Mail & Guardian’s Mark Gevisser asks the question that several locals I met in South Africa during the World Cup asked: “If South Africa can deliver a global mega-event, why can’t it tackle its inequality with the same energy and efficiency?”
Many South Africans were proud of the show that they successfully put on for the world while wondering what else could be done if the powers that be focused on social challenges with the same level of urgency that they focused on delivering the World Cup. But this same question applies to a lot of what the world accomplishes in the name of sport and entertainment.
We’re a world obsessed with being entertained to the extent that we’ve completely lost sight of any balance between our investment in entertainment vs. social good. The amount of time, money and energy that we spend on entertainment could decisively address many of the social challenges that we have faced for decades, if not centuries. Sports and government officials update us almost daily, explaining why a particular stadium is not on schedule, while ensuring us that deadlines will be met. Rest assured, someone official will speak up every time there is a potential setback, whether that setback is about ticketing, infrastructure or security. Should it be too much to expect the same attention to matters that impact whether people have adequate housing, food, security and education? Too often it seems as if our priorities are completely backwards.
This isn’t to say that sport or entertainment in general isn’t a worthwhile endeavor. Rather, this is to say that officials need to be as dedicated to social challenges as they are to entertainment. We’ve learned time and time again that public officials can be responsive, relatively timely, and can deliver when it matters. Often, these are the same officials delivering excuse after excuse when it comes to matters that are clearly more pressing.
Well, we may have a new measuring stick for public officials. If they can do it for the World Cup or any other mega-event, they should be held accountable if they can’t act with the same urgency for the good of those in need. So South African leaders, you’re on the clock. It’s time to show that you can do for your people what you did for the world. Now it’s time to really get to work.
