Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite from DA MPL, Kingsol Chabalala here
The Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) has let down residents by surrendering funding and not meeting its targets of constructing combi courts and improving soccer fields, denying them access to adequate sporting facilities.
According to the 2023/2024 department’s adjusted budget presented in the committee oversight report, a total of R8 976 000 designated for combi court construction was surrendered to the national treasury, with R6 943 000 reallocated within the programme. The report further discloses that the sum of R2 722 000 designated for improving community soccer fields was also returned to the national treasury.
Despite commitments to improve performance in this programme dating back to the previous financial year, the department failed to meet both targets under Programme 4: Sport and Recreation.
It is concerning that the provincial sport’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair while funds have not been spent to build, maintain, or upgrade crumbling facilities.
This demonstrates the department’s lack of planning and capacity to execute the infrastructure projects it commits to. It also indicates the department’s neglect of the crucial role sports play in empowering youth and children in our townships. Sports not only promote a healthy and active lifestyle, but they also enhance character and overall wellbeing.
The surrendered funds, adding up to R11,698,000, could have been used to build multipurpose sports courts and transform the dusty soccer fields in our townships into artificial turf, allowing the youth and communities to participate in sporting activities.
It is ridiculous that the department spends millions on gala events for sporting awards but fails to invest a single cent on sporting infrastructure, particularly in the townships.
The DA will table questions to the Gauteng MEC for SACR, Morakane Mosupyoe, to ascertain why funds have been surrendered under Programme 4 when it is evident that funding is required to construct and maintain the province’s deteriorating sports facilities. We will also ask whether there are any measures to enhance the programme’s effectiveness, considering its record of underperformance.
The DA government will invest in building and renovating sporting facilities in our province to ensure that residents, including those in under-resourced areas, enjoy the best possible sporting facilities. We will implement systems to ensure that targets in all departmental programmes are achieved.