KNYSNA SPORT NEWS - Earlier last week provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport Anroux Marais paid a visit to the Hornlee Civic Centre to conduct a cheque handover to the Eden District Sport Council.
The handover took place on Monday 19 April, and was hosted by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) as the fifth of six ceremonial cheque handovers that will see funding handed over to sporting federations across the Western Cape.
Monday's ceremony saw speeches from local delegates such as Knysna Mayor Ricky van Aswegen who committed to furthering the development of sport in Knysna.
Marais handed over a total of R2 835 000 to the Eden District Sport Council during the ceremony in Hornlee. This funding will enable the 35 affiliated sport federations to fulfil their mandate of developing and promoting their respective codes and clubs.
During the keynote address, Marais expressed her hopes for development in the region. "It is hoped that these funds will increase development, assist with administration and progress transformation in the respective codes of the supported federations, while affording more major events in our municipalities," she said.
"While the industry may take two to three years to recover, the DCAS Major Events Component will continue to create space for sport tourism throughout the province by assisting federations to host inter-district, inter-provincial and international events in the Western Cape. In so doing, the events contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the province but more importantly, provides temporary jobs in the regions they take place."
A total of about R12,9-million will be handed over to the 145 affiliated sport federations across the province.
Chairman of the Interim Knysna Municipal Sports Council Aschin Klein was proud to have the minister in Knysna for the handover. "It is always great to see officials such as the minister recognising the work that we are doing for sport in Knysna, by electing to have the Eden handover here," he said.
"We are also glad to see the commitment they have made to the region as well as the mayor's commitment to sport in Knysna, and hope that some of the funding can go towards the development we are fighting for in Knysna."
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
