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Cape Town - There’s no stopping the "Razzmatazz" of Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula from hogging the spotlight.
Mbalula is currently in Spain, meeting with the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, and schmoozing with Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The minister is also set to attend the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, which is scheduled for Saturday (kick-off 17:30 SA time).
However, while Mbalula was in Barcelona, he was supposed to appear for a question-and-answer session in Parliament.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) slammed Mbalula for his absence, where he was to attend the House last Wednesday to give oral replies to some Members of Parliament's (MPs) questions.
"The Minister should be accounting for his performance in Parliament instead of taking selfies with Spanish football leaders like an enthusiastic groupie," said a DA statement.
"For someone who loves the spotlight so much, it seems telling that Mbalula is dodging the opportunity to appear before Parliament."
"It would do the Minister and his Department well for him to tweet less, and attend to his parliamentary duties instead of meeting with football teams overseas," added the DA.
The Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) released a statement emphasising that Mbalula's visit wasn't purely for pleasure and that he was invited by La Liga, who had "sought to solidify relations between South Africa and the league".
"Mbalula will sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will herald a new chapter between the department of Sport and Recreation South Africa and La Liga in the development of football," said the SRSA statement.
A look at what Fikile Mbalula got up to in Barcelona:
