Spending on Sports

A total of $417 million is expected to be spent this year on young people and sports as least that is what the 2010 National Budget says. But is this money directly benefiting our thousands of young people?

Is there adequate funding for games, sports, recreational activities, sports clubs?
Here is the answer. We have dissected the $417 million and examine what this money will be spent on for the remaining of this year.

We found:
- No sporting programme will be funded
- No clubs are listed to be funded by government
- No new projects would be undertaken for sports and youth
- And, Government will not be funding any sporting groups’ participation in tournaments overseas.

It is all the in 2010 National Budget!

So what would the taxpayers money be spent on?:
- Out of the more than $400m, is given the PPP Lackey Neil Kumar managed National Sports Commission.
- This sum is expected to:
1. Complete the 2-year old National Swimming Pool,
2. Complete an athlete track (where was an athletic track being built, by whom and who tendered for it, what a strange allocation),
3. Rehabilitate and upgrade Colgrain Pool (same allocation was made in the 2009 National Budget, somebody is lying!)
4. Construct a fence for the National Sports Commission (but this Commission is housed in the Culture, Youth and Sports, do they mean that the Ministry needs a new fence? We are lost)
5. Construct a guard Hut in Compound of the National Gymnasium (well this is at least a $50 million contact!)
6. And finally, purchase sports gear and equipment (for whom really?)

To balance off the more than $400 million allocation-a pittance of $25 million would be spent on minor works on the Smythfield Drop in Centre, Construction of a trestle/bathroom at Madewini Youth Camp and ohhh purchase more equipment and sports gear.

As the government parades as one that championed the cause of Young people for more than 1 decade we would like to remind them of a few things that they have left out:
1. Durban Park is still a dream after millions of dollars from the Lotto Fund was spent to clear and sand fill it
2. Hundreds of play grounds and parks around the City have gone to waste
3. No cycling track yet
4. A synthetic track still to come for hockey etc
5. Tennis court and swimming pool are still under construction - more than two years for each
While
6. Mass migration of coaches and sports professionals continue and
7. Mass migration of athletes continue

Finally, lets all ask Lumumba to stop pretending to inject funds into Football Clubs and honestly do it. Save our youth.