Cultural Affairs and Sport
Whether his Department has plans to repair the sports fields in (a) Scottsville and (b) Paarl East; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
- or learners, (c) what are the timeframes to find suitable land and (d) when will the building process commence?
The responsibility for repairing and maintaining local sports facilities lies with municipalities, as stipulated in Schedule 5B of the Constitution, 1996. Accordingly, the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and the Drakenstein Municipality bear the primary obligation for the upkeep and upgrades of facilities within their respective jurisdictions.
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) has an existing Implementation Protocol Agreement with the CoCT to address matters of mutual interest, including sporting infrastructure. The condition of the Scottsville facility will be raised with the CoCT at the next scheduled meeting for further discussion. Similarly to the agreement with the CoCT, the Department has a good working relationship with the Drakenstein Municipality and will too raise the conditions of the Paarl East fields and if an application for it to be repaired is something to consider.
While DCAS is not directly mandated to maintain sports facilities, the Department remains committed to collaborating with municipalities to ensure these facilities effectively contribute to community development, social cohesion, and crime prevention initiatives.
As a key stakeholder in promoting sports across the province, DCAS will continue to engage with municipalities to support their efforts in maintaining and enhancing these vital community resources.
