Banyana Banyana’s Noko Matlou and Lebogang Ramalepe have broken their silence on the lack of delivery of the prizes from the 2019 Limpopo Provincial Sports Awards. The two were among recipients of the MEC’s Excellence Awards and they say they are yet to receive the R20 000 prize money that accompanied their accolades from the event held early in October 2019.
The pair says their joy of finally being recognised by their home province was dampened by the five months they have spent waiting for the money.
The ladies, who play for First Touch Academy in the National League and Ma Ma Indies Ladies FC respectively, say the follow-up process was not clear. They allege that they were both, on different occasions, sent from pillar to post by the department officials.
The pair says the anticipation of the prize money has been frustrating because they actually planned around the cash since they do not earn salaries elsewhere.
In the audio below, Matlou explains their plight:
Matlou and Ramalepe have represented South Africa at different African Women’s Championships, two Olympic Games and the Fifa Women’s World Cup, among some of their achievements. Matlou is also a former African Woman Footballer of the Year with over 150 caps for Banyana.
In the audio below, they express their disappointment:
Limpopo Arts and Culture MEC Thandi Moraka’s spokesperson Lucky Tshilimandila says he is aware of the ladies’ plight, also revealing that the senior men’s provincial Softball team Dinare were also not paid. Tshilimandila says he learnt about this when he sought clarity on the matter from one of the sponsors of the awards.
He adds that the department has liaised with Matlou and asked her to bring her bank statement to compare with the sponsors’. The spokesperson was pressed for clarity on what happened with Ramalepe’s payment and he revealed that a wrong account number was submitted by the department to the bank. – Report by Lethabo Kganyago
