Nxesi must hold PSL accountable
Nearly a month after the FNB Stadium stampede that claimed two lives, we finally saw some movement in a bid to seek answers this week.
Sports Minister Thulas Nxesi, showing unusual determination and enthusiasm that have been sorely missing since he took over from the boisterous Fikile Mbalula, announced on Wednesday that he would appoint an official ministerial committee of inquiry into the matter.
Nxesi’s new-found energy in his portfolio is sure to be welcomed by grieving families who still want to know how and why their loved ones – while looking forward to a joyous moment at the Soweto derby on July 29 – instead returned in hearses.
We were becoming a bit worried that this incident would be swept under the carpet after we recently reported that the Premier Soccer League (PSL) missed its own deadline for providing an initial report on the matter.
Our calls to the league went unanswered as we tried to find out why the 14-day deadline was not met.
We are now encouraged to hear Nxesi assuring South Africans that his department will get to the bottom of this matter.
A day after the tragedy, Nxesi had said in a statement: “As human life has been lost, we will, with immediate effect, constitute a ministerial committee of inquiry to investigate the circumstances that have led to this.”
We are happy to see him live up to his promise.
The minister has now confirmed the said committee would be chaired by Judge Ronald Pillay, assisted by two other members. Crucially, he said he should have a report within a month. We will hold him to that and hope that, unlike the PSL, he won’t miss his own deadline.
The blase attitude the PSL has once again displayed with this incident shows it could not be bothered about the loss of life at its events, despite claims to the contrary.
It’s only encouraging that Nxesi takes matters into his own hands and does not rely on a league that sees fit to sweep things under the carpet, such as the Loftus incident of February 11, where scores of fans were injured when hooligans stormed the field. We are yet to hear anything meaningful from the PSL in that regard.