Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has stirred up a hornets’ nest over the selection of Zimbabwean national Tendai Mtawarira for the Springboks.
Stofile’s department placed an advert in several newspapers this week accusing sports federations of not respecting the laws of the country.
Directly addressing the issue of Mtawarira, known to the rugby world as ‘The Beastâ€, the advert said: ‘The officials of the Saru [South African Rugby Union] even inform us that Mr Mtawarira ‘is currently on an exceptional skills visa (work permit)’. If such a work permit has been issued on the basis of his skills as a prop forward, the concept ‘scarce skills’ was vulgarised. The Sharks or any provincial unit or professional club may motivate for the issuing of a work permit for a limited number of foreign players or administrators. Such application must be accompanied by a COMPELLING motivation.â€
Saru believed it had resolved the issue of Mtawarira’s eligibility when officials met Stofile on the eve of the Springboks’ departure for their tour of Europe. They even sent out a press release to that effect. But either Stofile, or someone in the department of sport and recreation, has changed his stance, although Saru insists that they have had no official contact with the department since their
original meeting.
A spokesperson for the sports ministry, Manase Makwela, defended the ‘more than R100 000†they had spent on the media statement published in several dailies. ‘The ministry talked to Saru and realised that the issue was serious. We want to send a strong message that the ministry takes development of local sportspersons very seriously and that only South Africans should represent their country,†said Makwela.
The November 2007 amendment to the National Sport and Recreation Act, 1998, states: ‘National federations must: ‘(a) before recruiting a foreign sportsperson to participate in sport in the Republic, satisfy themselves that there are no other persons in the Republic suitable to participate in such a sport;
‘(b) ensure that such a recruited sportsperson complies with all the relevant criteria pertaining to entry into the Republic as contemplated in the Immigration Act, 2002;
‘(c) advise the minister in writing of the full names and countries of origin of all such persons recruited for such purposes and confirm that there are no other suitable persons in the Republic as contemplated in paragraph (a);
‘(4) For the purposes of this section, ‘foreign sportsperson’ means any person recruited in terms of subsection (3) to participate in sport in the Republic, including administrators or support staff.â€
The key word is ‘suitable†and it raises an awful lot of questions. That’s because the sporting codes of this country are awash with foreign nationals, the vast majority of whom could hardly be described as indispensable. That being the case, dozens of PSL soccer players should be on the next plane home, not to mention the current coach of Bafana Bafana, who falls under the definition of ‘administrators or support staffâ€.
If Saru has to justify picking The Beast, it could make out a far better case than Safa could for Carlos Parreira. That’s because the sport of rugby union specifically singles out the front row of the scrum as an exceptional area requiring highly trained individuals. The laws now insist that if a prop or hooker is injured in the course of a game and no suitable (that word again) replacement remains on the bench, uncontested scrums will occur to minimise the chance of injury.
Safa might argue that Parreira’s coaching expertise is not replicated by a South African national, but it would be hard pressed to justify the appointment of Joel Santana on the same basis. In the words of the department’s press release, ‘the concept ‘scarce skills’ was vulgarisedâ€.
In the meantime, Saru has been scouring legislation, but cannot find a compelling reason not to select Mtawarira against Italy this weekend. An insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said they believe Stofile’s department has drafted an amendment to the existing legislation stating that no one may represent South Africa without citizenship.
If the amendment is accepted, it would stop anyone playing sport for South Africa who was in possession of a foreign passport. Contrary to the department’s press statement, the insider said that Mtawarira has indeed applied for South African citizenship, but while waiting for it to be processed he continues to travel on a Zimbabwean passport.
Ironically, Mtawarira’s countryman and fellow Springbok Tonderai Chavhanga was nearly thrown out of Australia a few years ago for travelling with a Zimbabwean passport. The Australian government was flexing its muscles over human rights abuses in Zimbabwe at the time. Chavhanga, who scored six tries on his Test debut against Uruguay, has been playing rugby in this country for a decade and maintaining a work permit.
Another black Zimbabwean Springbok, Brian Mujati, ran into visa problems three seasons ago when he went awol from the Gauteng Lions. Mujati was in the country on a study permit for a degree at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), but was spotted by the Lions scouts and fast-tracked into the Currie Cup and Super 14 sides.
He was then head-hunted by Western Province, but when he stopped attending UJ his permit lapsed.
For a number of weeks Mujati was, technically, on the run from home affairs. Mujati now plays for Northampton in England and narrowly escaped a life ban two weeks ago for manhandling a referee.
One player agent, who did not want to be named, said he was pleased the Mtawarira story had brought the issue out into the open. He said: ‘I’ve been waiting for this to happen for years and it’s time the government just cleared the matter up once and for all so that everyone knows where
he stands.â€