Sports prepares to roll red carpet for new minister

Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday November 6, 2024 10:11

With only three women elected and the new President, Duma Boko expected to appoint more through special nomination, it is unlikely that the appointees will have special skills for sports. Therefore it all points to another man walking through the doors of the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Gender and Culture when Boko announces his lieutenants in the coming days. From the recently elected parliamentarians, it is difficult to pick who could be the most suitable candidate to ably take charge of the four portfolios of youth, sport, gender and culture. In most cases, sport appears to be the key determinant when the President appoints the Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture minister. Shaw Kgathi and Tumiso Rakgare had strong backgrounds in sport; one in softball and the other in football respectively. Boko might go with a technocrat, who might not have necessarily played sport but someone who understands its dynamics.

Sport is linked to youth as the majority of sport participants or enthusiasts are the youth. By appointing a technocrat, Boko will be looking for a person who cannot only influence policy but be able to shape it as well. In most cases, ministers have been figure heads who feed from permanent secretaries. It can work both ways, but politicians can be the proverbial spanner in the works. They are mostly self-serving individuals as opposed to the permanent secretaries who effectively do the donkey work only for the ministers to step in and collect the applause. It is a litmus test for Boko who himself is learning the ropes of running a country.

Sport has been on an upward trajectory in recent months, largely due to the exploits of one Letsile Tebogo. The Zebras, one of sport's earlier recognised brands, is waking up from a more than decade long comma, while their female counterparts, the Mares have qualified for two Africa Cup of Nations finals in a row. Both the Zebras and Mares could be in Morocco for the AFCON finals next year. Ross Branch has just landed Africa's first world motorsport rally title.

There are many other promising instances that will greet the incoming minister. The minister should leave their own legacy while at the same time, build on the success from the past. While sport has been performing well, its budget still remains small. The over-reliance on the government grant should be minimised and the new minister should ensure there are clear cut policies on sport development. School sport should be at the top of the agenda and the running of associations should improve. The internal conflicts within codes is worrying, which retards development as we have witnessed in karate and football.

The minister should remain non-partisan. We saw in the previous administration the minister getting embroiled in internal politics, which made it difficult to ascertain whether it was intervention or interference. The new person should avoid that and instead assume a mother/father figure where all aggrieved parties are free to approach his or her office for mediation.