Minister Mbalula yet to pay Comrades Marathon winners, five months after announcement

30 October 2016

The DA has reliably established that the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, has failed to honour his commitment of monetary incentives to the top three local finishers in the 2016 Comrades Marathon.

Minister Mbalula was quick to announce his incentives of R100 000 to winners, R40 000 to second place finishers and R20 000 to third place finishers immediately after the race, in his characteristic affinity to insert himself into the glorious moments of athletes. 

The affected athletes are men's winner David Gatebe (R100 000), second place Ludwick Mamabolo (R40 000) and Bongmusa Mthembu (R20 000). Women's winner Charne Bosman (R100 000) and second place Caroline Wostmann (R40 000).

Yet five months after the Minister's announcement, he has failed to pay the athletes their well-earned incentives for their sterling performance during the race.

Such was the Minister's insatiable desire to hijack the publicity of the athletes that three of them had to be rushed from Durban to Johannesburg to join the Minister for his announcement on Monday, 30 May 2016 during the SABC's Morning Live, when they should have been recovering.

The fact that Minister Mbalula hasn't paid the athletes to date demonstrates without any shadow of doubt that once again the announcement was a case of his typical rush of blood to the head without thorough consideration of how he would ensure that the athletes are promptly paid what they have been promised.

This is not the first time that Mbalula has neglected to add action to his words. He is also yet to pay the incentives promised to Olympic and Paralympic medalists. Mbalula’s spokesperson, Esethu Hasane commented that the minister couldn’t have known how many medals would be won at the Olympics. This is absolute rubbish, as the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and his department had agreed on a target of 10 medals long in advance of the Olympics, and should have budgeted accordingly. 

It is unfair, inconsiderate and disrespectful to our elite athletes to be left hanging this long when they should be paid their monies while the Minister only finds the urgency to act when he piggybacks on their publicity.

The DA implores Minister Mbalula to show the same zeal he displayed when they announced the incentives by paying the athletes within the next 48 hours. 

Issued by Solly Malatsi, DA Shadow Minister of Sports and Recreation, 30 October 2016