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SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) acting chief executive Ravi Govender has told participants that there will be no space for disruption as the embattled federation heads into its general election later this month.
The build-up to the March 28 poll to elect a new board has been marred by allegations of intimidation, notably the public spat between interim chair Barry Hendricks and renowned sports administrator Ntambi Ravele.
Hendricks denied any wrongdoing and has since emerged as one of those vying for the vacant Sascoc presidency, after Gideon Sam stepped down in December after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
The nominations have not been made public, but Hendricks confirmed that he was standing and so was his fierce rival, Athletics SA president Aleck Skhosana.
East London-based sports promotions boss Kaya Majeke told City Press yesterday that he had accepted four nominations – for the presidency, the first and second vice-presidency, as well for a position on the board.
Majeke, who served on the outgoing board, was one of the few people who stood up against the shenanigans that led to a ministerial inquiry being instituted against Sascoc two years ago.
As the battle for positions at Sascoc heats up, Govender has warned that an independent body has been established to oversee the process.
“The management and the board of Sascoc are not involved. The whole nomination process is independent, so there is no space for interference and influence,” Govender told City Press yesterday.
With three weeks to go before the elections, Govender said an independent nomination committee report was received from the auditors on Friday, as per the required timeline.
“This was sent out to the membership [the national federations] and the nine [provincial sports] confederations,” he said.
“There has been some feedback on the nominations; that there were some outstanding documents seeking clarity.”
Govender said the nominations would only be made public once certain issues had been dealt with, including the vetting of hopefuls.
In the meantime, those with outstanding paperwork have to provide evidence to show that their documents were submitted so that their candidates could be cleared to contest for the positions, he said.
“We still have enough time until the 28th, and we are hoping to get feedback in the next two or three days from the nomination committee.”
Hendricks has been holding on to his Sascoc head position by virtue of his elevation to first vice-presidency since he was seconded to the top office during a special vote in December.
Sascoc’s last elections were marred by controversy after some candidates were deemed ineligible, although they were allowed to stand.
This brought the federation’s constitution under the spotlight during the ministerial inquiry two years ago.
Some of the recommendations by the Zulman inquiry report included a proposal that parts of the Sascoc constitution be amended to ensure good governance.
Sascoc has since obliged, amending and adopting its constitution at a special general meeting in January.
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