Mbalula must account for money spent on Mayweather visit: DA

14 January 2016 - 16:23 By TMG Digital

The Democratic Alliance has accused Minister of Sports and Recreation Fikile Mbalula of possibly misleading Parliament about who footed the bill for a visit to the country in 2014 by former world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. It said on Thursday that despite Mbalula’s initial claims that the trip was not paid for by taxpayers‚ documents obtained by Netwerk24 through the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) revealed that Mbalula’s department spent more than R475‚950 on advertisements and marketing at a gala function during Mayweather’s visit.DA spokesman on sports and recreation Solly Malatsi said the party would approach the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation to summon Mbalula to Parliament to account for the expenditure.He said the revelation was is in “stark contrast” to the minister's repeated pronouncements that no state money was spent on Mayweather's Reawakening of the Giant Tour of South Africa.“It also flies in the face of claims by the department that the Mayweather visit was privately financed and organised and that the department was asked to participate in a bid to revive boxing in the country‚” said Malatsi.He added that Mbalula was even on record in a response to a DA parliamentary question declaring that “the Department did not spend money on Mr Mayweather or his visit to South Africa. In that regard‚ there is no money incurred by the department in respect of Mr Mayweather's attendance of the (i) Dube boxing event and (ii) gala dinner at Emperors Palace”...

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