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Department: Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culturewith the available budget; Fingo Library project is currently in progress and Mdantsane library has been maintained. In department%u2019s endeavour to digitise province%u2019s archivalia, the Qonce repository arranged and described 13 boxes of the Trading Sites from Mthatha archives with 104 files and 162 boxes of Chiefs and Headmen Collection-Land Allotments from the Qonce repository with 787 files sorted. The department facilitated the publication in the Provincial Government Gazette of the call for nominations of members to serve on the Eastern Cape Provincial Archives and Records Services Council. In participating in sport and recreation activities at all levels, the department continued to support local leagues by providing equipment and attire to clubs. The number of different stakeholders, including non-government organisations engaged in sport and recreation activities has been increasing steadily, operating across the 8 different districts. Eastern Cape Boxing Organization (ECABO) hosted the Youth and Elite Provincial Championships 2024 in Mthatha, Cicirha TVET College. Approximately 200 participants participated in these championships. In school sport, a wide choice and opportunity for all learners in schools to participate in the identified 16 priority codes have been achieved. 467 educators and volunteers were trained as coaches for Swimming, Chess, Table Tennis, Indigenous games, Athletics, Cricket, Basketball, Rugby, Hockey, Netball and Football and administrators in basic sport administration. It is through training of this magnitude that those learners get an opportunity to be trained by educators that qualified as coaches for inculcation of quality skills. 219 Schools were resourced with Sport Equipment and Attire to enhance regular participation in School Sport Leagues and School Sport Programs. 112 School Sport Leagues were staged, which most were implemented through the school sport festival model and support provided to 475 schools within Quintile 1 %u2013 3 including schools in remote and rural areas. Key challenges Cultural and heritage resources play increasingly important roles in enhancing community pride, defining a distinct community identify, attracting talent and investment needed for communities to grow and prosper in a creative and knowledge-based economy. However, this important and valuable sector is facing the following key challenges, thus. %uf0b7 A fragmented cultural sector and the absence of governance mechanism to support coordination and collaboration among cultural groups is impacting development, including the marketing and promotion of existing arts, culture and heritage programmes. %uf0b7 The other most pressing issues in community heritage relate to the potential loss of important heritage collections (both archives and artifacts) due to lack of overall and appropriate storage space. %uf0b7 Most museum facilities are old and dilapidated. %uf0b7 Archives do not have proper building to be utilised as an archive%u2019s repository - archivalia is kept in unsuitable buildings within the province due to inadequate funding of the service. Community libraries are crucial for people of all creeds to have access to information to satisfy their multiple needs. Besides enormous challenges with funding and staffing, community libraries, particularly in the disadvantaged rural communities, are not getting sufficient support from local government (municipalities). The meagre funding support provided by the department to municipalities with a view to better this service is being rejected by many municipalities. 816