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Mbalula storms out of studio before start of quota debate

───   13:26 Thu, 17 Apr 2014

Two minutes before a TV debate on racial quotas in South African Sports was due to start last night at 21:30 on The Stream, a programme on the international news channel Al Jazeera, the Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, stormed out of the studio, refusing to participate in the debate.

The debate went ahead between the remaining participants, Kallie Kriel (CEO of AfriForum), Clive Rice (former South African cricket star) and Samadoda Fikeni (Chair of the group studying transformation in sport).
 
AfriForum says Mbalula and his personnel had apparently failed to read the invitation to the debate, which had quite clearly indicated the names of the participants.

Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, said in reaction to Mbalula's behaviour that the Minister was apparently unwilling to defend his racially motivated quota propositions in a debate before an international audience.
 
"The Minister's insistence on quotas is a violation of the prohibition of any form of racial discrimination to which international sporting federations ascribe.The Minister is well aware of this fact, which is why he refuses to subject his views to a debate," Kriel added.

Kriel indicated that AfriForum will continue to force the issue into the international arena and compel the Minister to take a stand, because the civil rights organisation will proceed with its campaign to submit official complaints to the International Rugby Board and other international sporting federations.

AfriForum and the trade union Solidarity are also driving various campaigns on social media and via petitions to garner public support against the quota system.
 
As part of the campaign, the public is requested to add their names to the official complaints against the quota system, which AfriForum will submit to the International Rugby Board and other international sporting federations.
 
Advertisements in newspapers and on the radio, as well as social media such as Facebook, Twitter and SMSs will be implemented to encourage the public to SMS their names to 45343 or sign a petition at www.afriforum.co.za.

Kriel said that AfriForum unequivocally supports the development of sport which will afford all South Africans, regardless of race, an equal opportunity to participate.
 
A race-based quota system does not, however, contribute to the development of new players and merely disadvantages all participants in sport.
 
"Talented black players are disadvantaged by quotas because the validity of their inclusion into teams is always questioned, and young white players are excluded from teams because they happen to be of the wrong race," Kriel added.
 
Sapa 

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