Question NW5430 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

(1) What measures has his department adopted to ensure that (a) provincial governments and (b) municipalities develop and maintain adequate recreational facilities; (2) what is his position on the ability and mandate of (a) his department, (b) provincial government departments and (c) municipalities to (i) oversee and/or (ii) intervene with regard to the condition of community recreational facilities; (3) what regulations and policies does his department rely on to regulate the condition of (a) sports facilities, (b) playparks and (c) other community recreational facilities; (4) whether any legislative and/or regulatory instruments were implemented; if not, what is his position on the development of such guidelines; if so, what are the relevant details?

1. In terms of Schedule 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, provincial sport and provincial recreation and amenities are exclusive provincial functional areas, while local sport facilities, municipal parks and recreation, and local amenities are exclusive municipal functional areas. The Department does not own, build or maintain community recreational facilities. Its measures are therefore directed at supporting, funding, guiding and monitoring the spheres of government that do.

(a) The Department works with provincial departments responsible for sport and recreation through intergovernmental coordination, policy guidance, strategic planning and the sharing of technical information on the planning, development and management of sport and recreation facilities.

Measures to support the provision of adequate facilities include the following:

(b) The Department’s principal measure in respect of municipalities is the portion of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) earmarked for sport and recreation infrastructure. Since 2016/17 the Department, working with the Department of Cooperative Governance and National Treasury, has ring-fenced part of this allocation. The Department identifies and prioritises the projects, which must form part of the municipality’s integrated development plan; the Department of Cooperative Governance transfers the funds; and the Department supports the projects from planning through to completion, including design reviews at planning stage. Metropolitan municipalities are funded through the Urban Settlements Development Grant, which carries no ring-fence for sport, and the Department’s influence over facility provision in the metros is correspondingly limited. In working with municipalities, the Department applies the following measures:

Maintenance after completion remains the principal weakness. The MIG framework expects municipalities to make provision for the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure it funds, but the Department has found that municipalities do not consistently budget for the maintenance of sport and recreation facilities once projects are handed over.

2. My position is that the Constitution places the primary responsibility for overseeing and maintaining community recreational facilities with the municipalities that own and operate them, with provinces responsible for monitoring and supporting municipalities and, where necessary, intervening. The Department’s ability to oversee these facilities is exercised through national policy, norms and standards, and the conditions attached to the funding it directs. It has no direct power to intervene in the management of a municipal or provincial facility.

(a) The Department’s role is to provide national policy direction, develop and promote applicable norms and standards, coordinate the implementation of national sport and recreation priorities, and support and monitor infrastructure projects funded or supported through its programmes. The Department may conduct technical assessments, undertake site inspections, monitor project implementation and engage the relevant provincial department or municipality where concerns relating to the condition, safety or functionality of recreational facilities are identified.

Where non-compliance, poor workmanship, project delays or inadequate maintenance are identified, the Department may raise the matter with the responsible implementing authority and recommend appropriate corrective measures. Where funding agreements or applicable legislation provide for further action, the Department may exercise the powers available to it under those arrangements, including taking a municipality’s record into account when prioritising future allocations.

(b) Provincial departments responsible for sport, recreation and amenities have a role in developing and implementing provincial priorities, supporting municipalities within their respective mandates, monitoring relevant programmes and coordinating the delivery of sport and recreational facilities. Under section 155(6) of the Constitution, provincial governments must monitor and support local government and, under section 139, a provincial executive may intervene where a municipality cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation.

(c) Municipalities are responsible for the management and maintenance of municipal recreational facilities falling within their mandates. Their function includes ensuring that facilities are safe, functional, accessible and maintained throughout their operational life.

Municipal oversight and intervention measures should include routine inspections, maintenance scheduling, repairs, rehabilitation, asset management and the allocation of adequate operational and maintenance budgets, consistent with the asset management obligations placed on municipal accounting officers by section 63 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003).

3. The Department does not have a regulatory instrument of its own governing the condition of community recreational facilities. The applicable requirements depend on the type of facility, its ownership, its intended use and the legislation governing the relevant activity.

The principal policy and regulatory instruments that may apply include:

Playparks should be developed and maintained in accordance with applicable municipal by-laws, building and safety requirements, relevant technical standards and the requirements applicable to the equipment installed.

Municipalities should ensure that playground equipment is inspected regularly, defects are recorded and corrected, and damaged or unsafe equipment is removed from use until it can be made safe.

(c) Other community recreational facilities

Other facilities, including community halls, outdoor gyms, open recreational spaces and multipurpose courts, should comply with the legal and technical requirements applicable to their design, construction, use and ownership.

These may include applicable building regulations, accessibility requirements (including Part S of SANS 10400), occupational health and safety provisions, municipal by-laws, engineering specifications and relevant technical standards.

The Department promotes the use of appropriate technical assessments, maintenance plans and monitoring mechanisms to identify defects and support the sustainable management of these facilities.

4. No. No legislative or regulatory instrument dealing specifically with the condition and maintenance of community sport and recreation facilities has been made under the National Sport and Recreation Act, 1998 (Act No. 110 of 1998). The Department operates within the existing constitutional, legislative and policy framework governing sport and recreation infrastructure. These instruments provide the basis for the planning, development, funding and management of facilities, together with applicable building, safety and technical requirements.

My position is that there is merit in developing national guidelines on the inspection, maintenance and safe condition of community sport and recreation facilities, including playparks. Any such guidelines must be developed in consultation with provincial departments, municipalities, the South African Local Government Association, relevant technical professionals and other stakeholders, and must take account of the funding municipalities have available for maintenance. Guidelines that cannot be funded will not change the condition of facilities.