While minister Nathi Mthethwa did not receive a warm welcome from the crowd gathered at OR Tambo airport today, 26 July, Banyana Banyana did.
In fact, the mass of soccer fans was so irate that they booed the minister of sports, art, and culture in the crowd.
After Banyana Banyana arrived back at the Johannesburg airport following their victory at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Saturday, the incident happened there.
The public requests that NATHI Mththwa donate flag money to Banyana Banyana.
Minister Nathi Mthethwa was seen addressing a set-up podium and congratulating Banyana Banyana on their first-ever WAFCON victory.
The minister pledged to give South African soccer players of both genders equal pay during his speech.
Additionally, he presented the team with a check for an additional R5,8 million in bonus money. They would receive an additional R9,2 million on top of their WAFCON victory bonus.
However, the minister also made an attempt to claim credit for their victory in videos that went viral on social media. It was overheard Nathi Mthethwa saying:
Many people who are joyful today because Banyana Banyana won don’t realise that it didn’t begin today. The government gave SAFA R21 million to help create this league, which is still profitable today.
“As a government, we didn’t just come here and claim this victory; we worked very hard for it.”
The crowd, however, was incensed by the minister’s remarks and his financial gifts and chanted, “Give them the money.”
Undoubtedly, the group was referring to Nathi Mthethwa’s contentious plans to move forward with an R22 million monument honouring the national flag and an R30 million National Philharmonic Orchestra programme.
Celebrities like Bonang Matheba, Pearl Thusi, The Kiffness, and Siv Ngesi have publicly mocked the minister’s plans and even expressed their displeasure with them.
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