/ 12 February 2007

Safa, Parreira face work-permit charges

Criminal charges will be laid because national soccer coach Carlos Parreira started coaching the team without a work permit, the Home Affairs Ministry said on Monday.

”Certainly, we have to lay a charge because an offence has been committed,” said ministry spokesperson Cleo Mosana.

Former Brazilian coach Parreira received his work permit on Monday but his deputy Jairo Lopes Cesar Leal did not, due to outstanding documents.

Parreira arrived in South Africa on January 26 and both he and Leal had visitor’s permits.

Mosana said both the South African Football Association (Safa) and the coaches will be charged. As the employer, Safa is regarded as primarily at fault.

A case is expected to be opened with the Johannesburg police.

Mosana said Safa had been interacting with the department on the work-permit issue since December, although the formal application was only filed last week. So, she did not expect the penalties to be severe.

”It might be minor, it depends on the circumstances. The magistrate would have to look at all that.”

The case is unlikely to result in the loss of the work permits.

”If they were going to lose it they would not have been granted it.”

Parreira’s work permit was issued on Monday.

”Today, Safa submitted all the outstanding documents for the head coach, and he has now been issued with a work permit.”

Safa submitted the application on behalf of Parreira last Wednesday.

”Upon inspecting the document, the department discovered that the application was incomplete.”

On Friday, the department asked Safa to submit the outstanding documents urgently. This was done on Monday.

”The department has resolved the matter with the necessary speed in the best interest on the country’s FIFA World Cup 2010 preparations,” Mosana said.

Leal is still waiting for a permit.

”We still have outstanding documents from him so he does not have a work permit yet.”

Mosana said Safa was aware that Leal’s application was incomplete.

In December, Safa applied to the Department Home Affairs for certain conditions for the work permits to be waived and this was done.

These were the requirement that the positions be advertised and that the South African Qualifications Authority issue a certificate stating the qualification levels required for the jobs.

Mosana said it was legal to arrive in the country on one type of permit, get a job and then apply for a work permit.

Such an indivdual was, however, not allowed to be active in the job concerned before a work permit was granted.

It usually takes ”two weeks up to a month or even more” to get a permit, said Mosana.

She did not have details of the work permit backlog in the department. — Sapa