MPs put Mbalula on the spot over Fifa ‘bribe’
SPORTS Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday shot down calls for an inquiry into allegations that South African officials paid a $10 million bribe to secure the rights to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Responding to questions in the National Assembly, Mbalula at first said they were continuing to pursue the allegations through diplomatic channels with the US.
An indictment by the US Justice Department refers to two South Africans – co-conspirator number 15, who allegedly paid off a relative of former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner with a briefcase full of dollars in Paris, and co-conspirator number 16, who arranged the payment of the $10m to Warner and others to secure South Africa’s rights to host the World Cup.
Mbalula said they were seeking proof from the US about the bribery claims, but “at this juncture we have no evidence or any basis with which to do any inquiry”.
Opposition party MPs pushed Mbalula for an assurance that the matter would be dealt with through a criminal investigation, a commission of inquiry or a ministerial inquiry. But Mbalula insisted that, as far as he was concerned, there was no bribe.
“You can’t refer to this as a bribe, because it was only referred to by the authorities in the US in the indictment. Even in that indictment, which is public, it doesn’t say it was a bribe,” the minister said. “It is an assumption made by the person who is a witness in that particular case. Read the indictment,” he added.
United Democratic Movement MP Mncedisi Filtane said he was not happy that the South African government was relying on the US for information.
“Why would you want to depend exclusively and entirely on investigation information that you would get from the US? What stops you in terms of South African law from instituting your own local investigation into the matter?” Filtane asked Mbalula.
The minister rejected Filtane’s suggestion.
“There is no need to establish any inquiry into a matter that is not substantial,” he said. “We don’t institute investigations for the sake of it. In fact, Filtane, you should be on our side to protect our sovereignty against abuse by those who are undertaking this investigation. Instead, you are on the side of the people who, at all costs, want to rubbish the name of the South African government and its people for hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup.”
EFF MP Nthako Matiase went further, demanding the arrest of SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan. “Why is this man not being charged at this point, because he’s a potential thief?” Matiase asked.
Mbalula said there was no proof linking any individuals to the claims. – ANA