Programme Director
Chief Bungeni
Chairperson of the Bungeni Royal Council
Princess Kurhula Mabundza
CEO of Old Mutual Foundation, Ms Fikile Kuhlase
CEO of Collen Mashawana Foundation
Councillors
Acting DG and leadership team of DSAC
Institute of Africology, Dr Ashantewaa Ngidi
Nelson Mandela Foundation representative
Dignitaries
Ladies and Gentlemen
I bring greetings and well wishes from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. It is a great privilege and honour to be back with the people of Bungeni as promised the last time I was here.
Our Department, Sport, Arts and Culture is responsible for amongst others preservation and promotion of heritage; sport development, social cohesion, as well promotion and development of culture.
When I was here in September last year, Khosi Bungeni and local leadership identified a need to uplift the socio[1]economic conditions of the communities around here.
The objective is to build community capacity and sustainable community-based programmes that
contribute to promotion of Social Cohesion, promotion of Agricultural Development, encourage the development and promotion of Tourism and most importantly the promotion of sport and culture.
On further engagements the following areas were identified for immediate implementation; Sport and Recreation; Memorialization and recognition of Heritage sites; Building of a community library; Capacity development for writers and publishers; Youth Development and Agricultural Development.
Reasonable headways have been made since that September 2022 visit.
During the past two months, the Department and our entities as well as Sister Department were here doing some work with identified recipients. Just to highlight some progress against identified areas above, Sport and Recreation Yesterday, the 16th March, 200 coaches for different
sporting codes were trained in this stadium as part of club development.
About 38 local clubs and schools will receive sport equipment and attire.
A multi-purpose sport court will be built for the community. It provides 5 sports on 1 court, namely: 5 a side soccer, netball, volleyball, basketball and tennis. A site has been identified and work was supposed to have started in February already but due to the heavy rains construction could not start.
As we celebrate Human Rights Day on 21 March 2023, it is important to remember the struggles and sacrifices paid for democracy and the protection of human rights in our country.
And it is your right, as the citizens of our democratic South Africa, to have access to these world class sports facilities which we are able to deliver and implement, through our valued partnership with The Sports Trust.
Together, we are committed to making sure that the youth are given a fair opportunity to play sport, in a safe environment, on quality surfaces, and to promote talent nurturing and identification in support of transformation in sport.
Heritage Projects
A Heritage Promotion and Preservation committee comprising the National Department, Provincial
Department, our entity SARHA and representatives of the Bungeni Royal Council met to explore how we could respond to the request.
They agreed on rehabilitating Chief Bungeni’s grave and building a memorial on a separate site so that people can visit the memorial and not the grave as the grave is a sacred space, as observed by many African cultures.
The target date for this project is August and the unveiling of the upgraded grave and the memorial to be on Heritage Day (September 2023).
Community Library and Capacity Development for local writers The Provincial Department as already shared by the MEC, has already approved the building of a community library. The site has been identified and this project will be a three-year project.
Yesterday, the 16th March, the Department in partnership with National Language Services and
Department of Basic Education facilitated a workshop for writers and publishers at Njhakanjhaka community hall.
Social Cohesion and Nation Building
Again, on the 16th, our Social Cohesion Advocates, Dr Ngidi and Sipho Matalana, facilitated a Social Cohesion, Nation building Active Citizenship Workshop with the theme “Enabling Community Leaders Towards Inclusive Community Development in Bungeni Through Capacity Building” Youth Development
The youth session that was also held yesterday, provided young people with information on opportunities and programmes being offered by DSAC. A practical demonstration of how to apply for funding from DSAC was also held.
One of our entities, BASA also shared information on the Debut Fund run with DSAC and relevant BASA youth programmes.
Agricultural Development
The Bungeni community is a community that is committed and involved in food security initiatives that include subsistence farming.
A site which also belongs to the Traditional Council has been identified for the agriculture project.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is working with the local community on the project.
The project is now at Operationalization phase:
It will go through the approvals committee procedures of the DALRRD and capacity building will be done for the project team. There will be close monitoring to ensure successful implementation.
As illustrated in the overview I just gave, as a Department we have adopted a model of multiple[1]stakeholders approach to our projects, from different spheres of government as well private sector players. In this way we give life to the District Development Model of government, which emphasizes alignment of National, Provincial and local government plans into one
integrated plan. We have also developed Public-Private Partnerships, with the likes of Old Mutual Foundation, Collen Mashawana Foundation, Centre for Mental Wellness and Leadership, etc.
Our Department is truly indebted to all these partners for the valuable collaborations and investment in meaningful interventions that are life changing for our communities.
The commitment displayed by this community is encouraging. We have seen people from all walks of life contributing to the improvement of their wellbeing.
It is clear that you all know what you want and dedicated to make it happen.
I am sure, this is not the end of our involvement here.
The Department will ensure all the projects are delivered and will monitor the work of other partners until we deliver on our objectives. Together we will have to identify more partners especially the business community must be encouraged to contribute to the betterment of their community.
Vince Lombardi, says “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand”On behalf of the Department, I would like to thank all who made this work possible and encourage you to continue doing the good work and working hard.
Lastly, Henry Ford said “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself”. It is only when we work together that we see best results.
Let us put all our hands on deck! Just one last hard push and the wall will be down.
