Statement released by the Minsitry of Sport and Recreation :
According to the statement which suggests that Mtawarira is still ineligible to play for the Boks.
The full statement from the Ministry of Sport and Recreation:
“SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF SPORT & RECREATION COMMENT ON TENDAI MTAWARIRA’s INCLUSION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY TEAM
“1. SA Rugby has requested the Minister of Sport & Recreation SA, Rev Dr Makhenkesi Stofile to intervene in securing South African citizenship for Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira, a Zimbabwean national, who plays professional rugby in South Africa.
“2. This request to have the Minister use his position to have the process of securing permanent residence and subsequently, citizenship expedited ahead of the year end tour in Europe, has exposed our Sport administrators’ clear disrespect or lack of understanding of our laws.
“3. Talented as he is, Tendai, like all foreign nationals plying their trade in South Africa, is bound by the laws of this country. The migration laws of our country are clear on issues relating to permanent residence and citizenship. We expect our sport administrators to understand and respect legislation that regulate their business. None of the athletes, sport codes, or Federations can be bigger than the country.
“4. While Tendai is a live wire on the field of play, the question is whether it is, in the first place, justifiable to say he has scarce skills – the rationale that would have enabled him to obtain the current work permit. If we go the route our Rugby administrators are requesting us to take, and facilitate the fast-racking of Tendai’s citizenship, what would this say to all rugby players in our country? We cannot as a Government Department responsible for sport and recreation in this country, afford to insult our players like this.
“5. The principle here is clear: Only citizens of our country can play for our National team, irrespective of the sport code. Therefore, no foreign national can play for any of our national teams, no matter how outstanding they may be. If any player in any code is to become a South African citizen, this has to be done within the legal framework of our country.
“6. Federations, Provinces and clubs, are more than welcome to approach us for advice on similar issues, instead of trying to slip a player through the legal framework.
“Issued by: Sport and Recreation SA.”
Saru, on Thursday, declined to comment, saying that they stand by their original statement.
“Saru has noted the statement by the Sports Ministry regarding Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira,” the statement said.
“Saru has no further comment on the matter and wish to refer media to our attached statement issued on Saturday, 7 November 2009.”
@gbs jou ou grapkas
88: vrystaat sal mal wees om hom nie te vat nie, maar dalk soek hy nou meer geld ? Ek het ‘n oplossing vir julle dilemma: vat CJ en stuur WP Nel na die Bulle.
85 @ bdb eish hoe sleg voel ek nou op my maag
@bdb albei sal beter waas as werner reverce gear kruger
90: Klink vir my baie soos ‘n BB resepteboek, maar as hy werk, dan vat ons hom !
ok tyd om te gaan kyk wat se kakkas ichnasius botha kwyt raak cheers alml
Ek hoop die Bokke skrum goed genoeg more-aand… eishhhhhhhh
OK, SuperBru picks done…
I’m off to the horizontal position.
Gooooooooooi Mieliesssssssssssss… want die lewe is ‘n LIED!
If he is not a South African he should not be playing for South Africa.
From iAfrica.com….
BEAST WILL PLAY
Zimbabwean-born prop Tendai Mtawarira WILL play for South Africa against France in Toulouse on Friday and there is no chance of the government stepping in to prevent him from taking to the field.
This assurance comes from Johan Prinsloo, the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Rugby Union, in the wake of renewed reports that the Sports Ministry will attempt to block his participation in the opening Test of the Springboks’ year-end tour.
We can also reveal that an “administrative oversight” is what caused the furore this past fortnight and almost resulted in Mtawarira to be withdrawn from the tour.
It has been claimed that Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has still not given permission for the man known to all as the ‘Beast’ to play for the Boks.
However, Prinsloo revealed that he will take to the field.
“Yes, that is why we refer to our statement of last Saturday,” Prinsloo told this website, when asked about the prop’s availability.
He admitted that the problem occurred through an oversight, because of a regulation that came into affect in 2007 – four years after Mtawarira arrived in South Africa.
While Mtawarira does not have permanent residence, nor does he have a South African passport, Prinsloo confirmed that he has a work permit which was obtained by the Sharks – his South African province.
He has also met the International Rugby Board’s three-year residency requirements and thus qualifies to play for the Boks on those grounds.
However, the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act of 2007 is what caused the problem and it appears that certain regulatory requirements – such as informing the minister of a foreign national playing for the Boks – were not met by the SARU administration.
“When we became aware of the matter, we tried to expedite the matter and approached the Minister [of Sport & Recreation, Makhenkesi Stofile] to assist us,” Prinsloo said.
“He [Stofile] came back to us and said that there are certain procedures to be followed.
“We should have applied for the necessary documentation earlier, but we will rectify that,” Prinsloo told this website, adding: “Obviously there are other processes to be followed and we acknowledge that and don’t have problems with that.”
The “administrative oversight” explains why Mtawarira was allowed to make his Bok debut in 2008 and has played in 19 Tests since, without as much as a murmur from the government.
It was only recently that they became aware of Saru’s failure to comply with the 2007 Act, all while Saru officials believed the documentation obtained by the Sharks four years earlier, were sufficient.
#19 GBS
My broer, I left before I read this response of yours:
“Do not try and convince me about the merits of this Government or about what’s right or wrong in your perception, this is not a political blog or discussion… end of story.”
Please read any of the posts I have ever made on Rugby-Talk and tell me where I have ever tried to convince you or anyone of the merits of this Goverment.
In fact, if you read my posts on this thread again you’ll see that I was in fact accusing a goverment official Stofile of abuse of power given what I see is the selective way in which he has chosen to rap SARugby over the knuckles.
But just so that I’m clear on this and given your own posts that clearly espouse the demerits of this government:
– Any post that discusses the demerits of the government or its officials is not considered “political content” and thus acceptable on this site.
– Any post that discusses the merits of the government or its officials is considered “political comment” and thus unacceptable on this site?
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