SA Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to ‘super fan’ Joyce “Mama Joy” Chauke and her state-sponsored trips.
McKenzie insisted that the SA government will no longer sponsor her trips to sporting events, with the FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico starting next month.
In April, Chauke announced on social media that she had secured a sponsor as an ambassador of a sports brand, which will get her to the World Cup.
McKenzie said there was no longer a reason to keep paying for Chauke, despite her obvious passion for Bafana Bafana.
Balancing Fairness and Passion: The Dilemma of Sponsoring Mama Joy for Bafana Bafana Trips
“How do I justify taking Mama Joy for the umpteenth time? I can’t. The last trip, the department spent R800,000,” said McKenzie.
“Business class flights, five-star hotels. The people here are not going on business flights. We can send more people with R800,000 than just in one person.
“Do we want this thing of South Africans where some people think some things are meant for them? That’s not right. They think things are meant for them. And other people must apply, make videos; they are less important. These ones get automatic qualification.”
The decision concerning Chauke was not personal, insisted McKenzie.
“No, it can’t work like that. It cannot work like that. So, we’ve got nothing against Mama Joy.
“But Mama Joy… was posting about how she got a sponsor. I was the happiest person. I thought that problem was now done. She’s got a sponsor.
If Mama Joy doesn’t have a ticket and she’s there, I will not leave Mama Joy outside because she loves Bafana Bafana. If she’s there at a stadium, my heart wouldn’t allow me to leave her outside there.
“But all these people have an equal right. The 16 people or the 20 people that are going. They have an equal right to be there, like Mama Joy.”
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
