Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) Is the National Government Department Responsible for Sport in South Africa
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Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) is the national government department responsible for sport in South Africa. Aligned with its vision of creating An Active and Winning Nation, its primary focuses are providing opportunities for all South Africans to participate in sport; managing the regulatory framework thereof and providing funding for different codes of sport. The department transforms the delivery of sport and recreation by ensuring equitable access, development and excellence at all levels of participation, thereby improving social cohesion, nation-building and the quality of life of all South Africans. The SRSA is established in terms of the Public Service Act of 1994. Its legal mandate is derived from the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act, 2007 (Act 18 of 2007), which requires it to oversee the development and management of sport and recreation in South Africa. The Act provides the framework for relationships between the department and its external clients. This includes the SRSA’s partnership with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC). The partnership is key to improving South Africa’s international ranking in selected sports. The Act also ensures that sport and physical education contribute to social cohesion by legislating on sports participation and sports infrastructure. Aligned with the SRSA’s vision of an active and winning nation, the department primarily focuses on providing opportunities for all South Africans to participate in sport; manages the regulatory framework; and provides funding for different sporting codes. The SRSA aims to maximise access, development and excellence at all levels of participation in sport and recreation to improve the quality of life for all South Africans. International framework Within the international framework, SRSA is informed by policy documents from the United Nations (UN) relevant to the sport and recreation sector. Important for SRSA is to note the specific reference to the role of sport for social progress in the Declaration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development. It recognises the growing contribution of sport to the realisation of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objective. The UN foresees that sport will play an important role in pursuing each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encourages member states to give sport due consideration in the context of the post-2015 development agenda”. In August 2016, governments from 32 Commonwealth countries took the historic step of committing to align their national sports policies to the SDGs, in order to gear investments in sport towards positive outcomes in health, education, gender equality and justice. The SRSA is working very closely with global role players, as well as other government departments, 1 in developing indicators for the sport sector that could have a Boxing South Africa Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, African Games, meaningful impact on the achievement of the 2030 SDGs. BSA’s intention is to ensure effective and efficient administration Olympic Youth Games, Commonwealth Youth Games and South Africa continues to play a leading role in projects of professional boxing in South Africa; to create synergy AUSC Region 5 Games. of global importance as reflected in its contributions to the between professional and amateur boxing. SASCOC is also responsible for the awarding of National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO and It also oordinates the activities of all boxing stakeholders in Protea Colours to athletes/officials who have met the criteria to the UN Sport for Development and Peace International Working the country for the purposes of unifying the sporting codes and represent South Africa in different sporting codes and arenas. Group (SDP IWG). managing their expectations. In addition, SASCOC endorses applications for bidding and In 2016, South Africa was unanimously elected to chair the hosting of international events, ensuring all criteria are met. Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport The 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games were a major for a period of four years. In this role, the country was expected The core focus of SAIDS, as South Africa’s national anti-doping highlight. Team South Africa’s Olympians and Paralympians to play a leading role in the preparations and development of organisation, is to tackle doping in sport in order to ensure a brought home 27 medals. policy documents for the International Conference of Ministers culture of ethics and fair play in South Africa. Team SA also performed exceptionally well and was placed and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and It has developed and implemented a comprehensive drug- first in the 2016 AUSC Region 5 Games in Angola, as has been Sport that was held in July 2017 in Kazan, Russia. testing programme that includes all South Africa’s major sporting the case in the previous years. Other projects of global importance to which SRSA is making codes and conforms to the highest international standards of SASCOC’s has various strategies designed to offer support important contributions include the UNESCO Conference the industry. to athletes who have the potential to qualify for participation of Parties to the International Convention against Doping in The SAIDS also conducts in-competition and out-of- and returning medals at a higher level in the multi-coded Sport; the African Union (AU), the African Union Sports Council competition doping control tests on international athletes on events under the organisation’s umbrella of sports. One such (AUSC) Sport Development Region Five, and the World Anti- behalf of international sports federations and other international programme is the Operation Excellence Programme, which is Doping Agency (WADA). anti-doping organisations. a premier programme for prospective Olympic and Paralympic The global recognition of the important role that the SRSA It provides anti-doping education, information and awareness medalists. The programme comprises three different tiers that is playing in the activities of UNESCO necessitates careful for athletes, coaches, parents, sports organisations, members provide varying degrees of funding and support. planning regarding the contributions from the department – of the medical, pharmaceutical and sports science professions, The Olympic Committee also collaborates with various continuing in 2017 with South Africa being elected as a pilot tertiary education institutions and the public. stakeholders including other national Olympic committees to country for the implementation of UNESCO’s Quality Physical The institute also collaborates with international anti-doping ensure that its main mandate is fulfilled. Education Programme. organisations to improve the standards and practices in doping Working with SASCOC, the Free State provincial government The right to participate in sport has been embodied in UN control. South Africa is a member of both the International and through contributions from all provincial sport and recreation instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Anti-Doping Arrangement and the Association of National Anti- departments, SRSA set aside an amount of approximately Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Doping Organisations. R68 million per year, over the Medium Term Expenditure Discrimination Against Women. It is recognised as a right which Special assistance and support was given to the South African Framework period, to strengthen the National Training Centre all governments should make available to people. Doping Control Laboratory in Bloemfontein, Free State, for it to (NTC) based at the Free State Sport Science Institute. meet the obligations of the new anti-doping code. In 2016, the The NTC is an Olympic preparatory institution for Team South Budget and funding SRSA allocated SAIDS a budget of R19,8 million. Africa and forms part of the National Academy System for elite The total budget allocation for the SRSA for the 2016/17 All South African sports organisations and national federations and high-performance sports. financial year stood at R1,28 billion, up by R48,1 million from are obliged to recognise SAIDS’s authority and to comply with The centre prepares national teams and athletes with the previous year’s allocation of R979,4 million. its directives following South Africa’s endorsement of the World scientific, medical and sport-specific support. The SRSA’s work to increase the accessibility of sport and Anti-Doping Code and UNESCO convention on anti doping. recreation facilities contributes to the achievement of the AUSC Sport Development Region Five National Development Plan’s (NDP) goals of nation-building, Transformation in sport The AUSC Region Five is one of the five regions entrusted with social cohesion and a healthy national lifestyle, as well as a In line with the National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP), a the responsibility to develop sport under the AU. This follows diverse, socially cohesive society with a common national pilot transformation audit was conducted on the top five National the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, under identity of government’s