Sporting promises need action, not just talk

There’s an old saying along the lines that talk is cheap, but it doesn’t buy the beers.

Our Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie would do well do bear that in mind for the next four years – assuming he stays in office that long – in the run-up to the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The shoot-from-the-lip minister may have been issuing cheques that his government of national unity will never be able to cash, in promising that he will support all of our athletes heading to the 2028 Games.

Not only that, he promised that there will be such a drive to unearth hidden talent in far-flung places in our country that we will be able to double the numbers of athletes we send, from the current 150 to 300.

That is going to be more than just paying for 300 people (and sundry trainers, medics, coaches and administrative hangers-on), that will mean a commitment of hundreds of millions, if not billions, of rands, to ensure we have the facilities to produce global stars.

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That means building scores of Olympic-size pools in disadvantaged areas, putting in top-class athletic tracks as well as other venues for the lesser sports.

It also means recruiting and paying quality coaches and helping support our budding athletes financially.

To put South Africa where McKenzie and many other sport-mad South Africans believe it should be on the world sports stage, is going to require nothing less than a sports reconstruction and development programme (RDP).

And we all know what happened to the previous RDP – which was supposed to lift people up out of poverty and change their lives for the better.

We’re not saying it can’t be done. But, this is a project too big for a government alone. No matter how big their mouths are. It’s up to all of us.

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