Simon Nare
Simon Nare
Bafana Bafana's million-dollar coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, is working in the country illegally.
The law requires every foreigner to obtain a work permit before taking up employment. Parreira is in South Africa on a visitor's visa.
Safa spokesman Morio Sanyane confirmed yesterday that Parreira did not have a work permit. "Not yet," he said.
But Sanyane said the process of getting Parreira a permit was under way. He said the application for the coach's permit had been delayed by the necessity to obtain international clearances before an application could be made.
Home Affairs confirmed that the coach did not have a work permit, but said that it had allowed the national Sports Department to put him to work on a visitor's permit.
A Home Affairs spokesman, Mantshele Tau, said that under normal circumstances a foreigner found working without a work permit would be fined up to R20000.
Sowetan learnt yesterday that Safa had sent an employee to the department on Wednesday to fast-track the application.
The members of Parreira's entourage are also without work permits.
An immigration officer at the Department of Home Affairs said a Safa employee visited the department's offices on Wednesday.
"He tried to bully an immigration officer, but we turned him away.
"Safa does this to every foreign coach. They let the coach work without a work permit and apply for one at a later stage."
It takes 30 working days for a work permit to be approved. Only a registered practitioner, an attorney or an advocate can apply for a work permit on behalf of someone else.
Companies that employ foreigners who do not have a work permit can also be fined.