By Sibabalwe Tame
The Eastern Cape Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (ECSRAC) MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe handed over sports equipment and sports attire to 30 schools, 15 clubs, 13 leagues and 10 Sport Hubs in the Sarah Baartman District on 3 October 2023 at the Indoor Sports Centre in Joza. The event was to acknowledge the work done at every level by those involved in Sports and Recreation.
“We are doing this handover to encourage those that are interested in sports to play sports, especially the youth; we are taking them away from committing crime in the society, abusing drugs and alcohol,” said Kontsiwe, adding that ECSRAC is dedicated and committed to helping youth participation in sports.
“This Department is only doing this service delivery of supporting the clubs, the leagues, the hubs; we have no other service delivery other than providing the equipment, kits and attire,” said Kontsiwe.
She added, “One of the reasons we are here is that we want to strengthen social cohesion amongst citizens of this country and Sarah Baartman, we want to build the nation towards unity”.
Ward 5 councillor Gcobisa Mene, who was also present in the event, spoke about the late Jeff Budaza, honouring him and his role in sports in Makana. “The person who inspired Sport as a whole was Jeff Budaza,” she said.
Ntombizanele Diko, representing Bathurst Hub from Bathurst, said she is happy about the equipment she received. “We received the things we lacked, because we got soccer and netball equipment,” said Diko.
Another beneficiary, Khayalethu Ngangqu, who represented Kenton Hub from Kenton on Sea, was also very happy for the occasion as they received ten soccer balls, 10 netballs, and soccer and netball kits, including Murabaraba boards. “One soccer ball is R400; to be given 10 of them, you can play the league, you make sure that teams are able to go to gym,” he said.
