In conversation with the new Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

gentlemania we are in conversation with

the minister of sports arts and culture

while learning is in Africa

thank you so much

I know you're a very busy man everyone

wants a piece of you but thank you for

giving your sabc Scotty

um perhaps let's just start you know

just easing into a conversation and talk

about how what is

Sport arts and culture I use some

servings of family so would you say that

coming into this you're coming in as a

new era of Hope

I do acknowledge my problem having had

many verses outside the disappointment

is palpable the frustration is palpable

and there's the element of hopelessness

and I think I come into that space

of course now we've got to do something

with the speed of a hyena and the

cheetah to change that

because it's not that government has not

done anything

in this position I am now which I occupy

one of the things that it requires you

must have a passion of your work

and that portion of your work must have

passion for sport you must passion for

Arts you must get passion for culture in

other words the availability of

leadership should be non-negotiable

this past weekend I attended Madness and

four events just on Saturday

and therefore you may need somebody with

that kind of energy but beyond just

attending events you've got at least to

deal with issues of development you've

got to deal with the issues of under

development where in rural areas there

is no sport or an infrastructure those

are the issues must deal with decisively

you must deal with what I call

non-negotiables in 2023 mapulova we

should be talking about transformation

in any sporting code it's a

non-negotiable for me it's a cardinal

pillar we shouldn't be talking in 2023

about equal work equal pay

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it's a police of government any sporting

code that still Implement that it must

be dealt with decisively negotiable is

racism in sport many of the black

Excellence you see now in some of our

national sporting codes come from very

poor underdeveloped areas with no

infrastructure and yet you see

performance in the iconic wonders comes

from the township no Cricket facilities

you've got the Cantonese

you've got the arms and the mamping

piece come from the worst areas

they have excelled represented in

carried and flu South African flag in

the international platforms so we must

be very intolerant of other development

which is huge on the basis of racism and

stereotypes so I come here with a

passion I think that working together

with everybody like yourself I think it

will help to change the mood in the

country at the moment my problem the

most in the country is very negative we

are surrounded by many if you like

maladies from load shedding or

clinically was surrounded by gpv crime

substance abuse what is the role of

support in that context

besides being seen the sport is just for

fun

um as dense as a song and dance

Department

it's got there's an economy of sport

we're not talking about it most

successful countries use sport drives

their tourism we can do the same it

cannot a national team like proteins

that performs all our teams that they

can perform to our International level

you could find a lot of people coming to

South Africa to see this best team

best content that produces the best

football the best cricketers the best

rugby players and I think there's

something that we must do and I don't

think the department has been located as

part of the economic drivers in the past

and whoever must begin to shift from

just uh strong and dense just for fun

but it was also Excellence this

development there's economy of sport

which I think is very important and I

think Minister research on a lot of

things that are so important you speak

about the economy of sport you speak

about the social cohesion element that

sport has you speak about and the

development in certain areas rural areas

what is at the top of your list in terms

of things that you want to do and and

I'm guessing from your answer also which

is School sports is going to be

something that you're also going to look

um to focus on in person

they're all day today we're meeting with

stakeholders from South cork including

the big five all of them what we

emphasize as a school spot because most

successful sporting countries they've

got good foundation of school sport I

remember growing up we always had an

extra neural subject of school Sport and

that is why you identify this Talent

absolutely we need to go back because

what it does it takes us away from after

classes from other wrong things

um even on Saturdays we love these

inter-school subjects I mean games takes

away young people because we need

something to take away of young people

from the streets from substance abuse

gpv and many Melodies you know I spend a

day at the iconic Wanderers and I would

imagine that a one person like temba

growing up in the townships of the cape

Flats it would have been something else

or if it was not created I'm just saying

we need to lift up sport to an extent

that it can contribute to the kind of

society we desire and envisage and not

just be a buy to buy

it must not be like communication when

everybody wants to cut budget in

government you see communication and

Sport this is where you must cut this is

more than if you talk about automation

building you might think about sport

the investment in terms of fiscals may

be too expensive because of challenges

now but in terms of development in the

future you will see the benefits your of

your investment in sport and arts and

culture just in wrapping up just to say

we'll see um

that are listening to you because you

you come in with a lot of enthusiasm and

and we're hoping that that will

translate in terms of action and what

will be done

um and I want to end this online tonight

before you give me the message would you

say um

um and then I'm going to ask you Quezon

cheese Orlando Pirates

of the last question on the sport

let me just tell you a very interesting

story okay I'm not I'm no longer

supporting any of the national teams

that I used to be okay it was history to

it

I took my girlfriend many years brief of

it to what was done called a real Debbie

okay to FMB okay

got to tell we lost two we lost

I left the stadium forgetting that I was

with somebody

I think in the 18 89th minute I've

realized that look there's something

about my health this dream is going to

affect my health so I left so I support

football we support football I support

football in all the teams because I

realized that I may have a heart attack

very soon if you can forget someone whom

you brought to the stadium you will

laugh when I tell you this you won't

believe it I used to be a street boxer

and I say three boxer and most of my

friends they don't have front teeth

so I've been following a lot of

different sporting codes but knowing

that we grew up in the township were

confined to specific sporting codes

growing up in Cape Town was either

you're confined to rabi you're confined

to Cricket the confined to soccer a

football it's a nature of but as you can

see now we're beginning to open up

access to different sporting codes and

my responsibility is to make sure that

including the sponsorship does not

continue to be an exclusive of the

certain Elite yes the majority of our

people who can who cannot pay

subscriptions must have access to sport

a majority of our people must have

watched masanda over the weekend

majority of our people must wash the

netball World Cup which were hosting for

the first time and we'll invite you

because we're launching netball Friday

soon yes and of like sapc and yourself

to be our partner in relation to that so

I've been an Elton friend of sport

because I believe that sport has a role

to play especially what I said earlier

you dealing with some of all our

maladies

we've seen our teachers done with a

hosting of Blue Bulls and Soweto how it

has helped to build social cohesion some

of the people who went in Soweto for the

first time they were worried that they

may come back beheaded

some of them they thought that they will

never come back when the problems wanted

to all understand them

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they discovered that suddenly oh they

are like us they are only the sport can

do that and we miss those moments we

still find our character as human being

our resilience so we need to bring back

that Spirit you must bring back the

spirit of South Africa we must bring

back fully Phillips here we

go what Philip must remain with us we've

got that opportunity once again now with

the need for World Cup which gets

underway in July and I think of Minister

just as we separate now just your

passing shot is is that what it is just

to blouse allow Sports to just uplift us

once again allow Sports to play this

game this this department is not about

fun it's not about to song and dance

let's make sure that we build sport

infrastructure in rural communities

let's make sure we get the best talent

this much more we recognize and

acknowledge some of our great Achievers

and as we go along we'll make sure that

sport arts and culture will do exactly

that we need young people to take them

off the streets to participate

positively to the development of their

own country