The timing of KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) could not be better, coming on the back of the Paris Olympic Games 2024 which again underlined the powerful role that sport plays in uniting our nation. The DA extends its congratulations to South Africa’s medallists as well as every athlete in Team South Africa that competed and made our beautiful country proud.
Sports, Arts and Culture forms an essential pillar of our society. They enhance our quality of life and unite us as communities, they foster creativity and can drive economic growth.
In his State of the Province Address (SOPA), KZN Premier Thami Ntuli committed to enhancing school sport and arts within mainstream education and promoting health and diversity in schools.
One of the athletes in the SA men’s 4 x 100m Olympic relay final is currently a matric pupil – Bayanda Wazala – who will go back to school with a silver medal. His story is truly inspiring. Imagine how many more medals South Africa could bring home in future with a solid foundation laid at school sporting level?
Exposure to Sports, Art and Culture from a young age can impact the lives of our youth positively. Keeping our youth engaged in sports and other activities encourages and develops healthy habits that open up opportunities they possibly would not have been exposed to. It also places our youth on a path that promotes healthy lifestyles. Being actively engaged in sports, arts and cultural activities can prevent the temptations that face many of our youth, including unhealthy life choices such as drugs and alcohol and other social ills.
The building blocks of an active and successful nation can only be achieved through sound investment in laying a stable foundation.
KZN has a number of sporting events that bring professional and amateur athletes to the province, including the iconic Comrades Marathon. This event places our province on the international stage, bringing athletes from around the world to participate and then tour our province, stimulating the tourism economy. Tourism is an avenue that creates job opportunities for KZN’s people yet this event, along with others, has seen a reduction in funding.
KZN’s Sports and Recreation programme has increased from R398 million to R423 million. The DA is committed to ensuring that this increased budget is accounted for and used to benefit the people of KZN.
The recent Dundee July also highlighted the development of Sports, Arts and Culture in our rural areas along with the local creative talent abundant in our province. Events such as this must be used to showcase the talent that exists in KZN ensure that there is access to market for our designers.
KZN has a wealth of artistic talent across various different disciplines. Whether it is through music, poetry, fashion design or any other art form, there is immense talent. KZN’s Public Works and Infrastructure MEC, Martin Meyer and provincial Deputy Speaker, Mmabatho Tembe, recently visited Empangeni High School at the invitation of Mhlatuze Municipality. KZN’s DSAC should also look into creating a collaborative working relationship with the Department of Education (DoE) to ensure that Arts and Culture also form a meaningful part of the curriculum.
In his SOPA, the Premier also spoke about KZN’s long and rich history which is full of twists and turns. He spoke about all the people who arrived here from all over the world and who have been part of building our province.
The unveiling of the King Shaka statue at King Shaka International Airport and the long overdue completion of the 1860 Indentured Indian Labourers Monument in Durban are all part of celebrating the diversity we are fortunate to experience in KZN.
The DSAC Cultural Affairs Programme has increased in budget from R341 million to R367million. Libraries are an essential part of communities, forming the centre of community life and playing a vital role in assisting with literacy. KZN still has a high adult illiteracy rate, particularly within its rural communities. Libraries need to be resourced correctly with up to date and current information.
The DSAC library department will be rolling out a programme to raise awareness on our national symbols. This initiative seeks to make the public aware of the meaning behind these symbols and the critical role that they play in fostering a sense of belonging and national identity.
The DA is aware that there is a historic issue with the procurement of library materials with most libraries, if not all, operating with outdated material. In April this year, we welcomed the proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa, that the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) would investigate a series of corruption scandals within KZN’s DSAC. Amongst the issues to be investigated are:
* The upfront payment of R7.8million for library magazines that were never delivered
* The construction of nine modular libraries and;
* The purchase of 266 laptops at R7.8million
This investigation is due to hard work by the DA and we will continue to take our mandate of oversight seriously.
Apart being rich in artistic talent, KZN is also rich in heritage and culture and was recently awarded an additional two UNESCO world heritage sites – Dube House in Inanda and the Sibudu Caves in KwaDukuza. The DSAC must use these new world heritage sites – along with the existing World heritage sites of UKhahlamba and iSimangiliso Wetland Park – to increase tourism to these areas. By stimulating the tourism sector, jobs can be created for those living in these areas while also showcasing our diversity.
Sports, Art and Culture provides KZN with a wonderful opportunity to build on its tourism potential. The DSAC has the potential to include the richness and diversity of our province – from our traditional cultures, to our magnificent landscapes, to our music and our world class sport events and arenas.
The DA believes that this department has the potential to be the secret weapon that unlocks KZN’s massive tourism potential. KZN is a province full of proud, creative, friendly and generous people. The DSAC can build on this collective wealth to bring harmony, pride and vitality to our province and create jobs by strengthening these bonds.
Diversity is one of the DA’s core values – a value echoed by KZN Sports, Arts and Culture MEC Khawula in the foreword to the Annual Performance Plan (APP) for the department. Embracing our diversity as South Africans enables us to find strength in our differences.
While the DSAC budget is an inherited one, MPLs and the executive can – through vigorous oversight – bring justice to sports, arts and culture within our communities. The DA remains committed to working with its GPU partners. We will strive to build from our differences to ensure that we achieve the department’s vision – to create a healthy, creative, winning and socially cohesive province.