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The South African Football Association (Safa) has struggled to explain to parliament’s sports and arts portfolio committee why incoming Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane was offered a smaller pay package than that of his predecessor, Hugo Broos.
Safa was grilled intensely over financial and governance issues when it appeared before the committee on Tuesday.
Committee members were not impressed as Safa president Danny Jordaan once again failed to make an appearance, saying he was at a doctor, as demands grew that he join the meeting virtually.
Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao took flak on the Mosimane salary issue, with the association said to have offered him around R10m a year, about R6m less than what Belgian Broos earned when his contract ended last month.
Monyepao reasoned that remuneration was confidential.
However, sports minister Gayton McKenzie intervened and disclosed that Broos earned R16.8m annually, or R1.4m a month.
“Hugo Broos got R16.8m annually, that excludes car and accommodation.
“I want to put it in context so that it must not be said we are not answering to the portfolio committee,” McKenzie said.
Committee chair Joe McGluwa then asked that Monyepao be ejected from the meeting for refusing to give satisfactory answers.
The committee members were adamant, saying Safa should explain why Mosimane would be paid less than Broos.
After some silence, vice-president Linda Zwane was forced to answer, saying that Mosimane was initially offered R5m and, after public outrage, R10m.
Mosimane and Safa have been stuck in contract talks for the past few weeks but the matter could conclude this week.
EFF member Eugene Mthethwa asked Safa how much Fifa was giving them after participating in the World Cup and how much Broos would be getting from it.
Safa CFO Gronie Hluyo responded that Safa would get $12m (about R190m) and Broos 10%. Assistant coach Helman Mkhalele would get 5%.
Mthethwa asked the committee and the minister to take Safa to task for undermining black coaches by offering them less.
“We cannot have our own coach, who is decorated better than others, who is more qualified than others, but is given a lesser amount,” Mthethwa said.
“That totally undermines South Africans and undermines our own black people, and it cannot be under our watch.”
Meanwhile, before she was ejected from the meeting, Monyepao told the committee that there were times Bafana Bafana struggled with booking training venues at the World Cup, admitting another blunder from team manager Vincent Tseka, whose contract ended on July 31. — Sowetan