Parliament - Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday shot down calls for an inquiry into allegations that South African officials paid a US$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 United States.
An indictment by the US justice department refers to two South Africans – co-conspirator number 15 who is alleged to have 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 US$10 million 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 bribery allegations, 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 either through a criminal investigation, a commission of inquiry or a ministerial inquiry.
But Mbalula insisted 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 United States of America in the indictment. Even in that indictment, which is public, it doesn’t say that 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.”
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 USA. What stops you in terms of South African law from instituting your own local investigation into the matter?” Filtane asked Mbalula.
Mbalula rejected Filtane’s suggestion.
“There is not a 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 particular 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 a 2010 Fifa World Cup, which was so successful.”
EFF MP Nthako Matiase went a step further, demanding the arrest of SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan.
“Why is this man not being charged at this point in time because he’s a potential thief. He’s a potential thug?” Matiase asked.
Mbalula said there was no proof linking any individuals to the bribery allegations.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing points to anybody having committed any crimes in this particular matter,” he said.
“From the context of the South African government, we did say the diaspora is part of our policy in support of the 2010 World Cup. To that extent, we supported the diaspora through US$10 milliion which was executed through Fifa and money deposited to Concacaf.”
ANA