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Minister calls for improvement in scheme that identifies talent in sports

Location: News

Minister calls for improvement in system that identifies talent in sports

While efforts have been made to transform the sports fraternity, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa has called for the development of a framework for the early identification and development of sporting talent.

“We still preside over a divided and ill-defined sports system characterised by fissures of our past. We have no universal access to facilities,” the Minister said on Thursday in Johannesburg.

Addressing the School Sport Indaba, he said by identifying talent early in school, the youth can have the needed support, mentorship, and resources to make it as a professional sportsman or sportswoman.

“This implies the government and other stakeholders making budget available to support identified initiatives. When looking internationally, it is common to see sports stars in their teenage years making their mark in the upper echelons of world sport,” Kodwa said.

According to the EPG 2018 report, the School Sport competition system is currently indicating that there are three streams from which talent is identified and competition is staged.

The Minister said this system is currently not integrated and has some challenges.

“The system shows that there is a government-run school sport system, then there is one model where former Model C schools and private schools compete, this is where most athletes are identified, and then there is a system which the Federations use to stage the tournaments and select national athletes.

“The athletes competing in the Government-run school sport system, come from more 23 000 public schools, majority of which are previously disadvantaged with poor or no sport facilities in place.

“These are the athletes whose system of competition is poorly organized and do not have proper coaching support. The second group are athletes, from the former Model-C schools, including private schools which are properly resourced, with world-class sport facilities and proper coaching support,” the Minister said.

The last group are athletes competing in Federations-staged tournaments, most of whom must have means to attend these events with the majority being from the former Model C schools.

Upon successful competition, these athletes are awarded the National colours and may be eligible for selection into academies and underage national teams.

“Dare I say, we as all stakeholders have failed learners and young people at school and out of school, and we need a theory of change? We need to clearly spell out how School Sport is supposed to work, why it will work, and the conditions required for its successful implementation,” the Minister said.

He said the School Sport Indaba is government’s intervention to revitalise school sport in South Africa.

The Minister noted the need for investment in the development of local expertise, through running of sports academies from foundation phase as well as the establishment of bilateral agreements with other governments for the creation of development opportunities for studies in the different sporting fields like Sports Science.

Kodwa also called for the creation of internship opportunities for graduates in schools and sports clubs.

“The National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP) contends that provision and maintenance of facilities forms the foundation of the entire sport and recreation system, therefore if facilities backlogs are not addressed it will be difficult to achieve transformation, sport development and increased participation objectives in sport.

“This situation or reality, therefore, requires all stakeholders to put all hands-on-deck for the future of sport in our country. Only when we all collaborate, will we be able to develop athletes that can successfully compete internationally, and reach our goal of being a winning nation!

“The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has already undertaken to address the challenge of talent identification by building multipurpose sports courts and outdoor gyms in rural and township communities, which have historically lacked these facilities,” the Minister said.

As part of the legacy projects of the Netball World Cup, multipurpose courts have been built in several communities around the country, including in Hammarsdale in KwaZulu-Natal.

Work is also being done to build netball courts in Cala Secondary School and Mchewula High School in Cala, Eastern Cape.

“There is much being done and much more to do in the country. As I have said, Government cannot do it alone. I would like to applaud all the commercial and community partners that support the work of Government to develop sport at grassroots level,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za

 

nosihle
Fri, 09/15/2023 - 08:54

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Cabinet reiterates calls for budget shortfall to not impact service delivery

Location: News

Cabinet reiterates calls for budget shortfall to not impact service delivery

Cabinet has reiterated that measures to address the budget shortfall must not impact negatively on service delivery.

This as a Cost Containment Letter was issued on 31 August 2023 with proposals to close the fiscal gap.

“Cabinet appreciates the current fiscal constraints which are not unique to South Africa but has resulted in-her budget shortfall. The Minister of Finance will shortly issue Guidelines clarifying the unintended misunderstanding arising from the Cost Containment Letter issued on 31 August 2023.

“In addition, as part of the in-year performance review of progress in implementation priorities agreed to with Ministers, the President and Deputy President will meet with individual Ministers to ensure that fiscal management does not derail the agreed to priorities,” Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Thursday.

The Minister made these remarks during a media briefing in Pretoria on the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday. – SAnews.gov.za

nosihle
Thu, 09/14/2023 - 11:49

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Date set for Finance Minister’s MTBP statement

Location: News

Date set for Finance Minister's MTBP statement

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to deliver the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on November 1.

“The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement sets government policy goals and priorities, forecasts the macro-economy trajectory, and projects the fiscal framework over the next three years by outlining spending and revenue estimates, among others,” National Treasury said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Public Financial Management (PFM) conference is expected to be held from 20 - 22 September.

The conference will be held under the theme: ‘Innovative and Ethical Public Finance Management in Challenging Times’.

According to National Treasury, the key objectives of the conference include:

  • Building a culture of accountability in specific PFM sectors.
  • Creating a platform for PFM officials to update their knowledge and awareness of the latest trends and developments in the financial management space.
  • Identifying new and improved practices and workable solutions that could assist PFM officials in performing their work smarter.
  • Profiling National Treasury, and its units, as important resources in achieving and sustaining PFM excellence.
  • Showcasing available PFM resources and training, and how to access them.
  • Highlighting good practice.
  • Building communities of practice.

“The 2023 PFM conference will serve as a platform to create awareness of some of the latest PFM reforms led by National Treasury. The conference aims to cover the nine PFM disciplines, which include, among others, Financial Accounting, Revenue Management, Expenditure Management, Supply Chain Management, and Budgeting.

“The conference will target all spheres of government. Delegates will include Chief Financial Officers, Provincial Accountant-Generals, heads of PFM disciplines, and other relevant stakeholders responsible for overseeing the implementation of the financial disciplines. In addition, development partners, members of the higher education section and relevant professional bodies,” Treasury said. – SAnews.gov.za

 

NeoB
Mon, 09/11/2023 - 13:16

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Government must maximise spend on education – Nzimande

Location: News

Government must maximise spend on education - Nzimande

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande says as government continues to spend a large share of its national budget on education, the challenge is to maximise the impact of this progressive investment.

The Minister was speaking at the launch of the National Plan for Post-School Education and Training (NPPSET) in Durban on Thursday.

He said the NPPSET showcases government’s continuous effort towards achieving an improved, transformed, expanded, responsive and articulated Post-School Education and Training.

“Our department of Higher Education and Training has the single largest number of entities of all the national government departments, with over 110,” Nzimande said.

South Africa’s PSET sector is one of the biggest in Africa with highly developed institutions that feature in the global arena of international education, training, research, technology development and innovation.

“We also have the single largest research infrastructure and systems on the African continent. Our National Plan for Post-School Education and Training is a roadmap for implementing the vision of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.

“It is framed within the broader goals and priorities of the National Development Plan (NDP), which foregrounds the national efforts to address the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality, and poverty. It is an overarching instrument and a blueprint for guiding planning in our PSET sector. 

“It aligns and integrates the work that is already underway and provides a policy framework for major transformative changes government wants to bring about across the PSET system and its nexus with society and the economy,” the minister said.

Nzimande explained that the National Plan for Post School Education and Training has six goals which are the drivers for the system.

“We are bringing together institutions and traditions that have different histories and investments and propose ways of making them work together towards common goals.

“We are consolidating and building on those aspects of the system that are working well whilst also streamlining a wide range of policies, plans, and strategies currently in existence that impact on the system without reducing its diversity,” Nzimande said.

Nzimande said his department has developed an articulation Policy for the Post-School Education and Training System of South Africa in 2017.

“The policy was established to create an enabling environment to ensure that articulation occurs within and between NQF sub-frameworks, institutions work together to develop learning and work pathways and support to students as they follow their individual learning and work pathways,” the Minister said.

Nzimande added that his department conducted a comprehensive evaluation study on the implementation of the National Qualification Framework Act on how articulation was implemented by both TVET colleges and universities.

“The baseline study was also conducted to determine how articulation was practiced within and between higher education institutions. The study has identified a number of challenges in how articulation works across the entire PSET system. 

“The major challenge still remains to optimise articulation pathways between universities, TVET colleges and CET colleges and without cul-de-sacs in the system. We must also fund and properly resource articulation,” Nzimande said.

The NPPSET sets out a roadmap for implementing the vision of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.

Having already been approved by the Minister, the NPPSET is being implemented by the department and may be viewed in conjunction with its enablers and or by-products which are the development of the Master Skills Plan, Student Funding Model, inclusive of the ‘missing middle’ and the implementation of the Labour Market Intelligence programme.

This launch provides an opportunity for the department to bring on board all stakeholders that are key in the broader implementation of the plan thereby ensuring effective implementation geared towards the realisation of the envisaged goals of the National Development Plan and other relevant policies to 2030 and beyond. – SAnews.gov.za

Edwin
Thu, 09/07/2023 - 14:36

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How Much Does SEO Cost for a Startup

Location: MyPR

When it comes to launching a startup, budgeting is one of the most critical aspects to consider. While you may have allocated funds for product development, marketing, and operational costs, have you thought about the budget for SEO? Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an essential part of any startup’s digital marketing strategy, especially if you’re …

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SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts

Location: News

SARS Commissioner calls for tax administrators to be excluded from budget cuts

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has called on National Treasuries to exclude tax administrations from across-the-board austerity measures, as it poses a threat to innovation, fiscal integrity and sovereignty.

“Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations. This goes against the intrinsic value of digitalisation in improving tax compliance and detecting tax non-compliance,” Kieswetter said on Tuesday in Cape Town.

He was addressing the 2nd Network of Tax Organisation (NTO) Technical Conference, which took place under the theme: ‘Digitalisation of Tax Administrations and Contemporary Issues’.

“As more financial transactions are taking place digitally, more third party data sources are shared with tax administrations, and central bank digital currencies are emerging, the importance of digitalisation and consequently the use of data science, and artificial intelligence have become central to revenue collection, compliance and trade facilitation.

“So, in short, whenever budget cuts are required, National Treasuries – Budget Offices are advised to avoid across-the-board cuts and ensure a more prudent approach to invest to build enabling and productive economic capacity, create employment, and thus expand the tax base.

“This secures fiscal integrity and sovereignty in the long run. Tax administrations should be excluded from across-the-board austerity measures. The investment in digitalisation should not be disrupted. The cost of recovery is simply too high in every respect,” Kieswetter said.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the modernisation and digitisation of work at SARS.

“COVID-19 inadvertently took us to the drawing board to think from first principles, and very quickly accelerated our response towards reprioritising our technology investment to enable our employees to work during the hard lockdown and to allow taxpayers to continue to fulfil their tax obligations,” the Commissioner said.

Although SARS has made progress, he explained that much more still needs to be done, as the revenue service is behind in its digitalisation journey.

“I want to pause here and focus on one element as a critical enabler of the digitalisation journey - and that relates to funding. Before State capture, SARS was a leader in digital modernisation for many years.

“However, partly due to financial constraints, but also a short-term approach, budgets were then frozen for a number of years and SARS fell behind in driving technological innovation. We have now managed to restore some additional funds to continue our modernisation, but we are still substantially underfunded to move at the necessary speed in an environment that is changing exponentially, business models are being disrupted, and tax crime proliferating at an alarming rate,” he said.

SARS faces the challenge of not only having to play catch-up after many years of underinvestment, but also of accelerating modernisation simply to remain relevant.

“We are at a point where we can again focus on innovation. The important lesson here is that the digitalisation journey is not a finite project, but a new way of being. It is an ongoing journey. Once you suspend funding, the end result will always be the suspension of innovation and regression against the progress of other administrations,” the Commissioner said. - SAnews.gov.za

 

nosihle
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 10:08

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Govt reviews Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act

Location: News

Govt reviews Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government has embarked on a comprehensive review of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005, to ensure that the different spheres of government work in a joined-up and coordinated manner to secure the well-being of the people of South Africa, among other things.

“In the design of our democratic unitary state, we introduced cooperative governance to ensure that the three spheres of government worked together to meet the needs of the people. Each sphere of government has constitutionally assigned powers and functions that cannot be encroached upon, but need to be mutually respected.

“Chapter 3 of the Constitution requires all spheres of government to cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith by, among others, fostering friendly relations and assisting and supporting one another. Importantly, the Constitution says that all spheres of government must secure the well-being of the people of the Republic,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said the District Development Model (DDM) is geared towards improving and strengthening the intergovernmental relations system as an approach towards giving effect to the Constitutional principles of cooperative governance. 

“The District Development Model approach has made great strides in ensuring that the principles of cooperative governance guide how we plan, budget and implement key government programmes and projects across the country. This is demonstrated through the Presidential Izimbizo and implementation of key catalytic projects identified in intergovernmental long-term One Plans.”

To date, the President said, experiences in the implementation of the DDM have placed greater emphasis on the requirements to undertake a review and re-look at the policy instruments framing and guiding of intergovernmental relations system, and cooperative governance. 

Progress in addressing challenges identified at Imbizos

President Ramaphosa highlighted some of the progress made and key service delivery interventions through Izimbizo, and these include road maintenance projects in Mpumalanga, the provision of title deeds in North West, measures to tackle livestock theft in the Free State, and the provision of water in North West, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. 

The President said through the Izimbizo government has further identified opportunities for skills development in key economic sectors in districts such as mining and agriculture in North West and Limpopo and energy programmes in Northern Cape. 

“Through the information and contribution collected during the various Izimbizo, it has been possible to identify interventions that are required in many localities across the country. The benefit of these engagements therefore extends beyond the communities in which they take place as they are able to improve service provision more generally,” President Ramaphosa said.

He added that the documenting and tracking of key resolutions emanating from the Izimbizo are part of the design of the Izimbizo. 

“Quarterly implementation reports indicate that measurable progress is being made in addressing the challenges identified, which are done in an intergovernmental manner. The various intergovernmental platforms established through the Izimbizo protocols are also tasked to address challenges where these occur. 

“District Development Model political champions are assigned for each district and metro, and are tasked to provide regular updates not just to the established intergovernmental platforms but also to the respective communities,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

GabiK
Wed, 09/06/2023 - 10:01

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How Much Does It Cost to Enact SEO

Location: MyPR

Introduction When it comes to digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a term that’s often thrown around. While most businesses understand the importance of SEO, many are left wondering about the costs involved. The truth is, the cost of SEO can vary widely depending on a range of factors, including whether you’re planning to …

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How Much Does SEO Cost in South Africa

Location: MyPR

When it comes to digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a term that businesses can’t afford to ignore. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of SEO has never been more apparent. However, one question that often arises is, “How much does SEO cost?” This question becomes even more pertinent when we …

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Budget Deficit – The Warning Signs Are Clear: We are in for Some REAL Tough Times

Location: News

At the beginning of September National Treasury revealed that South Africa’s budget had moved to a deficit of R143.8 billion for July, the largest since 2004 and wider than the R115.5 billion forecast by economists. This follows a 15 August 2023 Cabinet meeting, when it was noted that the economic growth outlook has worsened significantly …

Read moreBudget Deficit – The Warning Signs Are Clear: We are in for Some REAL Tough Times