Many national federations are up in arms over government grant delays that are leaving them squeezed for cash and placing some development programmes at risk.
This week sports bodies were still waiting to learn from the department of sport, arts and culture (DSAC) how much they would receive for the current financial year ending March 31, 2023. After that payment would still take a few weeks.
Grants, which are earmarked for development programmes and administrative support, can range dramatically from year to year. The Sunday Times has been told of fluctuations ranging from R500,000 to R1,5-million — which makes it impossible to safely plan for projects.
Federations would prefer the allocations to be decided early in the DSAC’s financial year, which runs from April to March. “We have neither received nor had any quantum confirmed (other than it’s less than last year) for our allocation this year,” said Tennis SA (TSA) president Gavin Crookes.
TSA managed its money carefully, he said, but the late nature of the government grants meant the body had to carry the costs of some projects until they received the cash. “If this matter is not sorted by month-end we’ll have no choice but to give notice to shut down a couple of our projects,” he said.
An official from another sports body highlighted the absurdity of the system, saying the DSAC had suggested his federation amend a programme listed on their application that had already been completed.
An Athletics SA official said they had been forced to put some programmes on ice.
The dilemma facing federations is whether to run development programmes in the hope that the costs will be covered by the DSAC grants, or to wait for the funding in December and then race to organise a programme before the end of the financial year, by which time unspent money must be returned.
Cycling SA head Qondisa Ngwenya, also an SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) board member, said the timing of the applications and payments needed to be improved. “We can’t be applying in April for the financial year 2023/24,” he said.
“It just can’t work because it means that government is only going to be able to make that decision in November-December because of government bureaucracy. We’ve got to solve it…
“I would have wanted confirmation at latest in May about how much funding we’re going to get from government and what the expectations of government are from us from a delivery point of view.”
Canoeing SA secretary-general Colin Simpkins was in agreement. “You can’t have a model where you apply for funding and then they make their mind up whether they’re going to give it to you or not after that project has already finished.”
One federation executive member remembered a time when the government called for applications in March and started making payments by June.
You can’t have a model where you apply for funding and then they make their mind up whether they’re going to give it to you or not after that project has already finished
The hand-to-mouth existence facing most federations highlights the urgent need for a national sports funding model that would also include support for high-performance sport.
With just more than 18 months to go to the Olympics, there is little official backing for athletes to prepare for Paris 2024 beyond rare sponsorships enjoyed by a few bodies and sporadic Lotto funding.
Frustration experienced by some federation members deepened recently when the DSAC hit them with more hoops to jump through to secure funding. “This year is the worst year ever because we’re way past when we normally get our allocation letters and now suddenly they’ve introduced new stuff that was never on the table,” said one furious official.
He was frothing over an email sent only on November 11 asking federations to submit extra information.
Mankopane Manamela, in DSAC’s funding department, wrote: “I am writing this email with a special request, urgent intervention, attention, patience and calm on the following new requirements which will require each of you to submit before we can transfer any funds.”
The new requirements to which he referred were certificates of registration, tax compliance certificates and filling out a public servant verification disclosure form listing employees and volunteers.
“If their [DSAC’s] legal department needed these documents, why did they not request them from the outset?” asked the official.
Officials from other federations confirmed it was the first time they were being asked to furnish the department with the information.
Only one sport official who spoke to the Sunday Times was unfazed, describing the late payment as the norm for at least the past 10 years, during which he had not received allocation notification before early November. “We plan around it.”
For him the bigger issue this year was the lack of Covid-relief funds, which had been critical in keeping his federation afloat in the previous two years.
Ngwenya pointed out there was no ill will between sports bodies and the DSAC. “There is a good relationship between government and national federations, but the system needs to improve to keep up with that relationship.”
Several officials who spoke to the Sunday Times agreed that the National Sports Plan that was drawn up in 2011 and then left to rot needed to be resurrected. It included a funding model.
The DSAC had not responded to questions by Saturday morning.
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