Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport Budget Speech 2014

Honourable Speaker

Premier

Cabinet Colleagues and Deputy Speaker

Leader of the Official Opposition

Honourable Members

Presidents of the various sport federations

Chairpersons of public entities

Members of cultural organisations

Ladies and gentlemen
 

When this administration took over five years ago, it acknowledged that sport and culture were the ideal platforms for nation-building, a sense of national pride, patriotism and a socially inclusive Western Cape. 
 

In order to achieve the goal of a Western Cape where everyone experiences a sense of belonging, we realised that we first had to develop policy instruments to create cultural warmth and social inclusion. 
 

A major achievement in the Museum Service last year was the development and approval of a new Western Cape Museum Policy. This instrument seeks to rationalise the different categories of museums, provides for regional museums and gives direction for the management of museums within the constitutional mandate of the Western Cape Government. A working draft of new provincial museum legislation has been prepared to give effect to this Policy. 
 

Mr Speaker, it is former President Nelson Mandela who reminded us that:
 

Language has always been one of the crucial cultural attributes of humankind. It is one of the most important vehicles for the citizens of the province to experience cultural warmth. Through the active implementation of the Western Cape Provincial Languages Act (Act 13 of 1998) and the Western Cape Language Policy, 2005, the provincial government continues to contribute to the vision of a multilingual province in which people value their own languages and respect the languages of others.
 

During the past year, the Western Cape Language Committee, a statutory body, conducted surveys to assess the implementation of the Policy in two provincial departments – Community Safety and Social Development – followed up by a report with recommendations. 
 

We want to thank this eminent body for executing this watchdog role in the area of languages and look forward to the results of their next endeavour in respect of the Department of the Premier.
 

In terms of Schedule 5 of the Constitution, libraries other than national libraries are a functional area of exclusive provincial competence. However, historically, library services have been rendered by local government – a so-called “unfunded mandate” of municipalities. Given the vital role that libraries play in social inclusion and cultural warmth, there is a clear need for the provincial government and Western Cape municipalities to ensure that they maximise the impact of their combined efforts, avoid duplication and align their budgets with one another.
 

On 19 March 2012 the Western Cape Government via the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport concluded a Library Implementation Protocol with the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality to support the ongoing provision of public library services to communities in the Metro. This agreement was drawn up in terms of section 35 of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act 2005 (Act 13 of 2005) and is an important milestone to coordinate the contributions of the municipality and the provincial government to public library services. 
 

Over the past five years, one of the more innovative aspects of our work has been the development of an Initiation Framework and Protocol which guides the implementation of the initiation programme in the province – a first in South Africa. The Protocol is primarily intended to make this important cultural rite of passage for men safer. Among other things, it provides for pre-circumcision medical examinations of initiates, training of traditional surgeons and carers, first aid training, the selection of sites, and the sustainable utilisation of environmental resources.
 

A significant achievement has been the transfer of funding to sport federations in the first quarter of the financial year. This has brought greater predictability to the sector and has enhanced the quality of the service sport organisations are able to deliver to their clients. The signing of the Sport Funding Policy was attended to in 2012 to bring the distribution of funding in line with the prescripts of the Auditor-General.
 

During 2011/12 the Western Cape Cabinet approved the comprehensive after-school programme based on our Social Policy Framework and the Provincial Strategic Objective: Promoting Social Inclusion. 
 

School-going children, especially in poorer communities, are particularly vulnerable on weekday afternoons because they may be unsupervised at that time. This potentially exposes them to the risk of engaging in delinquent behaviour such as crime, gang activity and use of recreational drugs. Girls growing up in such circumstances may also be more vulnerable to teenage pregnancy. The Western Cape Government has responded to this challenge by bringing all the key role-players to design a transversal public management intervention, namely the Mass participation; Opportunity and Access; Development and growth (MOD) Programme. This comprehensive programme targets the youth, especially primary and high school learners, by offering them after-school sport and cultural activities at 181 MOD Centres throughout the province. 
 

Mr Speaker, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) has been transformed over the past five years into a well-oiled machine led by a competent HOD and his senior management team. Last year, the Department achieved 152 of its 156 performance indicators. The department has not only succeeded in improving its administrative efficiency and levels of governance but has also made a concerted effort to ensure that our partners in the sport and cultural sectors do likewise. This is reflected in the department being acknowledged by the Public Service Commission as the second best department in South Africa in the category, Professional Ethics, at the Public Service Professional Ethics Awards 2013 which was held in Pretoria last year.  In the citation the Public Service Commission hailed the work that has been done to instil integrity and a culture of professional ethics in the department.
 

Our flagship project, the MOD Programme which forms part of this government’s whole of society approach, is slowly but surely beginning to address this very problem. The value of the MOD Programme was recently acknowledged by the National Government when The MOD Programme walked away with the title, Best Project: Mass Participation at the National EPWP Komoso Awards (Social Sector).  
 

The highlight was a clean audit from the Auditor-General.   
 

Speaker, the greatest vote of confidence in this Department comes in the form of a budget that has increased by 77% over the past five years and in fact I am today able to table a budget of R626 million which is a 37% increase over the 2013/14 budget.
 

This Department’s success mirrors the quality of the administration which took over the Western Cape five years ago … clearly a good story to tell.
 

In 2014 the people of South Africa will join others on the continent and across the world in the 20 Years of Freedom celebrations. This momentous occasion offers us a chance to celebrate our victory over apartheid and to reflect on our hard-won democracy. We will look back at our achievements, assess the progress we have made since 1994, evaluate the remaining challenges, and jointly decide how best to address them.
 

To mark this milestone, the Western Cape Government will, in partnership with Artscape, host a very special event on Freedom Day, 27 April 2014. This will be preceded by a week-long programme aimed at learners and youth. A total of 250 000 brochures explaining the origins and significance of the national symbols have been produced and will shortly be distributed to all schools in the province.
 

The culmination of the Western Cape Freedom Day event will be the performance of Credo, a new work celebrating the principles of our Constitution. 
 

People living in the rural areas of the Western Cape will also be given the opportunity to participate in the 20-year celebrations. Two wide-ranging rural outreach programmes will take place in partnership with Artscape and a number of arts companies and community-based arts and culture organisations. Also partnering with us during the lead-up events and the Credo production will be the Cape Town Opera and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. 
 

A special exhibition prepared by the Museum Service to celebrate our national symbols and the CD Toolkit that promotes the National Anthem, produced in cooperation with Lungile Jacobs and African Voices, will reach into our communities as these are made available.
 

Cape Town has been designated as the World Design Capital for 2014. There is great excitement around the 400 projects that were approved by Cape Town Design, the non-profit company established to implement World Design Capital 2014. To enhance the offering, the Department will partner with the Cape Craft and Design Institute to produce a retrospective exhibition of Cape design through the ages. This exhibition and installation will be designed in such a way that it can travel and be presented in rural parts of the Western Cape, the rest of South Africa as well as to promote the Western Cape at international events. Opportunities for this exhibition to be seen across the world could include events associated with the regional governments with which the Western Cape has formal intergovernmental relations agreements, for example, Bavaria, Upper Austria, Burgundy, Quebec, Shandong and Sao Paulo.
 

The Western Cape Archives and Records Service will be celebrating 20 years of freedom during National Archives Week from 5 to 9 May 2014 around the theme Archives for Democracy, Accountability and Transparency. Its tours and exhibitions will focus on the Road to Democracy and the role that Parliament has played in the various communities in the Western Cape. 
 

Speaker, over the last 18 months the Department and I have worked to promote the concept of cultural warmth. I am delighted to report that the Western Cape Cultural Commission (WCCC) embraced this concept as one that will promote social inclusion and unify communities and individuals through the appreciation of one another’s culture. The WCCC commissioned a new play, The Passage, to stimulate debate and interest about rites of passage across culturally diverse contexts. The play, which premiered on 5 March 2014 at the Baxter Theatre, provided opportunities for young actors and an emerging director to transcend cultural barriers and give expression to the slogan “your culture, my culture, our heritage”.
 

In addition to the National Anthem CD training toolkit I have already mentioned, a number of new works were commissioned. One example is the mural of Western Cape jazz legends that was painted in an entrance of the Artscape Theatre Complex to serve as a reminder of the contributions that these musicians have made in their lifetime.

An Initiation Summit was held in May 2013 to value important cultural rites of passage and to take forward the conversation about making these rituals safer. A Choral Music Indaba was held with relevant stakeholders and role-players to inform the Department’s engagement with the vibrant choral music sector in the province. 
 

Mr Speaker, this government’s commitment to work together with the City of Cape Town to build a truly inclusive city, and to honour those who sacrificed so much to build a democratic South Africa, was demonstrated on Reconciliation Day in 2013 when the Fan Walk was opened for a Reconciliation Walk. Thousands of Capetonians used the opportunity to showcase the rich diversity of the Western Cape and to remind us of our cultural diversity – a very powerful strategic asset.
 

On 1 December 2013, the 175th anniversary of emancipation from slavery was celebrated. This event was commemorated with the declaration of the Saron Mission Station as a provincial heritage site and the unveiling of the new Heritage Western Cape (HWC) site marker badge on the Old Slave Church provincial heritage site in Tulbagh where the Premier officiated. Madam Premier we thank you for your presence there and for your leading role in preserving our heritage.
 

Speaker, since 2009 the following sites have been declared as provincial heritage sites:
 

• Baboon Point, 2009, in Matzikama.

• Mussel Point (Mike Taylor's) Midden, 2009, in Eland’s Bay.

• Community House, 2010, in Salt River, Cape Town.

• Ratelgat, 2011, in Vredendal.

• Die Hel Forest, 2012, near Prince Albert.

• West Coast Fossil Park, 2012 (extension of existing site), near Langebaan. 

• Pinnacle Point, 2012, in Mossel Bay.

• Saron Mission Station, 2013, near Tulbagh.
 

Speaker, allow me to highlight some aspects of the work of this Department which resulted in work opportunities for the youth.
 

DCAS has linked the professional arts fraternity with rural community initiatives. The outcome has been that youth from rural areas have been provided with opportunities to perform at Die Burger Suidoosterfees, the Absa Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and the Zabalaza Festival as well as make guest appearances on the television series 7de Laan. William Michaels from Heidelberg is a product of this intervention by the Department and he is currently cast in various television series on KykNet.
 

The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) has been a major boom to museums and in the new financial year each and every museum of the 28 supported by the provincial Museum Service will have at its disposal young and enthusiastic people who have been trained to be museum guides and to care for collections and museum facilities. The programme has added new life and a new dimension to the museums of the province.
 

Funding made available through the EPWP has been utilised in innovative ways by the Language Services component over the past few years. Personnel were recruited and trained to develop reading and writing skills at various schools where the Department has established MOD Centres. The Department also facilitated the development of a specialised training programme for 20 interpreters who were placed in various psychiatric institutions in the Western Cape. For the first time, isiXhosa-speaking psychiatric patients were able to speak in their mother tongue, knowing that trained interpreters would communicate what they were saying to psychiatrists and other medical staff. 
 

The sport component of the Department has, for many years, benefited from the EPWP through Conditional Grant allocations. Since 2011, through the Environmental and Culture Sector EPWP Grant, the Department has implemented, with the assistance of its agencies, innovative programmes to create work opportunities for our youth in especially the rural areas of the Western Cape and assist the Department to meet its mandates. Initially, DCAS was granted R4 million, which during the current financial year was increased to R8.66 million with which 225 work opportunities were created. In the forthcoming financial year, the Department plans to create 305 work opportunities with the R13 million that has been allocated in the 2014/15 budget.
 

The success of the three “revolutions”, namely, chess, netball and cycling, has brought about significant achievements through greater focus, growth and development of these codes. Proof of this can be found in the likes of Nolan Hoffman who won last week’s Argus Pick n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour and the notable success of U/19 Boland and SA Netball player Marie-Lena Joubert.  
 

The cycling revolution has inspired many amongst us. In this regard congratulations to my colleague Alan Winde for completing the Cycle Tour in less than four hours in trying conditions. He was joined on the day by my Media Liaison Officer and Head of Ministry who also completed the race, albeit in humbler recorded times. Although not in our APP’s, I will make every effort to next year join you at the starting line-up.
 

Chess has done extremely well. A highlight for me was witnessing over 2000 young people participating in the SA Junior Chess Championships at the University of Cape Town. We are waiting patiently for the day when chess Grandmaster-Elect, Kenny Solomon from Mitchells Plain, becomes a full Grandmaster. The current SA Male and Female champions Donavan van den Heever and Denise Frick are both from the Western Cape, generating increased interest in the game. 
 

I want to take chess into communities by arranging street tournaments in the new financial year. If you want to fight, do it over a chess board.
 

Speaker, festivals and major sport and recreation events present the ideal opportunity to bring people together around a common interest and build a sense of unity while at the same time facilitating access and development opportunities for our youth.
 

The number of major events has increased from about 25 major events a few years ago to an average of 45 per year.

The Cape Time Discovery Health Big Walk, Cape Town Carnival, the Cape Town Jazz Festival, the Cycle Tour, and the Christmas Bands parade are some of the events that promote social inclusion and cultural warmth in Cape Town and have developed into significant contributors to the province’s economy.
 

We will continue to support these events and partner with organisations and sponsors to eventually make the Western Cape South Africa’s sport capital, which will generate even more tourism to the province. 
 

Speaker, I am also pleased to note that events such as Jazz on the Rocks in Tieties Bay, Paternoster, and the Kyknet Buite Ekspo near Malmesbury have established partnerships with municipalities outside the Cape Metro. All indications are that, having established their own major events, the Saldanha Bay Municipality and Swartland Municipality are better able to promote and develop their tourism offerings.
 

Speaker, following three years of negotiation, we are in the final stages of concluding a 30-year lease agreement to use the historic Standard Bank Building in Adderley Street as the site for a new regional museum on the history and development of Cape Town. The building will also serve as the new home of the provincial Museum Service and Heritage Western Cape.
 

The proposed Cape Town Museum will see the creation of a major new heritage and tourism institution in the Western Cape. This will play a prominent role in education, as a source of information and inspiration to the people of the Mother City, and for visitors to get an overview of the heritage of Cape Town. It is anticipated that within a few months of the lease being finalised, the venue will open as a place for temporary exhibitions. If the agreement is finalised in time, it may serve as a venue for exhibitions associated with Cape Town as World Design Capital 2014. Subject to agreement being reached with the owner of the property, it is expected that permanent exhibitions will open in the course of the 2015/16 financial year.
 

An amount of R6.6 million has been made available in the 2014/15 financial year for the conversion of the building and establishment of the proposed new Cape Town Museum.
 

I would like to thank Standard Bank for its willingness to consider enabling a major heritage asset in the heart of the Mother City to be used as a public institution.
 

The year 2014 marks the centenary of the first concert of South Africa’s first symphony orchestra. The Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, as it was known in 1914, is the predecessor of today’s Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. The origins of Cape Town Opera can be traced back to the early 1920s with the establishment of University of Cape Town’s Opera School at the South African College of Music. The Eoan Group, which is sadly no longer active, was founded in District Six in 1933 by Helen Southern-Holt. In 1934 the first formal ballet company was established, and dance continues to thrive through the Cape Town City Ballet, Jazzart and Dance for All. The first South African chair in drama was established at the University of Stellenbosch in 1961 by its Rector, Prof. HB Thom. We therefore have much to celebrate.
 

During the 2013/14 Cultural Affairs Awards ceremony these and other performing arts organisations showcased the talent of the young artists that are becoming the stars of tomorrow. Of particular significance was the visible transformation that was evident in the participants and contents of programmes. The hard work and dedication of everybody involved in the development, promotion and preservation of the arts in the Western Cape should be honoured and recognition be given to the significant contribution to our standing as a region of artistic creativity and excellence. Their hard work demonstrated that the Western Cape’s reputation as a hub of vital, diverse cultural life is no accident: It is a reputation that has been built up over many decades, and provides testimony that our partnerships with these celebrated organisations are bearing positive results. 
 

A total amount of R9 million will be made available to the performing arts organisations to continue this work.
 

The funding of arts and culture organisations has allowed the Department to orchestrate the interaction between the larger professional companies, festivals and community organisations and bridge the rural-urban divide. Through partnerships, twinning and exposure, the Department has advanced both the artistic endeavour and organisational capacity within communities. This has promoted social inclusivity at various levels through our ongoing music initiatives on the West Coast, in Langa and in De Doorns. The Department intends to expand its drama development programmes through broadening the partnership with the Baxter Theatre. Through initiatives such as these, the Department imparts skills to youth which would make their talents more marketable and building excellence in the arts.
 

The total budget allocation for 2014/15 for the Arts and Culture subprogramme is R31.493 million. Of this, R14.584 million will be made available as transfer payment to arts and culture organisations through the funding allocation in the 2014/15 financial year. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 25 March 2014 and the documentation is available on the departmental website or from the departmental offices. These applications should be accompanied by credible business plans and audited financial statements.
 

Speaker, the Department successfully hosted the first Western Cape Choral Music Indaba in February 2014. The purpose of the Indaba is for all stakeholders to gain an understanding of the choral music landscape in the Western Cape and to identify challenges and opportunities for choral music at local, regional and provincial level.
 

In the coming year the Department will chart a choral music “revolution” as we maximise the potential of the unique and diverse choral music of the Western Cape. 
 

The Museum Service has over the past few years been undergoing a process of adopting modern technology and social media. In this regard the most marked trend over the past five years has been the introduction of interactive, digital technology into displays. Although the display of actual three-dimensional artefacts remains the primary focus, new technology enables visitors to be more selective about the type and depth of information they wish to access and is now even being included in relatively small travelling exhibitions.
 

An information management system will be developed for the heritage sector serving Heritage Western Cape, the Museum Service, 28 affiliated museums and the Geographical Names unit. It will allow applicants for heritage permits to apply online, serve as a source of public information on heritage and geographical names, and will provide a system for management of museum collections. An initial amount of R800 000 is available for this project and part of the funding for ongoing development will come from HWC fees.
 

The total budget allocation for 2014/15 for the Western Cape Museum Service, affiliated museums and Geographical Names is R56.917 million. Of this, R4.482 million will be made available as subsidies to affiliated museums for the management of these museums.
 

Heritage Resource Management has been allocated a total budget allocation of R7.075 million, of which R1.590 million will be a transfer payment to Heritage Western Cape.
 

The Geographical Names unit of the Department has made steady progress with the verification of spellings and origins of more than 12 000 geographical names in the Western Cape. Since 2010, 1020 verified geographical names were submitted to the South African Geographical Names Council by the Western Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee. 
 

Workshops and meetings have been held with municipalities in the Western Cape to explain the consultation processes required concerning proposed changes to geographical names. This is particularly important given the judicial rulings in this regard.
 

A total of 351 libraries are affiliated to the provincial Library Service. Twenty of these are mobile “wheelie wagon” facilities which were established in remote rural areas. Since 2009 new library buildings became operational in Vredenburg, Paarl, Klapmuts, Harare Square in Khayelitsha, Nkqubela in Robertson and New Horizons in Plettenberg Bay. New facilities are being built in Prince Alfred Hamlet and KwaNonqaba in Mossel Bay and an upgrade of the Knysna Public Library is in process.
 

During 2011/12, Provincial Treasury and my Department took the bold step of starting to provide funding to the smaller Category B3 (vulnerable) municipalities in the Western Cape in order to address the unfunded library mandate of local government. This is replacement funding and by the end of the 2013/14 financial year, it provided 97% of the B3 municipalities’ expenditure on libraries.
 

Die Departement is verantwoordelik vir die voorsiening van taaldienste aan alle Wes-Kaapse regeringsdepartemente. Dit behels die redigering en vertaling van openbare dokumente soos jaarverslae en jaarprestasieplanne in die drie amptelike tale van die Wes-Kaap. Die Taaldiens is ook verantwoordelik vir die ontwikkeling van terminologie en die nakoming van hoë taalstandaarde. Die Wes-Kaapse Taalforum, bestaande uit taalpraktisyns van die meeste provinsiale departemente, party munisipaliteite in die Wes-Kaap en die Wes-Kaapse Wetgewer vergader gereeld om terminologie te ontwikkel, vaardighede deur werksessies en aanbiedings te ontwikkel en om taalsake van ’n transversale aard te bespreek. ’n IsiXhosa ortografie-werksessie is gereël waarna die voorstelle by ’n PanSAT-raadplegende werksessie voorgelê is. Die term “ortografie” verwys na die wyse waarop die woorde gespel word. Die werksessie het ten doel om die skryfwyse van isiXhosa te professionaliseer en te reguleer en om op grond van besprekings en die deel van ervarings die skryfwyse van die taal verder te verbeter. ’n Produk van die Provinsiale Taalforum se werk was die publikasie in Februarie 2014 van ’n isiXhosa/Engels-terminologielys, vir terme wat deur provinsiale taalpraktisyns gebruik word. Dit kan ook op die internet afgelaai word. 
 

Meneer die Speaker, dit was my voorreg om onlangs by die 2014 Provinsiale Kultuurtoekenningseremonie vir professor Adam Small vir sy bydrae tot taal, of meer spesifiek, die Afrikaanse taal, met die Lewensprestasie-toekenning te vereer. Ek haal aan uit die betrokke aanbeveling vir hierdie toekenning: 
 

“Uit die pen (of rekenaar) van prof. Adam Small verskyn agt digbundels, een essay, vyf dramas en een roman.  Sy drama Kanna hy kô hystoe word as een van die klassieke werke in Afrikaans beskou. In 1972 behartig prof. Small self die regie van hierdie drama toe Dramsoc, UWK se dramavereniging (wat later as die ‘Cape Flats Players’ bekend gestaan het) dit op die planke gebring het.  Kanna hy kô hystoe het ’n volledige vernuwing in die Afrikaanse drama teweeg gebring waarin polities-maatskaplike sake deur middel van teaterkonvensies aangespreek is. Boonop het Small deur Kaaps saam met Standaardafrikaans in sy gedigte en dramas te gebruik, die stigma rondom Kaaps ongedaan gemaak. Volgens prof. Steward van Wyk gebruik Adam Small gewilde kulturele uitings soos volksvertellings, liedjies en rympies, wat in die mondelinge tradisie oorleef het, om die werkersklaskultuur in sy werk te vergestalt.”
 

Dit was vir my ʼn besondere voorreg, om hierdie ikoon van die Afrikaanse letterkunde namens die Wes-Kaapse Regering te huldig.
 

Met hierdie toekenning sluit professor Small aan by professors Jakes Gerwel en Neville Alexander wie se bydrae tot nasiebou met behulp van taal ongeëwenaar is. Ons sal steeds maniere vind om hierdie merkwaardige Suid-Afrikaners se erfenis lewend te hou.  
 

Meneer die Speaker, Gebaretaal-opleidingsessies wat deur die Departement aangebied word, is daarop gemik om maatskaplike inklusiwiteit te bevorder, Suid-Afrikaanse Gebaretaal (SAGT) as ’n voorheen gemarginaliseerde taal te ontwikkel, bewustheid te ontwikkel ten opsigte van Dowe gemeenskap se behoeftes, verhoudings deur die bevordering van taaldiversiteit te verbeter, bemagtiging van die Dowe gemeenskap, opleiding van potensiële SAGT-tolke, vaslegging van maatskaplike verdraagsaamheid en aanvaarding en die gemeenskap van Dowes se behoeftes bewus te maak. Die klem op SA Gebaretaal word ook uitgebrei na opleidingsessies vir provinsiale regeringsbeamptes in die 2014/2015-boekjaar. 
 

The Department will continue raising awareness around the importance of language and multilingualism and the development of previously marginalised indigenous languages and South African Sign Language. We will also continue with projects such as isiXhosa classes to promote the equal status of the three official languages of the Western Cape. 

We will closely monitor the implementation of The Use of Official Languages Act of 2012 in the Western Cape by national departments.
 

The Language Service has been allocated a total budget for 2014/15 of R4.679 million. Of this, R235 000 will be transferred to the Western Cape Language Committee.
 

The continued management of the cultural facilities will remain the focus of the Western Cape Cultural Commission for 2014/15.
 

A survey by the Western Cape Language Committee of another Western Cape government department – the Department of the Premier – will be conducted to assess its implementation of the Western Cape Language Policy. A report on the findings will be submitted to the D-G of the Provincial Administration.
 

Over the past three years, the organisation has seen a steady increase of between 10% and 15% in the number of applications it receives. Its staff of 15 now process well over 2 000 applications per annum and all indications are that the figure for the 2013/14 year will be well in excess of that number.
 

Over the term of the last HWC Council which ended in September 2013, the organisation focused on making its processes more efficient. This has been of benefit to the general public in that the target time for processing an applications has dropped to within 30 days of receipt. In fact, most applications are now finalised within 14 days.
 

In January 2014 HWC commenced charging fees for applications. This is in line with practice by other heritage resources authorities and is generating around R50 000 per month. This will contribute significantly to the financial well-being of the organisation and should enable it to develop new areas of activity in the future.
 

During 2013, National Treasury announced that it would increase Conditional Grant funding in order to start addressing the unfunded mandate in respect of municipal libraries. The most significant impact on public libraries in the Western Cape will therefore be a substantially increased amount of Conditional Grant funding. The funding increased from R68.542 million in 2013/14 to R126.347 million in 2014/15. An amount of R42.347 million will be transferred to nine Category B1 and B2 municipalities to partially address the unfunded mandate issue. The total amount of Conditional Grant transfers to all Western Cape municipalities to spend on libraries will be R114.333 million.
 

Assistance to Category B3 municipalities will continue and, during 2014/15, 100% of these municipalities’ expenditure on libraries will be covered by Municipal Replacement Funding (R54.777 million) and Conditional Grant (R16.151 million) transfers.
 

There is still a dire need to build new libraries and to upgrade existing facilities in the Western Cape. The Library Service has put aside R7.5 million from Conditional grant funding to fund new libraries at: 
 

• Prince Alfred Hamlet Public Library (Witzenberg Municipality) – second phase.

• Citrusdal Public Library (Cederberg Municipality) – Phase One.

• Avian Park Public Library (Breede Valley Municipality) – Phase One.

• Slanghoek (dual purpose public/school library modular library) (Breede Valley Municipality).
 

An amount of R15.5 million of Conditional Grant funding will be utilised to fund the upgrading of libraries at: 
 

• Hangberg Public Library (City of Cape Town).

• Crossroads Public Library (City of Cape Town).

• Parow Public Library (City of Cape Town).

• Conville Public Library (George Municipality) – Phase One.

• Kleinmond Public Library (Overstrand Municipality) – Phase One.
 

The Rural ICT project which is funded from the Conditional Grant and the Broadband Initiative will continue. It is envisaged that 200 rural public libraries will have Internet access by the end of March 2015.
 

A total of R1 855 900 was made available to the Library Service to appoint EPWP interns. These interns will primarily be utilised to assist with the management of assets (library material). At the Archive Service, these interns will continue to assist with the digitisation of archival photographs.
 

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is currently assisting libraries in South Africa to roll out computer hardware and software. Three libraries in the Western Cape – CJ Langenhoven in Oudtshoorn Municipality, D’Almeida in Mossel Bay Municipality and Paarl Library in Drakenstein Municipality – will participate in the pilot project. Each library will receive 20 computers, 2 printers, 10 e-Readers and 10 tablets for free. Of the 20 computers, two will be dedicated to the visually impaired and 3 will be used for gaming.
 

As the custodian of records management in the Western Cape, DCAS has been assigned to preserve the corporate memory of the provincial government and to drive the shift from paper-based record systems towards electronic storage systems.
 

Modernising record and content management and digitising heritage material in the Western Cape Archives and Records Service received a significant boost when it was awarded an additional budget of R30.6 million in 2014/15.
 

To ensure that efficient records management practices and systems are implemented throughout the entire Western Cape Government, the implementation of MyContent (formerly known as enterprise content management – ECM) will continue within departments. Centralised storage and transversal access to information will be of significant benefit to the province, and will enhance service delivery, transparancy and accountability.
 

The need to digitise archival records for preservation and use by the public has been identified and during the coming year the digitisation of rare and fragile archives will begin.
 

In order for the provincial government to make information housed in the Western Cape Archives and Records Service available to the public, the development of a web portal will continue.
 

Sport federations are at the coalface of delivery. I am pleased to announce that, following the receipt of provisional results of commissioned “Case for Sport” research into the benefits of increased investment in sport, it is clear that sport is a significant driver of economic growth, and hence sport must receive our government’s support in the years ahead. Funding to sport federations will be increased by an amount of R10 million over the next three years. This year an amount of R3 million has been allocated to transfer funding to federations.
 

Speaker, at the Western Cape Provincial Sport Awards last week, we had the privilege of naming Eben Etzebeth as Sportsman of the Year. Marie-Lena Joubert, a netball player from Boland who represented South Africa at junior and senior level, was chosen as our Sportswoman of the Year. They will go on to represent the Western Cape at the National Sport Awards later this year. 
 

Our best wishes accompany them with their participation in this prestigious event.
 

Speaker, an amount of R2.3 million is allocated to strengthen the valuable work performed by our sport councils. Over the past four years we have, in partnership with the Farmworkers’ Sport Association chaired by Reggie Deysel, facilitated the Farmworkers Sport Day. This ensures that opportunities are created for farmworker communities to participate in sport and recreational activities.
 

Speaker, we have improved relations between DCAS and municipalities over the past four years. We have signed memoranda of understanding for the upgrading of existing facilities and the construction of new ones. An increasing number of projects have been launched in partnership with municipalities. Examples include the Indigenous Games at Kranshoek with the Bitou Municipality, the development of netball with the Swartland Municipality, the Sport Festival with the Mossel Bay Municipality, the Cape Town Marathon with the City of Cape Town and the swimming pool in Conville with George Municipality.
 

An amount of R12 836 780 is allocated towards club development. 
 

Speaker, over the past four years, the Conditional Grant that we receive from SRSA has increased from R38 million to R58 million in 2014/15. Of this amount R12 836 780 and R24 506 580 will be allocated to the Siyadlala Mass Participation Programme and the School Sport Mass Participation Programme respectively.
 

Speaker as my colleague Minister Allan Winde announced duiring his budget address, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport will capacitate, consolidate and reinforce the MOD Programme. This will be achieved by broadening the range of activities offered at MOD Centres. R187.55 million has been allocated over the three years beginning in 2014/15 towards the MOD Programme. 
 

Speaker, in the true spirit of democracy, the Department fulfils its mandates with the hard work and dedication of thousands of inhabitants of the Western Cape who serve on all the structures that feed into the constitutional mandates that this portfolio is responsible for. They are the true heroes that underpin the work of this department.
 

In this regard, allow me to express my sincere thanks to the men and women who serve on a voluntary basis on the management structures of arts and culture organisations, the boards of trustees, management committees and control boards of affiliated museums, the Western Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee, the Council and committees of Heritage Western Cape, the Western Cape Language Committee and the Western Cape Cultural Commission, the Western Cape Provincial Advisory Committee for Archives, Sport Federations, Sport Councils and the Western Cape Arbitration Committee. Without their valuable insight and dedication it would not be possible for the department to fulfil its objectives.
 

Agbare Speaker, ek sluit af met ‘n dame, Mavis Hutchison, wat ‘n inspirasie vir ons mense van die Wes-Kaap is. Dit is haar tipe inspirasie en toewyding wat ons nodig het op vele ander terreine om ‘n beter samelewing te skep.
 

Speaker, Mavis Hutchison, 89, from Fish Hoek won five medals – one gold in the 200m sprint, one silver in the discus and shot put respectively and bronze in the javelin and the 100m sprint at the 20th World Masters Athletic Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil, towards the end of 2013.
 

Hutchison, who has been an athlete for more than 53 years became only the third woman in history to compete the Comrades in 1966 and the first woman to “run across America” in 1981, running from Los Angeles to New York. She is affectionately known as South Africa’s “Galloping Granny”. 
 

Meneer die Speaker, ons taak is nog nie voltooi nie. Die boublokke en die fondament is gelê, en so bou ons nou baksteen vir baksteen, saam met ons medeburgers, ’n beter lewe in die Wes-Kaap.
 

Agbare Speaker, vandag kondig ek aan ʼn verdere drie revolusies in my Departement:

• Atletiek.

• Koormusiek.

• Basketbal.
 

Agbare Speaker, om ‘kultuurwarmte’ en maatskaplike inklusiwiteit te versprei, begroot my departement vir:
 

Program 1 (Administrasie): R54.563 miljoen

Program 2 (Kultuursake):   R102.098 miljoen

Program 3 (Biblioteke en Argiewe): R306.96 miljoen

Program 4 (Sport): R159.398 miljoen

Agbare Speaker, ek lê my Departement se 2014/2015-begroting van R626.01 miljoen ter tafel.
 

Ek dank u/ I thank you/ Enkosi