City's sport facilities declared no-fee zones - Johannesburg Sport Indaba
19 May 2016
Residents and sporting organisations will no longer have to pay the City of Johannesburg for the use of its sport facilities, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development Councillor Chris Vondo has announced.
MMC Vondo was speaking during the Johannesburg Sport Indaba at a packed FNB Stadium Auditorium, outside Soweto, on Wednesday May 18.
The indaba was attended by representatives of various sporting codes and organisations, such as Junior Ramovha, President of the Johannesburg Sports Council; Phil Morobi of the South African Football Association-Soweto; Enos Mafokate, owner of a showjumping school in Soweto; Augusto Palacios, Orlando Pirates' coach of junior teams; as well as several councillors and former professional soccer players.
The Johannesburg Sport Indaba presented a platform for stakeholders to debate and identify issues hampering sport development and to advise the City on how it could create an enabling environment for increased participation in sport.
"We're declaring our facilities open for all citizens of the city [to use] free of charge," MMC Vondo said.
He said the declaration was based on five pillars that formed part of the National Sport and Recreation Plan - the need to have an active citizenry, a winning nation mentality, an enabling environment for sport development, transversal issues and the use of sport as an enabling tool for social cohesion.
The MMC said the City was on the right path on its journey to positioning itself as "a world-class sporting destination of choice".
On transformation, Vondo was unrepentant, saying the issue was "non-negotiable".
"You either shape up or ship out", he warned.
Of concern to him was the apparent preference given to certain sporting codes over others, saying this situation would not be tolerated. The MMC said it was crucial for sporting councils and federations to up their game as far as their structures and administrations were concerned. He added that with almost 600 sport and 123 recreational facilities built in all its seven regions, the City had changed from what it looked like 10 years ago.
He said the multipurpose centres the City had built in places such as Orange Farm, Diepsloot and Matholesville attested to this. MMC Vondo also announced the City's intention to have all public swimming pools heated to allow all-year round activity. In his presentation, Ramovha said there were many challenges facing the Johannesburg Sports Council.
He said it was not operating as expected owing to capacity and funding challenges.
Ramovha proposed new funding models for federations and sports councils and called for the infusion of new blood into leadership positions.
Councillor Zarina Motala, Chairperson of the Section 79 Committee for Community Development, said it was important for federations to take care of public facilities they used.