The government’s proposed Sport Transformation Act was a political move that would do little for developing sport, the opposition Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.
”This proposed Act is purely a political move and will not help people on the ground. Government needs to take sport to the people instead of worrying about who plays for the Springboks,” DA spokesperson for sport, Donald Lee, said.
The chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on sport, Butana Komphela, said on Monday that laws enforcing transformation in sport would be enacted in the middle of next year to speed up the slow pace of change.
Komphela said the government had nothing to show after 10 years of urging sport to transform, and so now legislation had to be enacted.
”Government cannot enforce transformation in sport because there is no place in the new South Africa for such legislation,” said Lee.
Players of all colours wanted to represent their country on merit and failure to adhere to that would turn South Africa’s national teams into a laughing stock, he said.
”Just ask the players, they all want to be on the national teams because they are the very best, not because they are this or that colour.
”If we don’t have the best possible people in our teams the world will laugh at us.”
Lee suggested the government implement programmes to develop sports people in schools, clubs and at provincial level instead of trying to legislate what national teams should do.
”Government needs to take equipment to the people, train them, get them involved and interested in different types of sport. Doing this will encourage them to achieve to the best of their abilities and raise the quality of players in national teams.” – Sapa