McKenzie’s VAR: Vague, Unfunded and Risky

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA 

McKenzie’s VAR: Vague, Unfunded and Risky The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on Minister Gayton McKenzie to immediately release the official Treasury approval letter for the R20 million he claims has been allocated to the national VAR project, and to table a full feasibility study along with a detailed three-year financial and project plan. South Africans deserve an explanation for why the Minister publicly committed millions to this project before any verified costing, planning or technical assessment existed. Video Assistant Referee is the technology used in football to review controversial decisions using multiple camera angles. It is expensive, highly technical and requires specialised equipment, trained operators, and stadium readiness. Yet the Minister has committed millions to a national rollout without knowing the real cost or whether such a rollout is feasible. In Parliament, he admitted that he had been given wildly different estimates: first R120 million, then R80 million, and later “not more than R50 million.” None of these figures come from a feasibility study, procurement process or technical plan. They are guesses. Yet he continues to speak publicly as if the project is ready to proceed. The R20 million he cites is not new funding; it is money likely shifted from the cancelled Big Walk project. This amount cannot justify the public claim that the VAR project is funded or close to implementation. Parliament has still not received a verified costing or a complete three-year financial plan. Worse still, SAFA has admitted it has no idea what it can contribute financially. It cannot access FIFA Forward funding because the ±R3 million it previously received has already been spent or committed elsewhere. It also could not name a single alternative funding source when questioned. At present, this project has no credible financing model. The team appointed to lead VAR has only been in place for two months and is still in a fact-finding phase. No feasibility study has been done on stadium readiness, technology needs or operational design. The project has no full technical management structure, no governance framework and no confirmed buy-in from the PSL, the key body needed for stadium integration and match-day operations. Announcing fluctuating figures without facts, funding or planning is reckless.

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