How Is South Africa Taking Care Of Its Athletes During The Coronavirus Lockdown Challenge?

Desperate times, desperate measures. Ever heard that one? Well, you may have. Life’s big and there are several instances where one sees challenging times making life difficult for one and all. In such times, it’s not entirely uncommon to find someone coming to the rescue of an aggrieved lot. Right? But not always does one have to do things that are really out of that blue.

Not always is there a need for a desperate course of action. At times, one could simply resort to a clean and honest intent, ensuring that the best interests manifest the right or intended results for the beneficiary.

Isn’t that true? In that case, one can simply choose to act normal albeit with a sense of conscience.

See South Africa for instance. Wondering how’s that? Thinking about how South Africa is actually coming to the rescue of an important strand of its own population, one that needed urgent guidance during these challenging times?

Well, before we head into that, it’s important to know a bit of a context or common background.

Frankly speaking, not a day goes by when one doesn’t hear about the South African government copping up bad press. If it’s not for the lack of measures that are being taken to counter the rising problem of unemployment amid tense economic situations, there are also days where the government is criticized for the brazen corruption with which it tends to function.

Yet, it’s this very government that should be credited for finally taking a course of action that is bringing back smiles to that stretch of population that often increases the smile of the Rainbow nation.

The athletes- many of whom were troubled during the dismay wrought by the Coronavirus lockdown are finally seeing their interests being protected.

So how is that happening and what exactly is the existing South African administration doing to ensure a bright day for its sports persons?

Well, the news is that as many as 90 South African athletes have been protected under a government relief fund that has been specifically instituted to fight the Coronavirus scare during the rife global epidemic.

The Department of Sport, in the light of this development, it ought to be said, happens to be a government department that is brimming with a sense of bright optimism. Much of the credit goes to the central or ruling government.

During the current times, where the Coronavirus lockdown has brought about a self-inflicted rule of lockdown- true to much of the world- athletes in South Africa have actually benefitted from a relief fund package that’s worth a mighty R150 million.

Now that’s not a small figure.

Not a tiny figure especially for a country that is soon going to witness- as suggested by the experts- a loss of millions of jobs.

Not a small figure also for a country worth around 59 million individuals where the figures pertaining to the pre-lockdown period suggested an unemployment rate of around 30 per cent.

Well, that said, the following is what the Minister of Sport, Government of South Africa Mr. Nathi Mthethwa had to say on the development:

Over 90 athletes were approved by the adjudicators and have subsequently received their funding‚” read a statement from the department.

“Independent adjudicators were appointed and the adjudication process is currently underway. The sport sector adjudication committee was the first to be appointed and to resume the process of adjudication.

“They were the first to complete the process due to the limited number of applications that were received from the sector‚ which was just over 300.”

So, not everything is lost and broken or is it, South Africa?