Sascoc Five have only themselves to blame
● The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) is paying the price for the stubborn resistance of the five board members running the organisation, with funds being withheld until after the elections.
The overdue ballot is scheduled for the Sandton convention centre on Saturday, though the Sascoc Five, fronted by acting vice-president Aleck Skhosana, are arguing the vote won’t be free and fair. One of them, Cecilia Molokwane, this week told eNCA the plebiscite should be delayed.
Further measures
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) last month warned of “further measures” against Sascoc if the elections don’t take place as planned.
But already the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Anoca) is withholding money due to cash-strapped Sascoc until after the elections, acting CEO Ravi Govender confirmed on Friday.
He couldn’t say how much it was nor could he confirm the reason for the delay.
But the word in sports corridors is that it’s linked to the board’s diehard refusal to accept decisions made at September’s special general meeting (SGM) by the majority of the sports bodies that make up Sascoc’s general assembly.
The IOC and IPC this week described as “confusing” the Sascoc Five’s stance that the board can trump the general assembly, the body’s highest decision-making structure.
But the Five, also comprising DA MP Kobus Marais, Kaya Majeke and Jerry Segwaba, found refuge at parliament’s sports portfolio committee, which on Tuesday agreed the election couldn’t be free and fair.
Marauding mob
The Five painted the sports bodies as a marauding mob hell-bent on defiling the body’s constitution with the help of Sam Ramsamy, appointed by the IOC to facilitate the election.
The sports bodies have counterarguments and claims, but they weren’t invited to the oversight committee, which also seemingly neglected acting president Barry Hendricks’ allegation last week that the Sascoc Five had flouted the constitution in activating the judicial body to push for disciplinary action against him.
The committee grilled Ramsamy instead, sometimes on the sniff of hazy rumour.
Relative standing
Was his own son standing in the Sascoc election? When Ramsamy responded that he didn’t have children, he was asked if he had a relative standing.
After replying in the negative again, he was asked by one inquisitor about his relationship with Alex Fritz, presumably referring to Swimming SA president Alan Fritz, a contender for the Sascoc presidency.
The insinuation was clear, yet the irony is that about a year ago, before this mess, Ramsamy was sometimes heard to speak highly of Skhosana during casual discussions about the likely successor to outgoing Sascoc president Gideon Sam.
When Ramsamy was appointed in July, some sports officials expressed their doubts, arguing he was pro-Skhosana.
He’s proven those critics wrong, and he still has the backing of the IOC and IPC, who stepped in once the Sascoc rift had become untenable.
The sports bodies, led by Canoeing SA, had accused the Sascoc Five of being aloof, arrogant and tone deaf. It seems the Five woke up to the sentiment against them only at the SGM, and their response has been to discredit the meeting and now the elections.
But if the Sascoc Five are not returned in Saturday’s vote — and that’s not an unrealistic scenario — the only people they’ll have to blame are themselves.