Sports minister Gayton McKenzie at the SA team announcement for the Paralympic Games earlier this month. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
It’s a relief to finally have a sports minister who cares about his post.
Over the last couple of decades, the position has been passed around like a hot potato, and few (if any) who have been appointed have taken it very seriously.
It has become a bit of a running joke that the Minister of Sport and Recreation is really just a Minister of Condolences and Congratulations. They don’t seem to do much more than issue statements when sports people win major events or they die.
However, Gayton McKenzie has brought more energy to the role than most of his predecessors combined.
We haven’t had many sports ministers who actually knew much about sport, with the ANC having picked random politicians to fill the gap until they’ve moved on elsewhere.
And it’s unclear how much McKenzie knows about sport either, having already declared that he wants to regulate and promote spinning (driving cars in circles and performing stunts). South Africans might not be convinced, as they enjoy ball sports far more than motor sports, and it’s important that the new minister understands the national landscape.
Rather than driving his personal interests, there are areas that need work in South African sport, and hopefully that’s where he directs his focus. Development at school level is still a problem, national federations need more funds, and more facilities are required in rural areas and townships.
Many of the new GNU leaders have left the blocks in a blaze, which is no surprise. The ANC has been criticised for so long that the representatives of other parties must now prove they can do better.
We’ll have to give it time, however, to see if they follow through in the long run.
But McKenzie is at least talking a good game, and though I thought it was a bit silly that the first thing he did after being appointed was to go for a seven kilometre walk, it’s actually rather endearing. And he’s still walking and jogging regularly.
If one of his objectives is to promote health and fitness, that’s a great way to do it, leading by example.
There is a lot more to be done, however, and it will take more than promises made on social media if he hopes to make a real impact at the Department of Sport and Recreation.
At least he seems to care about his position. That’s a good start.
