SAFA justifies payment of more than R15-million in honorariums

In the interview on SAFM Sport show, the South African Football Association (SAFA) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Grony Hluyo, has confirmed that each SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC) will be paid close to R400 000 as part of the honorariums owed for the past two to three years.

Hluyo broke down the finances due NEC members in the Sport show with Thabiso Mosia earlier this week, following the reports which alleged that NEC member stood to gain R500 000.

œEach NEC member must receive R 124 000 for 2019 and for 2020 they recommended a 5% increase so from R1 24 000 to R1 30 000 and for 2021 they say they are not increasing, they are proposing the same amount which was R 130 000 per member which is per annum Hluyo explained

There has been a public outcry about this amount of just more than R15-million to be paid to the 40 NEC members but Hluyo says its justified.

œThe congress approved the amount for three-years which is 2019, 2020 and 2021

So the recommendation was directly from the remuneration committee to the congress and the congress approved the SAFA CFO added

The final amount of the honorariums according to Hluyo is determined by remunerations committee which is chaired by an independent person. Hluyo explains why SAFA NEC members have to be paid honorariums and says it™s not only in football where this is played.

œIt™s the fee that they get for the work that they put into the association because remember for any company you™ll have a board of directors and the Director™s fees so it exactly the same, the NEC are the directors of SAFA and for their efforts throughout the years they get an honorarium Hluyo went on.

SAFA, a cash strapped organization that is said to have only made a profit of R1-million has been questioned about the need of spending R15-million on NEC members, at a time when funding is desperately needed for development programmes.

Hluyo has also explained why these honorariums of the past three years have only been approved now on the eve of the elections...

œI think the question applies to almost all organizations to say during the Covid period all companies were not doing the same amount of work and some companies decided to continue paying salaries¦...some companies decide to stop paying salaries.

"So that question applies to all the organizations and in SAFA™s case there was a submission that was done by the members to say the NEC members must get the honorarium for those years

The last three years in particular, was also the period when football had to stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak, staff salaries had to be cut and SAFA went through a painful section 189 processes.

In the midst of this, there have been complaints on why the NEC would be compensated for this period. But Hluyo still justifies this payment.

The payment of these honorariums has not been well received by the public, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) also releasing a statement earlier this week asking for SAFA to reverse this decision.

This also comes just before the elections where majority of these NEC members™ regions will be voting but Hluyo says this could not have waited for the elections to pass.

By Velile Mnyandu