MBOMBELA – Social cohesion will benefit when all schools, big or small, in the province begin participating against one another in a variety of sport codes.
To this end the province plans to establish a schools’ sport league in all codes, including indigenous games.
This was announced by executive members Mr Gillion Mashego and Ms Refilwe Mtsweni on Thursday following the final cabinet meeting for the year.
“The intent is to bridge the gap in social cohesion,” Mtsweni said. Mashego added that giving children in townships and those attending school in towns the opportunity to interact and compete on the sport field, was aimed at furthering nation building.
The departments of education as well as culture, sport and recreation are meant to drive the initiative, which will include all available sport codes and run throughout the year.
Teachers are also to be taught indigenous games to be able to teach children games such as diketo, dibeke and morabaraba.
The executive council also approved a community sport strategy, which is aimed at increasing residents’ access to sport and recreation activities.
“These could also be utilised to reach the out-of-school youth and ensure that there is vibrant participation in sport and recreation in the province,” Mashego announced.
School sport is included in this strategy which will seek to develop and enhance people’s capabilities on the sport field.
Ms Sibongile Nkosi, spokesman for the department of sport and recreation, said they had taken note of the resolution since at present the school leagues did not reach all schools.
“We are going back to the drawing board. We are working with the Department of Education to have a plan to implement it at the beginning of next year. Social cohesion is very important and sport unites people.”
