| Summary: | A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of
Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation
and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2007. === Recreation as a profession is new in South Africa. In the past not much concern was given to the provision and utilisation of recreation facilities for the previously disadvantaged communities. Recreation has not been taken as a significant component of life for Blacks because of the apartheid system that existed. In the recent history of South Africa, recreation facilities were mainly made available to the White population areas, with Black areas and being neglected.
Recent years have seen the expansion of recreation services throughout the country. Since the 1994 election a new trend for recreation participation has emerged. This has increased the demand for provision of recreation facilities. This trend has caused the authorities, nationally, provincially and locally, to extend facility provision for all the communities and age groups of South Africa. The government, through the Department of Sport and Recreation (DSR), is becoming involved in the development of recreation infrastructure and facilities.
The focus of this study is to investigate the provision and utilisation of recreation facilities for youth in Ngwelezane. Every person has a right to recreation facilities as well as a right to participate in them, therefore it was the main aim of this study to find out if these rights were honoured. The research problem was formulated within the framework of demand and supply model. There is a great backlog that exists in the provision of recreation facilities in the previously disadvantaged areas. Thus there is a need to address the imbalances and remaining injustices of the past as far as the provision of recreation facilities, especially in Black townships.
Data was collected by means of interviews and questionnaires that were administered to 128 youth of Ngwelezane Township to establish if they have enough recreation facilities and if these facilities are available and accessible. Data analysis was accomplished through using the Statistical Package for the
Social Science (SPSS). The method used for analysing information appeared to be effective because clear outcomes of the finding were achieved.
The most important findings were that, there is a relatively low provision and participation in recreation activities among the Black youth in the study area. The latter suggests the existence of a great demand for recreation facilities, with the exception of soccer and netball facilities. It was further discovered that a large percentage of youth would like to be provided with recreation facilities. A greater segment of youth would like to be provided with recreation facilities. If there is shortage of recreation facilities something needs to be done to provide these facilities.
It was also discovered that the local municipality should play a major role in the provision of recreation facilities compared to other organizations. This is the big challenge that the local government is facing. Since local municipality is the government that is closest to the people and represents the interests of the residents, it is responsible for fulfilling the developmental role (DLG; 1998).
Recreation plays an important role in the lives of individuals, the local community and the nation at large. There is a great responsibility on stakeholders, including all spheres of government, to actively contribute towards raising the levels provision and participation in organised sport and recreation in the country. The government, through the Department of Sport and Recreation (DSR), may be on the right track encouraging the development of recreation infrastructure and facilities, through the programme "Getting the Nation to Play".
Therefore, it is clear that recreation facilities need to be provided for youth in the study area, so that they are able to participate in recreation activities. Further that the local government needs to play a leading role to ensure adequate provision of recreation facilities at Ngwelezane Township.
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