Lorato Tshenkeng
Pretoria - Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has reached his sell-by-date, and President Cyril Ramaphosa must just save us and get rid of him.
Why, you may ask? Well, besides the fact that Mthethwa has proven himself to be a monumental failure, any leader who uses public platforms to make false commitments must go.
“It is going to be a law in this country that Banyana Banyana and Bafana Bafana will be paid equally. We are making that decision as the government. It’s not only Banyana Banyana, but all the women’s teams (to be paid equally); we are supporting them as a government.”
These are Mthethwa’s words in response to the raging national conversation on income inequality in sport.
He was speaking at the ceremony in Johannesburg last July to welcome the South African national women’s football team – nicknamed Banyana Banyana – who had just won their first continental trophy, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).
Income inequality is not peculiar to sport in South Africa, it definitely is a society-wide and global problem.
Thankfully, Banyana Banyana’s victory at the Wafcon had once again put the spotlight on the injustice in our national sporting codes – which led to the government committing to address the gender pay gap in sport by Mthethwa – only for his promise to be dismissed by the Commission for Gender Equality as lip-service. Like the Commission for Gender Equality, I have no faith whatsoever in Mthethwa, and many compatriots don’t either, as he has shown himself to be the worst ever in that department.
Among his many failures – not only has he been reactive and lethargic to the plight of women who earn less than their male counterparts, with no plan on how his department intends to address the injustice of income inequality – he has presided over mismanagement of R300 million earmarked to relieve the plight of artists and creatives during the Covid-19 pandemic; he pushed for the construction of a monumental flag that was going to cost taxpayers R22m, but had to be cancelled after it had been approved by the Cabinet; the school sports programme is nowhere near where it should be, the list is endless.
To therefore believe that Mthethwa will be a champion of any progressive effort to close the gender pay gap is hoping against hope.
In the face of the injustice of income inequality, South Africa cannot afford to only seem to care about the issue when there’s public outrage and the president serves women with platitudes such as – ‘You deserve equal pay for equal work that you do” – without any kind of follow-through. In fact, the president must fire Mthethwa, reshuffle his Cabinet, and replace him with a capable leader whose track record is unquestionable.
This year is a standout year in women’s sport in South Africa. Currently, the national women’s cricket team is playing in the ICC T20 World Cup, while Banyana Banyana and the national netball team, the Spar
Proteas, are set to represent the country at respective world cups in July to August this year.
The Spar Proteas will be looking to take gold at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, the first ever hosted on African shores, while Banyana Banyana will be flying the flag at the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup hosted in Australia and New Zealand. Participation at these tournaments presents a good opportunity to demonstrate how seriously women are taken in this country.
The government must take the lead in winning the confidence of the private sector to bring in more commercial support for female sport. Unfortunately, that can’t be achieved by an uninspiring minister with a terrible track record.
The private sector must also show up to help end the systemic gender inequality by supporting the transformation agenda. They must put more money in female sport so that the many talented women and girls can be in well-paying professional spaces, and playing in highly-competitive leagues and tournaments, both locally and abroad.
The transformation agenda ought not only to be about representation, but priority must be placed on ensuring that women in sport earn a lot more money than they do now.
Leadership is required to win the battle against any kind of injustice, and is also required to ensure policies to ensure income equality become a reality.
Leadership is required to catalyse commercial partnerships that will greatly benefit female sport, and it is required to ensure sports federations are enabled to do much more to eliminate the gender pay gap.
Leadership is required to ensure the hopes and aspirations of South Africans are never taken for granted by grandstanding politicians. So, Mr President, be bold, get rid of dead wood to win the battle against inequality.
* Tshenkeng is the founder and CEO of Decode Communications, a Pan-African reputation management agency.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
Pretoria News