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Ministerial inquiry: D-day for Sascoc

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Sascoc president Gideon Sam. Picture: Allan James Lipp / BackpagePix
Sascoc president Gideon Sam. Picture: Allan James Lipp / BackpagePix

The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) board will meet its lawyers today to draft a response to the findings and recommendations of a ministerial committee of inquiry.

Sport and Recreation Minister Tokozile Xasa has given the beleaguered Olympic governing body until Friday to make its submissions.

This will be its response to the final report on the findings and recommendations of the Zulman Commission of Inquiry, established by Xasa’s predecessor, Thulas Nxesi, to probe allegations of misconduct within Sascoc.

Sascoc was initially given 14 days to respond to the damning report when it was handed to the sports department late last month, but Xasa granted them an extension, her spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga confirmed on Friday.

The deadline lapsed on Wednesday, the day the Sascoc board met to discuss the report – believed to be scathing about Sascoc president Gideon Sam and the federation’s axed chief executive, Tubby Reddy.

City Press – through those who are privy to the contents of the report – has established that the report is critical of Sam’s “dictatorial style of management”.

Sport Minister Tokozile Xasa. Picture: Lindile Mbontsi

It also highlights the wasteful expenditure by board members, who pocketed in the region of R2.2 million in annual allowances.

The report did not spare accounting officer Reddy, who, with other board members, was accused of focusing on bickering while the core business of Sascoc, the wellbeing of athletes, was neglected.

When contacted for comment, Sam referred City Press to his vice-president, Barry Hendricks.

Hendricks responded via SMS: “We are meeting the legal person to discuss a draft response on Sunday [today].

"We’ll send it to the Sascoc board for ratification thereafter and then to the minister, International Olympic Committee [IOC], International Paralympic Committee [IPC] and Commonwealth Games Federation [CWGF]. Extension was granted to
October 19.”

He refused to share the contents of the Zulman report, saying: “We will have to wait for the minister to do that.

“The board met on Wednesday on the matter and we had consultations and sought advice with the IOC, CWGF and IPC,” Hendricks explained.

Mhaga was also reluctant to comment further, saying the minister’s “views will be made public when she makes the report public”.

The ministerial inquiry was established over a year ago to investigate allegations of maladministration and financial irregularities at Sascoc.

The inquiry was chaired by retired Judge Ralph Zulman on a panel that also had former cricket administrator Ali Bacher and labour law expert Shamima Gaibie as members.

During the three-week hearings at Ellis Park Stadium, which ended in March, explosive testimony came to the fore from former and current Sascoc board members, as well as some of the federation’s employees.

The evidence put before Zulman during the hearings also brought to the surface the animosity between Sam and Reddy.

During his submission to the inquiry, Reddy admitted his relationship with his boss had “deteriorated rapidly” over the past couple of years.

He also alleged that Sam manipulated constitutional clauses relating to the eligibility of nominees ahead of the Sascoc elections two years ago.

The battle between Reddy and Sascoc is far from over as the two are set to face off at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in a hearing that will sit from tomorrow to Wednesday.

Reddy is taking Sascoc to the CCMA for unfair dismissal after being axed in January following a disciplinary hearing in December, which he did not attend.

The report is expected to be made public at the end of the month or early next month, according to government insiders.

“It effectively says the Sascoc board is dysfunctional and members must vacate their positions. The recommendations cannot be changed,” said our source.

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