Gymnastics federation faces unpaid hotel-bill lawsuit
THE SA Gymnastics Federation (SAGF) is facing a R1.9-million lawsuit over an unpaid hotel bill amid accusations of financial acrobatics.
The federation — which votes for a new executive on Saturday — heads to the high court in Pretoria in August to defend an action by the Manhattan Hotel over the debt from March last year when it hosted the African Gymnastics Championships.
Attorney Louis Nel, also acting for other unpaid service providers, said the hotel had provided accommodation as well as transport and other services to competitors and officials. He added: Several VIP guests had stayed there, including a vice-president of the international federation, the president of the African gymnastics body as well as the SAGF chief executive of- ficer and chief operating officer;
Participating federations paid to SAGF à50 a day for their competitors and officials. ý Other unpaid bills included R9 600 for the Soweto Marimba Youth League, which performed at the opening ceremony.
“Neither the Manhattan Hotel nor the other service providers have received any payment from either the SAGF or any other entity,” Nel said in a statement.
The SAGF denied it owed the money.
“SAGF did not contract the Manhattan Hotel or the other service providers. Algrodex did. We cannot comment further due to the pending trial.”
It is understood that Algrodex had been contracted by SAGF, unsuccessfully, to raise funds for the hosting of the African championships.
SAGF confirmed it had paid the service providers it had contracted itself, such as the University of Pretoria.
The federation paid R1.6-million in four tranches last year, on October 8, 9, 10 and 13.
Each deposit slip listed payment as “SAGF Donation”. Asked why these payments had been described as such, SAGF replied: “Incorrect wording was used.”
SAGF, which recorded an accumulated surplus of nearly R8million for the year ending March 31 2015, operates out of a Newlands, Cape Town, house owned by Elizabeth Cameron-Smith, the long-standing CEO who recently resigned to stand for president.
Her opponent is veteran sports administrator Dan Moyo, once a top official at the National Olympic Committee of SA, but a newcomer to the politics of gymnastics.
SAGF confirmed it paid rental and other expenses to CameronSmith, such as water and lights as well as cleaning.
SAGF denied claims by SAGF insiders that there was anything untoward in the arrangement, explaining that her house had started as a one-person office in 1989.
“Over the past 26 years this number has slowly increased and no formal decision [to move into it] was recorded in the SAGF board minutes as it was a natural progression.
“However the costs involved from 2004 [have] been recorded annually in the financial statements,” SAGF said, adding “now that the CEO has resigned, the office will be relocated”.