‘Cash-flow problem’ delays pay day for Sascoc’s staff of 24

● Staff at the troubled SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) won’t get paid tomorrow as scheduled because of a cash-flow problem.

A memo sent to staff on Friday informed them that their pay day had been pushed out to May 29 “or sooner”.

“Unfortunately there is a situation that is completely beyond my control and I have to advise you that pay date this month will be delayed,” acting CEO Ravi Govender wrote in the memo.

“There has been a delay in receiving some of our funding inflow, a situation which is beyond my control.”

The monthly salary bill for 24 staff members is nearly R1m.

Govender told the Sunday Times that the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted on Sascoc’s income projections, but stressed the organisation was not in trouble.

Salaries had not been cut and no staff had been retrenched.

The memo followed another board resignation this week, with Lwandile Simelane becoming the first co-opted member to step down. Of the 12 executive spots for elected and co-opted members — not counting the three ex officio members and the chair of the athletes’ commission — only five remain operational.

Barry Hendricks was suspended as acting

Sascoc’s projected income for this financial year was R39.3m, with R17m to come from the International Olympic Committee

president in early April when he was placed on mandatory leave because of allegations of ethical misconduct.

Federations were yesterday still waiting to hear the outcome of a Sascoc board meeting from mid-week when they discussed the call by Canoeing SA and at least 28 other bodies for a special general meeting aimed at delivering a vote of no confidence in the executive. A total of 30 sports bodies had supported the call, but Netball SA (NSA) retracted their support this week.

“Netball SA apologise for the support rendered for this meeting [the SGM], before the documentation/information was presented,” the federation’s CEO Blanche de la Guerre wrote in a communique.

NSA president Cecilia Molokwane was elected to the Sascoc board in November.

Acting Sascoc president Aleck Skhosana could not be reached for comment early yesterday afternoon.