Question NW700 to the Minister of Sport and Recreation
12 May 2016 - NW700
Malatsi, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Sport and Recreation
Whether it is his position that the serious allegations of financial misappropriation made in a KPMG report against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SA Rugby Union (SARU), Mr Jurie Roux, during his tenure as financial director of the University of Stellenbosch, poses a conflict of interest in any way with his current appointment as SARU's CEO; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) what steps will he take to deal with Mr Roux?
Reply:
The Minister sees no possible conflict of interest between allegations relating to employment in one role and the pursuance of employment in another.
(a) If the question is asking whether allegations against an employee in one role are compromising to his employment in a second, in this case that of the CEO of SA Rugby, the Minister is satisfied that the Federation has properly exercised its fiduciary responsibility and would point the questioner to the legal opinion provided by Fanie Cilliers, S.C. and Professor Michael Katz. They advised that it would be unfair labour practice to take action against an employee on perceptions of third parties or on the basis of a report of which the facts have not been tested in court.
(b) Based on the above advice, the Minister will not be taking any action against Mr Roux.