Fighting to come in from Sascoc cold
One nomination caught the eye when the final list of candidates for the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) elections was released on Friday night.
A handful of new faces joined the candidates first put up for the ballot originally scheduled for March 28, before it was postponed because of lockdown. The overdue vote takes place in Sandton on November 7.
But Qondisa Ngwenya, nominated as an ordinary board member last time out, has been added in the race for the two vice-president slots. Considered controversial in some quarters, he’s had run-ins with both Sascoc and Athletics SA (ASA).
The umbrella body is split by a bitter feud between five board members and the bulk of federations that make up Sascoc.
Ngwenya had a senior role at Sascoc in 2019 but took the organisation on after his contract was terminated amid a claim that he used a company vehicle for private use. He’s also had legal battles with ASA. Sascoc’s acting vice-president Aleck Skhosana, the ASA president, told parliament this week that Ngwenya wasn’t in good standing with Sascoc.
He has his enemies
Ngwenya said he was refuting this claim.
While he has his enemies, Ngwenya’s stock among the so-called rebel federations has risen during the Sascoc in-fighting.
The Sascoc constitution requires half the board to comprise women, yet they are outnumbered as candidates for the eight elected posts by 17 to nine.
All five of the presidential options are men — acting president Barry Hendricks, Skhosana, board member Kaya Majeke and newcomers Alan Fritz and Winston Meyer.
The three women bidding for the first and second vice-president posts all boast board experience: Cecilia Molokwane, Lwandile Simelane and Debbie Alexander.
It is hoped the election will end the impasse with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Board members this week defied them by refusing to halt legal action against the Sascoc general assembly for what they insisted was illegally voting to end disciplinary action against Hendricks and reinstating him after he’d been suspended.
The five executive members appealed to parliament for help this week, complaining that the election would not be free and fair. Skhosana likened federations to hyenas feasting on the carcass of Sascoc, and Majeke alleged that sport was being captured.
The federations counter that this is democracy, with some claiming board members were less than honest to parliament.
Board members also accused Sam Ramsamy, facilitating the election on behalf of the IOC and IPC, of bias.
Ramsamy has been invited to attend a follow-up meeting with the sport portfolio committee on Tuesday.