top of page

Transformation: The Broken Foundation of the New South Africa

I’m not a big fan of sports. I don’t really enjoy watching it – rugby, cricket, cycling, hockey, even soccer. However, even I can see that our Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Fikile Mbalula, is making a right mess of it. Mbalula recently announced that he would no longer “beg for racial transformation”, and would instead start forcing sporting federations to fulfil racial quotas. His method of ensuring that this would be done was to ban cricket, rugby, netball and athletics federations (note, there is no mention of soccer, which is disproportionately filled with black athletes) from bidding in international tournaments until they met the quotas.

In a piece by Siya Mnyanda, entitled “Imposing racial quotas is a vital step forward for South African sport”, Mnyanda states: “[Critics of Mbalula’s decision] say quotas go against the central tenet of professional sport – that an athlete be chosen on merit alone. But in a country like South Africa, sport has never been about merit.” Mnyanda also says: “Ali Bacher, former managing director of South African cricket has come out in support of Mbalula, warning that “sporting federations have been long warned about a possible government backlash” for their failure to find and nurture black talent.”

I disagree with Mnyanda’s point of view – that imposing racial quotas in this way is beneficial – because I believe that children from disadvantaged schools are not given the opportunity that is needed for them to become part of such prestigious federations. Mnyanda states: “One doesn’t just wake up playing sport at a professional level. Talent needs to be identified and nurtured from a young age, and there need to be mechanisms in place to find aptitude at a grassroots level and make sure that it is developed.” This statement I can agree with.

Talent needs to be nurtured, yes. Imposing racial quotas won’t do that, though. Our sports minister, and any other minister or party imposing racial quotas, are seeking instant gratification; a quick fix. Instead of building a foundation for what they seek to achieve, they simply demand that the result happen. For instance, Mbalula could encourage the Department of Education to fund (or find funding for) the building of sports fields at disadvantaged schools. He could encourage such schools to hire qualified and competent teachers, who can train children in recreational sporting activities – like a school soccer team, or a school rugby team.

It is all fine and well to say that sports federations should attract players of colour and develop them to professional level, until one realises that these players of colour WILL be from elite schools. These players will not be the little boy from the township who always dreamed of playing cricket with an actual cricket bat and ball. By the time an athlete is old enough for the sports federations to take interest in him or her, it is too late for that athlete to reach their peak. If South Africa ever want to relive the glory and national unity our rugby world cup wins brought, we cannot afford to not have players at their very best.

In a survey conducted by the SA Institute of Race Relations, it was indicated that most black people in South Africa oppose racial quotas in sport. News24’s Wim Pretorius writes: “More than 70% of black South Africans do not believe that sport teams should be picked based on transformation goals, but rather purely on merit.” This is a result that AfriForum and Solidarity intend to use in the Labour Court in a bid to have the SA Rugby Union (SARU’s) strategic transformation plan and the transformation charter for South African sport set aside.

Mbalula claims that it is very telling that these organisations are taking the matter to the Labour Court, instead of South Africa’s Constitutional Court. I fail to see how it is telling and if it is, what tale it is telling? Must every matter go straight to the highest court in the country? Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann said: “Sport in South Africa is regulated by the National Sport and Recreation Act. This Act prohibits the minister from interfering when it comes to the selection of sports teams”. Legislation makes is a labour dispute, hence the Labour Court.

I encourage my readers to read this article by Dhirshan Gobind, entitled “Why quotas in South African sport must fall”, which can provide a good insight into the matter. Another insightful piece entitled “Race quotas in sport are simply illegal – Solidarity/AfriForum” by Dirk Hermann and Kallie Kriel sheds light on the legal complexities of the situation.

Legality aside – the court will sort that out – Mbalula's actions, and the amount of support those actions have received, disappoint me. The government seems content to settle for a temporary solution, trusting that the foundation will somehow fix itself without the aid they should be providing. As any sane person would point out: a shiny new coat of paint does not fix a house that is falling apart and one cannot build a house by starting with the roof. If the government does not start paying more attention to the health and equality of the foundation of sport than the colour of the face of it, it will fall apart.

Ever heard of the fool who built his house on the sand? It was swept away shortly after he built it. Unless we make a good, solid foundation for all – in sport, education and life – we as a nation will be toppled and swept away in time.

If you found this article informative, please consider subscribing and please share; it is literally the only way my message gets out.

Sources and other links:

Join our mailing list

Never miss an update

bottom of page