Remarks by Premier TSP Makwetla at the Athletics South Africa Champions Challenge Dinner in Secunda on Thursday 19 January 2006
Programme Director,
Mpumalanga Culture, Sport and Recreation MEC Nomsa Mtsweni ,
Mayors Linda Tshabalala and Mdibanisi Tsheke,
Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene and Members of your Executive,
Administrators, Coaches and Athletes,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you and welcome to Athletics South Africa's Champions Challenge in Mpumalanga. We feel immensely honoured to play host to these games, an experience which will serve as an inspiration to many of our young athletes in this region.
The schedule before you tomorrow is a full and interesting one. As you go into the Champions Challenge, remember that all the people of this province - black and white – are watching you with admiration. As government, on whose behalf I speak here today, we will be present at the games to spur the athletes on.
Your tournament takes place at a time when the country is really buoyant. You meet here in the industrial hub of our province at a time when all the signs are there, that our liberation, after almost a century of segregation and apartheid oppression, introduced, for all of us, a Season of Hope. The results of the recently-published Gallup Poll, which reflects the results of an international survey carried out in 62 countries last year, shows an increased optimism amongst our people. This finding is supported by the iExplore report, which indicates that our country now ranks amongst the Top Ten Destinations in the World.
This means that we are ahead of countries such as France, Italy, New Zealand, Jordan and Argentina. Our highly positive Brand Image means that indeed South Africa is Alive with Possibility! It is an image that conveys a credible Promise, of vibrant and limitless possibilities for a better life for all. This credible Promise evokes a firm and definite expectation that indeed the period ahead will realise the translation of the limitless possibilities at hand into actual positive results.
It is therefore clear that in spite of our history and the persisting legacy of our past, and despite the fact that we are one of the most racially diverse countries in the world we are a shining example of what can be done to build a non-racial and multi-cultural society, ensuring national reconciliation even where there had been antagonism and conflict among different nationalities and racial groups.
One area that caused lots of resentment in the past was the skewed allocation of resources, including sports resources. In the last decade we have achieved steady progress towards the restructuring of sports in our country. That is why it is correct to conclude that our sport is alive with possibility. The possibility to grow, expand and develop, producing more winners like Josiah Tugwana, Jacques Freitag, Johan Kronje, Sydney Maree, Hezekiel Sepeng and Mbulaheni Mulaudzi.
Since our re-entry into international sports, we have shown the world that we indeed have men and women who can hold their own against the best in the world. The medals collected by our sportsmen and women in international meetings have left some sceptics dumbfounded. Some of the medalists are here with us tonight, may we acknowledge them with a round of applause.
Sports, more than anything has the power to unite people and diverse cultures, something that is quiet critical in a period where we are, as a nation. As young men and women you have, in your own way, contributed to the reconciliation processes so necessary in the building of a nation. .And we can proudly say sport has gone a long way in breaking down racial, social and gender barriers as we work towards the building of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist society.
Programme Director, we need to fully harness the power of athletics to draw tourists and investors into our country. That is why I am calling on all of you to spread the word that Mpumalanga has one of the best and internationally admired athletics training area, Dullstrrom. The High-altitude and climatic conditions in Dullstroom are the best for middle and long distance runners.
But to develop Dullstroom and other sporting facilities in the country, will need more investment from the private sector in partnership with government. Such partnership will ensure that all our sportspeople, regardless of race, have the potential to develop to the full. The potential for such partnership will make a significant contribution to addressing a variety of problems facing our society and ensuring the total development of our youth in the field of sport.
Let me, in conclusion, salute those tireless warriors who give so much of their time and energy, sometimes without any reward, for their efforts, at ensuring that sport and recreation is delivered from the lowest levels of participation to the pinnacle of international competition.
I am speaking, of course, about coaches, officials, technical assistants and volunteers. Without your dedication and passion, sport and recreation as we know it, will not be possible in Mpumalanga and in South Africa. We wish all of you all the success.
To the athletes, as you engage in this event that is the road to the Commonwealth Games in Australia, go out there and give it your best shot. But remember, even if you do not win, you are among the best, please enjoy.
I thank you.