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The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has defended its decision to send two superfans to the Rugby World Cup in France and has rebuked negative sentiments about this on social media platforms.
"Mama Joy Chauke and Botha Msila are recognised in the world of sport as the epitome of promoting a winning, active and inspiring nation," said Minister Zizi Kodwa, after Chauke and Msila's presence at the World Cup was questioned by locals on X, formerly Twitter.
Ward 2 Councillor for Nelson Mandela Bay, Renaldo Gouws took to Twitter on Monday raising questions about who was carrying the cost of the two attending the tournament.
Gouws' tweet has already been viewed 1.2 million times and resulted in "Mama Joy" trending for days.
I was today years old when I found out that these two are paid by the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture to go and be supporters in the stands. I'm not joking, they are paid by taxpayers to go to sporting events across the world to "represent" South Africa. pic.twitter.com/7INHeEDg9o
— Ngamla Gouws ???????? (@RenaldoGouws) October 2, 2023
According to Minister Kodwa, South Africa had adopted a document on the "country's interests and its advancement in a global environment," defining it within the context of addressing "the legacies of the colonial rule and apartheid policies".
"Chauke and Msila's presence at the rugby world cup is playing a major role in demonstrating how South Africa is using sport to heal the divisions of the past," said Kodwa.
He also mentioned that his Department was committed to creating global platforms for locals to promote "people-to-people cooperation, collaboration and partnership".
Kodwa said Chauke is flying the South African flag high in France and raising women's "agency and voice in a male-dominated environment".
"It cannot be correct for South Africans that refuse change to use the rugby world cup to push their underlying racism and patriarchal tendencies, to bully and insult a woman who has built a profile as a Super Fan across all sporting codes".
The Department also said it has always supported locals in the arts on various international platforms, saying this kind of support does not start with Chauke and Msila.
Renaldo Gouws responds
Following the statement from the Department of Sport, Gouws said obvious questions surrounding the "Super Fan" sponsorship were still not answered.
"Not once has the department answered questions on how these individuals were selected, or whether there was even a process open to all South Africans in order to benefit from this project."
Gouws said he wanted to know since what date the Department assisted representatives to attend events outside of the country, how many people were currently supported by this program and how they were selected.
He says the cost breakdown per individual should also be disclosed.
"These questions are critical in understanding why athletes who are selected to represent our country need to turn to private funders because the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has on many occasions claimed that it doesn't have funding to support these athletes.
"How is it possible then that athletes who have the skills and ability to fly our flag high on an international stage struggle to get support from your department but people who sit in the crowd hoping to appear on television for 10 seconds during a match receive a fully paid for trip on the taxpayers dime? " Gouws added
