Govt has dropped ball on real transformation

There is not much that divides opinion more in South African sport than quotas and transformation. If Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was somehow not aware of how serious people are about this topic, he certainly found out this week. Speaking to Kyodo News during a recent visit to Japan, Kolisi said the late president Nelson Mandela would not have supported the quota system in rugby. That was just enough to whip social media up into a frenzy and soon the former Grey High schoolboy found himself trending on Twitter for mostly the wrong reasons.

Some agreed with the Zwide-born star, while many condemned his statement, saying he needed reminding of South Africa’s history.

One keyboard warrior shamefully went as far as to suggest Kolisi should have a tyre put around his neck for his beliefs. Then the narrative also morphed into one about who Springbok rugby players should be marrying, in reference to Kolisi’s white wife, Rachel.

It goes without saying, people will continue to argue about quotas as long as sport is played in this country.

But another part of Kolisi’s view that many people will agree with, is that transformation needs to start at township level. Yes, transformation is necessary at all levels, but it is crucial that there is adequate focus at school level.

For a country that places so much emphasis on sport, government has been slow on the uptake when it comes to transforming school sport within our townships.

The Herald and Weekend Post have run numerous exposés on the poor state of sporting facilities at schools and clubs within our townships and the northern areas.

How children are expected to excel in their various codes given the state of the facilities at their disposal, only government knows.

Transformation is all about creating equal sporting opportunities for people. There is nothing equal about township sport compared to that of “model C” schools.

If government is serious about transformation, it would do well to level the playing fields in more ways than one.