recognising our fallen heroes of the struggle and the Kings 
and Chiefs in the province by erecting memorials eg. a memorial to King Ngubengcuka at Clarkebury, at the site of a Black concentration 
camp at Dukathole; a heritage project at Bulhoek and a Khoisan Project at Tstitsikamma. This year we will be unveiling memorials at Barkly 
East ( in honour of freedom fighters who died in the Barkly Pass ), Egazini in honour of Xhosa warriors who died in the Battle of 
Grahamstown in 1819 , Langa Massacre memorial and Mbolompo memorial near Umtata.

* The Department has initiated discussions with the Xhosa Royal Council about developing the House of Phalo Open Air Museum. This project 
will include an archaeological excavation and the construction of an open-air museum which will maintain historic animal breeds and plant 
species as well as depict the pre-colonial culture of the Xhosa. The project has the potential to attract private investors and will 
require funding from a range of sources. The Department has set aside R100 000 for the initial archaeological survey, feasibility study and 
development of a business plan and funding proposal.



Summary review of infra-structural development and maintenance in 1999/2000

Significant achievements of the Department in the past year in the area of capacity building include:

* Sport facilities at Mt Fletcher, Mngqesha, Tsomo and Tabankulu at the cost

R 350 000,00 each for 1999/2000 fiscal year. The department has entered into an agreement with the East London TLC to erect and maintain 
the softball stadium for the July 2000 World Cup and beyond. The departmental contribution of R 1,5 m will be transferred in two equal 
amounts in the financial years 1999/2000 and 2000/01.

* Regarding community art centres, currently under construction is the Umtata and Mdantsane Arts Centres. The building of Cultural Villages 
at Ngqamakwe and Willowvale is progressing well.



3. Accelerated capacity building for all our customers in 2000/1

Honourable Speaker, our external focus will be directed towards the identification of talent and the development of skills through the 
following support activities:

* A problem experienced with regard to the capacitating of Sport Development Officers , teachers and communities in the Districts, is the 
fact that after they had been trained, no equipment is left behind in order for them to deliver coaching clinics within their districts.

* To this end R150 000 will be allocated to bulk buying of sport equipment so that each District has a pool of sport equipment for training 
purposes. A further R150 000 will be allocated from the MECs discretionary fund.

* The Village Sport and Culture Councils will be allocated R250 000 . For this pilot project 60 Village and Sport Councils, having 260 
schools, have been identified throughout the Province. Among identified capacity building programmes in these Village Sport and Culture 
Councils, will be the development of indigenous sport like uthinti and ileqe.

* Due to the lack of skills in teams representing the East Cape from disadvantaged schools and rural areas, the department will develop 
coaches to conduct coaching clinics. This project will be undertaken at a cost of R 60 000,00.

* We will also provide training and equipment for 12 physical fitness and aerobics instructors by June 2000. These instructors in turn will 
train and recruit 120 apprentices. This will cost the department R150 000,00.

* In order to address the problem of limited information on the arts, the Department will continue to publish its newsletter called 
"Artreach". The newsletter is also used as a teaching aid in the classroom. An amount of R250 000 00 is allocated for the production of the 
newsletter, and the organization of a seminar that will focus on the teaching of the arts in the classroom. An amount of R 230 000,00 will 
be transferred to the Institute for the study of English in Africa Language where teachers will be exposed to the Outcomes Based Education 
(OBE) approach in the teaching of language and literature. A further amount of R 57 000,00 will be transferred to the Institute for the 
study of English in Africa for the Festival of Words to be held in July 2000 at Grahamstown. This festival seeks to promote the production 
of literature and also affords writers an opportunity to exhibit their books.

As you will be aware Honourable Speaker, our musicians continue to suffer because of limited information with regards to their legal rights 
as artists. In this financial year, we have set aside funds for workshops on legal rights for musicians and linkages with the Department of 
Trade and Industry, with regard to copyright issues. We believe that this initiative will go a long way towards reducing the incidence of 
exploitation that is rife in the music industry.

RECREATION

Mr. Speaker, we would like to emphasise that although recreation is regarded as a component of sport, the department regards recreation as 
an integral part of our daily lives where young and old can rejuvenate and feel free to express themselves while having fun. Recreation is 
a way to exercise the mind, body spirit and soul.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask of this house, what is it that your mother, my mother , the premiers mother, in fact the elderly mothers 
and fathers of our province do to pass the time? Recreation, of course! To this end, the department has made bold strides towards the 
following projects :

* An amount of R500 000 has been budgeted for two mobile museums panel vans. The mobile museums will aim to service 200 rural schools and 
communities in the Central, Northern, EG Kei and Western Regions. The role of our officials will be to integrate this mobile service into 
the lives of the communities.

* An amount of R 90 000 has been allocated to our Departments Living Heritage

( Amasiko nezithethe ) Workshops will raise the awareness regarding our indigenous forms of literature and story telling. Workshops in 
drama will be aimed at raising artists awareness on opportunities in the electronic media such as television and film. There will be 
promotion and development of a rich oral culture viz. folksongs, folktales ( intsomi ) and praise poetry. For the young and old citizens, 
concerts will be taken to their doorsteps. Joyrides will organised.

* An amount of R40 000 has been budgeted for two editions of the Umjelo museum publication whereby the department hopes to increase the 
awareness of the importance of museums to educators and learners. This is in line with the policy objective of restoration of the dignity 
of communities through the rediscovery of their history and re-enforcing the African Renaissance.

* An amount of R50 000 has been earmarked for workshops where the newly appointed boards of trustees of each museum, where the museums 
policy, legislation and the financial control aspects will be discussed. Training of communities in governance of museums and heritage 
resources institutions will be enhanced and intensified through a series of training workshops with relevant communities and community 
representatives.

* The Department is continuously supporting the development of skills and education and increasing its investment in people. To this end 
there is a continuous training programme for community information workers, as well as governance training programmes at a cost of R75 000. 
The following communities will benefit from this - Mount Ayliff, Steynsburg, Ezibeleni, Whittlesea, Mooiplaas, Thornham and 
Boesmansriviermond.

An amount of R 2m has been set aside for the provision of initial library materials and stock for the following libraries in the province. 
The TLCs of these respective areas and Micro-projects have built the following facilities :

* Mooiplaas Community Library. This is a combination of a community, ABET & Educational library facility
* The Butterworth Community Library and its Satellite at Ibika Township.
* Ngqeleni Community Library, a multi-purpose resource centre shared by the DSAC, Welfare and Education Departments
* Ngangelizwe Community Library
* Mount Ayliff Community Library
* Alexandria Public Library
* Barthust Community Library
Mr. Speaker, we implore our MPLs to visit these areas and help encourage our senior citizens to visit these facilities.

4. Accelerating grassroots mass participation and audience development

The Department will embark upon awareness projects that will be aimed at changing inherited attitudes and increasing participation by all 
communities in sport, recreation, arts and culture. The following projects have been allocated funding for this purpose:

* Empowering Sport and Recreation volunteers who will assist in increasing local community participation at a cost of R 90 000,00 for this 
fiscal year.

* An amount of R 700 000,00 has been set aside for Festivals at local, district, regional and provincial levels. These will culminate in 
the participation of artists and cultural workers in a number of events, including:

* Wild Coast Cultural Festival
* Grahamstown Festival for the Arts
* FNB Dance "Umdudo" Festival
* Provincial Theatre and Performing Arts Festival
* Heritage Celebrations
* Freedom Day Celebrations


* For several weeks on and around the Freedom Day 2000 celebrations, the Department will be erecting a temporary museum, housing at least 
three exhibitions and mobile libraries, at Nkantolo near Bizana. This will give communities access to museum and library services for the 
first time. A sum of R 50 000 has been set aside for this purpose.

* Similarly, the Department has planned an exhibition and related opening for Heritage Day 2000, which will increase the mass participation 
in museums and heritage issues. R100 000 has been set aside for the commemoration of Heritage Day.

* The Department will also create four new travelling exhibitions which will provide greater community access and develop new audiences. 
These include: an AIDS awareness exhibition, one on the Mpondo Revolt and an exhibition on traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape. An 
amount of R150 000 has been set aside for these exhibitions.

* An amount of R 2 954 000,00 has been earmarked to subsidise the activities of the fourteen province-aided museums to perform their 
function of collecting, conserving, researching, exhibiting and disseminating knowledge about artefacts enabling them to reach a far wider 
audience.

* We also focus on Library awareness projects at a cost of R100 000 for World Book Day and HEAL (Halt Elder Abuse Line).

* An amount from the MEC discretionary funds of R50 000 will be made available for the Community Builder of the Year Award. Five successful 
community projects will identified and be rewarded with the sum of money which must be ploughed back into that community.

5. Special projects directed towards crime prevention

Unless the substantial energies of our people, young and old, are channelled into constructive forms of learning and positive engagement 
with their environment, their energies will inevitably find an outlet in anti social, destructive and criminal propensities. It is by 
assisting our young people to rediscover the essential values of humanity that we can rid ourselves of the crime that has permeated the 
fabric of our society. Our Department can make a significant contribution in this regard.

With the limited resources in our hands, we shall pilot a few crime prevention projects during the 2000/01. These projects, which are 
valued at R1,1m will be implemented at:

* the SOS Village and the Zingisa Rehabilitation and Home Care Centre in Umtata
* Whittlesea in consultation with the Department of Correctional Services
* Mdantsane and Motherwell in East London and Port Elizabeth respectively
Further, by the end of the new financial year, the Department will have staged 18 districts sport against crime campaigns at a cost of R 90 
000,00.

Partnerships against crime will be formed with other Departments eg. the Department of Safety and Security as well as Departments belonging 
to the Provincial Social Cluster.

6. Special projects directed towards youth development

Honourable Speaker, as you are aware, the majority of South Africas youth have suffered years of neglect, resulting in material, 
educational and cultural impoverishment. This situation demands redress.

Whilst we as a Department view youth development as generic in all our programmes, we have identified certain projects for a specific 
focus:

Regarding learners in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions, emphasis will be placed on development programmes in administration, 
technical officiating, coaching and mass participation programmes. Statistics (as attached) show that the provincialisation process is 
starting to bear fruit in the sense that provincially selected teams are beginning to be dominated by learners from historically 
disadvantaged areas like Mqanduli, Bizana, Molteno, Engcobo, Idutywa, Tabankulu and Matatiele.

In order to nurture this talent R250 000 will be used to assist our officers in facilitating the delivery of development programmes to 
Ussasa teachers and learners. A further

R100 000 will be used in Provincial development games that are aimed at further strengthening the Provincialisation process. R50 000 will 
be allocated to subsidise the farm schools development programmes which proved to be very successful last year.

R200 000 will be made available to Ussasa Eastern Cape to subsidise provincial and national Ussasa competitions.

With respect to Sport and Recreation:

* The identification of talent and the training of young athletes in Academies of Sport which will be funded at the tune of R 300 000,00. 
This allocation includes the training of sports development officers who will be central in the identification of talent within districts.
* The training of coaches and sport managers in Junior Sport, R 150 000,00
* The involvement of the youth in recreation programmes and youth clubs such as Girl Guides and Boy Scouts R 100 000,00
* The participation of scholars in Provincial and National Sport Competitions, in partnership with USSASA, R 550 000,00
* The participation of the youth in tertiary institutions in Provincial and National sport Competitions R 400 000,00
* The organisation of provincial Sport Achievers Awards at a cost of R 120 000,00.
With respect to Arts, Culture and Heritage:

* The Department will allocate an amount of R 100 000 ,00 towards youth festivals which will culminate in the Sondela Youth Festival that 
will be held at Aliwal North. We are proud to announce that we will continue to work in this project with strategic partners such as the 
South African Broadcasting Co-operation (SABC), Old Mutual, Bokomo. This festival affords the youth of the Province an opportunity to 
harness and exhibit their skills to broader audiences.

* The Eastern Cape Premiers Awards on Arts and Culture, which will be held in March 2000, is aimed at acknowledging the role of the youth 
in the Province and encouraging our young people to strive for excellence. This event will be on the annual calendar of our Department.

* A special Youth Heritage Project is to be undertaken in the next fiscal year. A sum of R100 000 has been set aside for identifying and 
erecting commemorative plaques at various schools in the Eastern Cape where students paid the supreme price in the Struggle for Freedom in 
this country. This project will be undertaken with the Department of Education.

Our province is starting to witness school athletes embracing the concept of provincialisation by forming provincial teams selected from 
the six departmental regions. This process has brought together the rural leaner from disadvantaged communities with those from the urban 
advantaged communities, this concept of provincialisation has unearthed the talent that exists in the remotest areas of the province.

7. Special projects directed towards women

The Department will implement six arts and culture rural pilot projects that are driven by women. The projects will be provided with human 
and material support for a period of three years, to ensure that they become self sustaining. The projects will be provided with the 
necessary backup in terms of capacity building in the area of marketing, finances, management and product development. As more resources 
are mobilised the projects will be replicated throughout the province.

Together with the communities, the Department will organise festivals that will celebrate Womens Day. The day will focus on the issues of 
violence against women, domestic violence, rape, and the inappropriate attitudes against women. The events will be aimed at correction of 
attitudes and bringing about unity and reconciliation.

The Department has a strategic partnership with the Eastern Cape branch of Women and Sport in South Africa (WASSA). In the 2000/2001 
financial year, the Department will contribute an amount of R120 000 in order that this partnership achieves the following goals:

* Engaging in campaigns to ensure meaningful womens participation in sport and recreation.
* Providing capacity building that will assist women to sustain their own sport projects
* Strengthening womens structures in sport
* Introducing women to new sport codes e.g. touch rugby, cricket and boxing
* An amount of R 100 000 from the MEC discretionary funds will be set aside for the development of sport for women within the communities.
8. Special projects directed towards the disabled

To enhance the participation of the Disabled in sport and recreation, the Department has budgeted R 300 000,00. The People with 
Disabilities Forum caters for the following sectors namely, the:

* Intellectually impaired
* Deaf and Dumb
* Physically handicapped
These funds have been allocated for development and capacity building of sport officials, participation in national tournaments , special 
equipment required for participation in sport and recreation. Of this, an amount of R100 000 will be allocated towards the new sport 
facility for the disabled in Port Elizabeth.

Recognising the neglect of sign language and the speakers of the language, our Department is pursuing a project which is aimed at public 
awareness on sign language, the deaf culture and deaf community rights. In the 2000/1 financial year, the Department will invest an amount 
of R200 000,00 towards the following:

* training of interpreters on sign language
* establishment of a sign language database
With regard to Library services, the Department will invest R250 000 in improved access for disabled people in additional 5 libraries, in 
the 2000/2001 financial year. This would involve analysing visitor figures in identified libraries, call stakeholders for participation at 
the initial stages.

In a continuing effort to make our museums more accessible to people with disabilities,the Department will assist museums to develop wheel 
chair ramps at a cost of R100 000.

9. Special projects directed towards HIV/AIDS

An amount of R 120 000,00 will be allocated towards district projects directed towards HIV/Aids. The Department, in partnership with the 
Department of Health, will be involved in the Aids Awareness Campaign. All the art-forms of the Department will participate in the 
programme. The campaign will be located in all the districts of the Province to ensure that it reaches as many people as possible.

Honourable Speaker, we have outlined our plans as far as the impact we hope to register in the communities. This impact is about 
accelerated service delivery to communities by departmental officials. A significant number of these programmes will be implemented in 
conjunction with community groups and organisations. It is within this context that our Department will develop Key Performance Indicators 
that will be used to evaluate the performance of such organisations in delivering the services that have been identified for the promotion 
of sport, recreation, arts and culture. In the 2000/1 financial year, our Department will enter into service agreements with such 
organisations that will clearly identify the following:

* Key areas of service delivery
* Measurable levels of achievement
* Reporting system
* Measuring system of service delivery
* Periodic monitoring and evaluation
With regard to the overall objective of Service Delivery, the Department will start a process to produce a service charter by investing an 
amount of R 75 000.

In addition, grants-in-aid of R 400 000,00 will be awarded to the following sport codes because of the impact they have made in the 
province. We hope that this will contribute towards the development of more talent in the disadvantaged areas of the province.

* Boxing ( academy )
* Rugby ( Canada vs. South Africa test match in East London in June 2000)
* Softball ( World Tournament in East London in July 2000)
* Soccer ( Assistance towards the relocation of Independence Stadium )
Honourable Speaker, it does not hurt to dream. We have a person who is embarking on a dream of "swimming against the tide." Although we 
cannot assisting him realise that dream, we are allocating a sum of R 20 000,00 from the MECs discretionary funds, towards the research 
and planning of the project.

Having outlined our external focus Honourable Speaker, we will now table our budget as far as the internal organisation of the Department 
is concerned.



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SECTION 2: OUR INTERNAL FOCUS:

Work organisation, financial and human resource management

WORK ORGANISATION

1. Developing an organisational structure that improves service delivery and takes services closer to the people

According to our new organisational structure, the Departmental service points will be District Offices. The regional offices will be 
phased out by the end of March 2001 and the Head Office will retain only the policy, co-ordination and monitoring functions.

The development of the new organisational establishment will support the strategic objectives of the department in the following ways:

* It will be in line with Government's intention of creating synergy on the improvement of service delivery by creating one stop service 
points in the province

* It will be a structure that is aligned to the demarcation of the new municipalities

* Through this structure, we will be taking into cognisance the size and nature of our respective clientele, the challenges for service 
delivery in the communities of the Eastern Cape. Such a structure must consider strategic questions like the rural nature of our province, 
gender and other important variables that inform the strategic objective of government.

* The reassignment and devolution administration and line functions as low as possible will allow our department to concentrate on core 
business areas

The filling of the posts of this organogram is itself an urgent task that will be tackled as soon as possible. Naturally, the process will 
be guided by the Public Service Regulation, 1999, and will also seek to finalise the placement of "youth" officials as well as transference 
of educators to the Public Service Act.

In the year ahead we will be fully taking on the functions that used to be performed by the Eastern Cape office of the National Monuments 
Council. This is in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999 which devolves certain functions to provinces. Activities for this 
component have already been integrated into the general plan of action of the sub-directorate of heritage resources for which a budget 
already exists. We will, however, seek additional funding for the additional mandate we will be assuming.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

2. Developing a clean, transparent, participative and accountable financial administration in the Department

In the 2000/2001, the department will improve on the achievements it has made in the last year by strengthen financial systems. As you 
might be aware Honourable Speaker, the Department has managed in the last financial year, to engage in its mandate without overspending its 
budget. We intend to further enhance financial management as follows:

With regards to the implementation of the new Public Finance Management Act, No 1 and 29 of 1999, The department has already developed and 
circulated guidelines to all parastatals and bodies to whom the department transfer funds for operational and development requirements. The 
guidelines are modelled on the new laws and seek to enforce performance standards and the accountability on the resources distributed. The 
results will be tighter financial control and value for money.

* Computerised financial systems play a very critical role in our department in this new year. We will implement the computerised "Real 
Time" FMS which will improve our response time to clients and suppliers. We have set aside an amount of R500 000 for purposes of financial 
management and training.

However, it must be indicated, Hon Speaker that, the Department is facing critical challenges in the near future with regard to the 
following:

* The cabling of all the designated District Offices to ensure that the Government Computer Network is accessible to all these important 
structures. Besides the financial burden of this project, the existence or otherwise of the Government-owned buildings will be a serious 
hurdle to cross.

* The training of officers in the Financial Management Systems (including computerised ones) as well as generic financial issues are 
receiving urgent attention. The objective remains to ensure that all officers operate optimally in their respective areas.

Honourable Speaker, as we introduce these new technologies, it is important that we bear in mind the importance and the centrality of our 
human resources in the Department.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

3. Managing a team of people who are empowered, resourceful and productive, committed to best practice service delivery

The emphasis of the Departments Human Resource Management will be to develop capacity for Line Function Managers to manage their human 
resources. To this end a number of HR strategic review processes will be entered into in order to focus on achieving the following:

* Employment Equity
* Recruitment and Selection
* Managing performance and conduct
Other critical areas of focus will be staff training at a cost of 0.5% for all Programmes, job evaluation, and the management of accurate 
and reliable personnel records

We hope that this internal focus on our organisation will assist us to improve our service delivery levels. In this new financial year we 
will publish the following important documents for public consumption and as a basis of evaluating our Department in the future:

* The Human Resource Plan,
* The Service Delivery Improvement Plan, and
* The Strategic Plan.
In conclusion

Honourable Speaker, we have today tabled how our Department will carry forward the Governments policy with the utilisation of the 
financial resources at hand. However, it is important that the Members of this Legislature and members of the public take heed to our call, 
that "Sisonke Sinako  Together we can". The promotion of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture is a responsibility of all of us. That is why 
our Department will go out of its way to build constructive and sustainable partnerships with non-governmental organisations, community 
based organisations, the private sector and the various spheres of government in order to share our common goal of building a better South 
Africa.

We are grateful to our partners who have made a meaningful contribution towards the success of our programmes and projects. We would also 
like to take this opportunity to thank our partners for their efficient management of finances as reflected by the audited statements, and 
we trust that they will continue to provide the Department with these important documents.

Honourable Speaker, we would like to acknowledge the constructive relationship that we have with the Standing Committees of Sport, Arts and 
Culture; Public Accounts and Finance. We greatly appreciate your support Honourable Members. To all of the Members of this House who 
continue to advise us and support the programmes of the Department, we hope that we will sustain our relationship with you for many years 
to come.

To the Premier under whose guidance and leadership we operate and all my colleagues in the Executive Council who believe in the potential 
of our functions in reaching the Provincial Vision, we thank you.

Lastly, Honourable Speaker, I would like to thank most heartily, all the officials of the Department who contributed towards the 
compilation of this budget. Their daily commitment to the task at hand encourages us to agree with President Mbekis words, that:

"&#133; at no point during its entire history has our country been in a better position to confront the challenges we face than it is 
today."

Sisonke Sinako  Together we can!



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