Is Kodwa on top of it, or another sports minister who doesn’t know sport?

For all the praise he heaped on national teams this week, sports minister Zizi Kodwa might do well to remember in future that sport consists of a wide range of codes.

In a press release, Kodwa congratulated the SA men’s and women’s cricket sides, the Springbok rugby squad, the Proteas netball team and the World Student Games squad for their performances in 2023.

Most notable in his adulations, however, was the long list of achievers he left out.

There was no mention of swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, who secured gold and silver medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, showing fine form in the build-up to next year’s Olympic Games.

In addition, the national team did not receive acknowledgement for the three medals they earned at the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow.

And there was no tip of the hat for the SA men’s half-marathon squad who secured bronze in the team competition at the World Road Running Championships in Riga – the nation’s first medal at the showpiece since 1999.

Perhaps even more surprising was Kodwa’s omission of Banyana Banyana’s breakthrough performance at the Women’s Fifa World Cup in Australasia, where they became the first South African football side to progress beyond the group stages of a global championship.

Lack of knowledge

Sports ministers have previously been accused of doing little more than congratulate athletes and teams. More concerning, however, has been their general lack of sporting knowledge.

If we’re going to have a minister of sport, they should probably know something about sport. Or at least make the effort to learn.

When Kodwa fails to acknowledge so many top performers in a statement congratulating the nation’s elite, it suggests that he doesn’t know enough about the topic.

In order to make a difference in the world of sport, the government’s leading man on the beat needs to show he cares about his role as head of department.

Kodwa has been progressive, also announcing this week that steps have been taken towards resolving the ongoing administrative mess at Boxing South Africa, raising the status of domestic netball to professional level, and updating anti-doping legislation in line with the Wada code in order to avoid potential sanctions.

So he has done more than congratulate athletes, to be fair. Ironically, however, when he did what his predecessors did best, praising top achievers, he exposed some flaws. And when you can’t even get that right, are you really keeping an eye on your department?

The sports minister’s position has often been seen as a stepping stone for ambitious politicians, or a comfy resting spot without much pressure, but sport is a massive industry and it has been widely credited as a useful nation-building tool, so the role deserves more respect than it has previously been given.

Kodwa is making an effort, no doubt, but he also needs to follow local sport while he’s in the position. At least enough to know when we’re winning international medals.