The South African government has withdrawn its support for the Miss South Africa pageant.

This comes after growing calls for the reigning Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, to boycott the pageant scheduled to take place in Israel next month.

Last week, Miss SA Organisation CEO Stephanie Weil told Clement Manyathela that they will not be boycotting the Miss Universe pageant and Msweni wanted to go and represent the country.

Spokesperson for the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Masechaba Khumalo says they have been in conversation with the Miss SA organisation, not Msweni directly.

It has proven very difficult to persuade the organiser to reconsider their decision to partake in Miss Universe. The reason cited was that she (Msweni) wants to go.

Masechaba Khumalo, Spokesperson – Minister of Sports, Arts and CultureWhen you look at where we come from as a country, we had the absolute backing of Palestine at the peak of apartheid. Even Nelson Mandela made it absolutely clear that without the Palestine Liberation Organisation amongst others, the end of the racist regime would have been delayed.

Masechaba Khumalo, Spokesperson – Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture