Symposium highlights changes for Lim Sport
Three fundamental topics were on the agenda at the Limpopo Sport Symposium last weekend. which included rural sport, school sport, and sport infrastructure.
POLOKWANE – The symposium, hosted at the Protea Hotel The Ranch Resort, aimed to find realistic solutions and dissect the problems that continue to beset the sport fraternity in the province and is an initiative of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Sport MEC, Onicca Moloi, said: “The Rural Sport Development Programme pays special attention to sport development in rural provinces and was launched by the Minister of Sport and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula. In the Eastern Cape last May, in Limpopo, Moletjie in the Capricorn district and Ga-Seopela in the Sekhukhune district, two rural areas that fall under the jurisdiction of traditional leadership, were identified to pilot this programme”.
With regard to school sport, she explained that her department and the Department of Education have two separate school sport programmes. However, she and MEC Ishmael Kgetjepe will sign a memorandum of understanding which will clearly outline the roles of each department to make coordination seamless.
“School sport is an essential part of developing world-class athletes in Limpopo and if there are no programmes and facilities in place, these hopes will fail,” Moloi explained.
Next on the agenda was the sport infrastructure in Limpopo, with some facilities coming into the spotlight for not being fully utilised for their intended purpose.
One such facility that was singled out is the Ngoako Ramathlodi Sport Complex in Seshego which is mainly used to host wedding ceremonies instead of sporting events.
Polokwane Municipality Mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng, said the budget is smaal or non-existent with regard to the development of sport facilities in Limpopo.
“Councils are restricted to allocating funds in accordance with the adopted Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and during IDP consultations, communities often indicate they prefer basic services such as sanitation, electricity, water, and housing over sporting facilities. You then have no other reason to spend outside that as you have to follow the IDP as a guiding principle. If sport facilities are not on the IDP, spending on them creates irregular expenditure,” Nkadimeng explained.
To resolve these concerns Moloi suggested officials from various sport federations along with directors at district offices within her department attend IDP consultations to give their input in favour of sporting facilities.
The symposium also highlighted the importance of a public-private partnership with regard to sport development in Limpopo and it was agreed that a comprehensive plan which will spell out the objectives, resolutions and implementation timelines, should be drafted and made public soon.
