Progress on Sport Development Plan, Federations & Rio 2016 preparations: briefing by SASCOC

Meeting report

Mr D Lee (DA) expressed concern about the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  At least two South Africans had been injured.

The Chairperson noted some apologies. 

Briefing by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC)
Mr Gideon Sam, President, SASCOC, said that SASCOC should come to the Committee more often in order to share what was happening with sport in the country. He hoped that the day's exercise would not be rushed. This would be the first discussion in the cycle leading up to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He reminded Members of SASCOC's mandate. The National Sport and Recreation Act was clear. SASCOC was accountable.  The entity’s job was to deliver teams to various competitions, especially the multi-coded events such as the Olympics.  Strategies were needed to ensure that the country was not embarrassed.  In 2008, there had been total frustration with the performances at the Beijing Olympics.

Mr Sam said that SASCOC must wait and expect the various federations to put their best performers forward. They should be clothed and accommodated properly.  Merely by sticking to this would lead to a repeat of the Beijing performances.  SASCOC needed to ensure that athletes were properly prepared for big events.  There had been success since then at various games.  Operation Excellence (Opex) was aimed at taking over athletes from their federations in order to hone their skills.  In executing this mandate there were many challenges.  One of these was the perception that SASCOC was interfering with federations, but SASCOC had a mandate to monitor the governance of the federations.

Mr Sam said that he and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) were not treating SASCOC as a personal fiefdom.  Members must note some of the extravagant claims in the media.  Members of federations often did not understand the articles of association.  SASCOC should never be derailed in doing what it was mandated to do. 

Mr Sam said that SASCOC had held a strategic planning session the previous weekend. The goal was simply to go for gold. This would be achieved by Opex. A coaching framework had been launched.  The world would come to South Africa for a conference in Durban in September 2013. Each province now had a coaching commission.  This would extend to district commissions. This area had been neglected in the past. If the basics were missed at school level they could never be recovered. A High Performance Advisory Committee (HPAC) had been set up with the best brains in the country.

Mr Sam said that the CEO would be judged on the work done by the HPAC.  This was his primary task.  He needed to keep the HPAC on its toes and ensure that the coaches were doing what was expected of them. Seven or eight priority codes would be identified which were medal hopefuls.  Their head coaches should be part of the SASCOC structure. Many of them were being lured to other parts of the world by better remuneration.

Mr Sam said that one of the pillars was stakeholder liaison. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was an important partner in the development of boxing, and now they were looking at martial arts as well.  More cooperation was needed with the Department of International Affairs and Cooperation to make overseas visits more meaningful. 

Mr Sam said that SASCOC would continue to work with the tertiary institutions. On funding,   there had been positive work with lottery funding. Money was now being provided on time. The Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA) was also assisting by helping federations to improve their governance.  Negotiations with potential sponsors were progressing.  There was assistance from the international solidarity fund.  SASCOC had an interest in horse racing and the dividends from this investment were promising.

Mr Sam revealed that there was now closer cooperation with provincial structures. SASCOC had visited most of the provincial governments and there was good cooperation.  There were various commissions looking after various aspects, such as legal, medical and coaching.  There were also various forums to discuss specific issues.  The planning had been done and SASCOC was ready. Further progress would be reported at subsequent meetings.

Mr Sam said that there had been a positive Council meeting the previous weekend. Some of the federations had not enjoyed being told to get into line. Some of the reviews of federations made for shocking reading.  Some issues had been allowed to drift. Some federations had no constitution or audited financial statements. Such bodies were liable to be charged with fraud as a result. The situation could only improve, and the results should be seen at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The National Athletics Championships held in Stellenbosch the previous weekend had brought a number of promising athletes to light.

The Chairperson said that the issue of governance would be raised. Members would like to hear about the good and the bad in terms of corporate governance. Some federations were not transformed.  In some cases, a positive story was told to the Committee while the actual situation was totally different.

Ms Ezera Tshabangu, General Manager: High Performance, SASCOC, said that the evaluation process had already started. Athletes were already on the programme building towards Rio 2016.  There had been applications from 13 federations, involving about 140 athletes. Recommendations had been put forward and the CEO would soon be selecting the best of these.  Some federations were still waiting on the results of their national competitions. Already R29 million was needed and team sports had yet to be considered.

Ms Tshabangu said that rankings had been used as the only guideline in the past. Some athletes did just enough to stay in the top eight of the rankings without qualifying for the London Olympics.  Often the federations left it up to SASCOC to cut athletes from the programme. Medallists at the last Olympics would be included, as would the finalists at the 2010 Youth Olympics. One issue left out was the number of sanctioned paralympic events.  There would be restrictions on the funding granted.  Priorities needed to be set.

Ms Tshabangu said that the next tier would be talented athletes needing support, not necessarily qualifying for international events.  The recommendations of the federations would be considered, but SASCOC would also investigate the merit of the cases. The academies would be used to help prepare athletes. There had been a presentation on an international training centre in Europe.  Many events happened on that continent, and many of the athletes would be in competition in European events.  Having a centre in Germany, Spain or France would make more sense given the movements of athletes.

Ms Tshabangu said that many athletes now had dual citizenship, and would try to qualify for South Africa if they failed in their own countries. The criteria would be reviewed. A plan was needed to enter athletes into events in order to prepare for Rio. Continuous assessment and evaluation would be conducted. Athletes would be tracked to monitor their performance.

Ms Tshabangu presented a list of the various events which would be used as a preparation for Rio. The cost for delivering teams for these events was R146 million. A generic selection policy would be put in place. One of these would be the number of countries participating in certain codes in Africa, and their standard. Junior athletes should be given the chance to compete where the talent of the better athletes might be wasted. 

Ms Tshabangu said that continental qualification would not be considered in selecting the teams for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. This had been endorsed by the federations with one exception. 

Ms Tshabangu outlined the development plan, as mandated by the Sports Indaba. The academy system would be overhauled. SASCOC was meeting with managers of academies.  Provincial boards should be abolished so that SASCOC could deal directly with provincial academies.  Legal advice had been taken on this matter. About 50 athletes should be on the national programme in each province. Aspects should be competition exposure, preparation and nutrition.

Ms Tshabangu said that the Free State Academy was fully funded. Training camps were provided for teams and individuals. There was access to medical and scientific support, and pre-departure assemblies could be held. The Transnet centre at Esselen Park was being targeted as a residential academy. Responsibilities had to be defined.  This facility could also be made accessible to athletes from neighbouring countries. 

Ms Tshabangu said that a key issue was the working group that had put together a strategic framework. This had been endorsed at Council.  Managers at academy and district level would be held accountable.  The districts had not been that strong in the past.

Ms Tshabangu said that there was a change management process. Priority codes should be aligned to national policy. Certain codes could be more prevalent in some provinces, and in this case some funding could be provided. The eligibility criteria would be defined. 

Ms Tshabangu said that SASCOC would accredit all public and the many private academies. 

Mr Sam suggested that the presentation be discussed first before moving on to the briefing on the individual federations.

Discussion
Mr Lee told Mr Sam that the Committee was honoured to have him present.  The Committee had praised him in the past. It seemed that SASCOC was at loggerheads with certain federations.  Poor governance could not be tolerated, and it was correct that such administrators be taken to task. Affiliates of SASCOC came to the Committee. Funds for sport were limited. Recently a dedicated lotto fund had been proposed for sport. This had been one of the original rationales for the establishment of the lottery. Sport was again being neglected. He asked how far SASCOC was in establishing a dedicated sports fund. In order to get good athletes, close cooperation was also needed with the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Academies were fine, but school sport was the building block. DBE was saying that it was in charge of the activities of children at school.  He asked what SASCOC was doing in this regard. Without money nothing could be done. R146 million was needed for Opex, not including certain programmes.  He asked whether, with the lottery being more amenable to giving assistance, SASCOC felt that this sum could be raised. He asked how the other related activities could cost. He asked how sure SASCOC was of the lottery funding. It was difficult to attract sponsorships when there were ongoing reports of in-fighting.  Swimming had never been seen as controversial, and yet they were finding it impossible to find a sponsor. He asked what assistance was being given.

Mr Sam replied that it was good that the Western Cape Member of the Executive Council (MEC) was present. The purpose of the road show was to make the provinces think of the broader situation. The athletes were in the provinces. A dedicated fund of R18 million was needed for preparation. This would be used to help coaches and athletes to compete on the overseas circuit.  SASCOC should be giving the logistic support. The next point was to ask MEC's where they could assist from their discretionary funds. There would be a public outcry if more money was allocated to sport from the lottery rather than other causes such as animal abuse, but sport was the reason for the establishment of the lottery. However, it was a fact that sport was now getting the smallest slice of the lottery allocations. Competition on the circuit was tough, and without this South African athletes would be nowhere. In a code like rowing there was simply no competition in the region.

Mr Sam continued that SASCOC had been in informal discussions with television stations about producing a package for the priority sports.  SASCOC could not do this alone. In the case of schools, negotiations were held at ministerial level but not by the functionaries. There had been an initiative to launch school sport on a Wednesday, but this was not happening yet.

Mr M Dikgacwi (ANC) said that the whip must be cracked, and the sooner the better. Rotten apples had to be discarded. Members would like to know where the coaches in provinces were located, and who was managing the process. He asked if assistance could be directed to those needing it. He asked how the HPAC was constituted. This issue would certainly be in the media the next day. He asked how far talent identification had been taken. Time frames were needed.  Academies were good, but time frames were needed here in order to monitor targets. One of the serious jobs of the Committee was oversight. Members needed to know where these programmes were taking place. R50 million had been given to the Eastern Cape for facilities.  What was said in the boardrooms did not match what Members found on the ground.  It was important to monitor that these programmes were happening. Things were going well in the Free State, but what was happening in the other provinces. There were Sports Councils but there was little interaction. In one case, a telephone number had been changed and he could not follow up with those that were in charge.

Ms Tshabangu responded that a list of the provincial coaching commissions would be provided to Members. The HPAC constituted scientists, medical and other experts. The chairs of the commissions were included, and the HPAC was chaired by the CEO. The provincial system needed to be cleaned up first, and this should be done by June. Once that was done, attention could be paid to district level.

Mr Sam said that there were fully fledged offices at the stadium in Gauteng. Provincial federations were welcome to make use of the office facilities and equipment. There were offices at the cricket stadium in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). There was a problem in the Western Cape in that the president of the council wanted the office in Oudtshoorn, where he lived. The only thing he could say was that in June there would be a meeting with the districts and metros in Bloemfontein. Provision must be made for office space at a regional level. Three days were being set aside for this meeting. The CEO and himself had asked to see evidence of the programmes. Service providers would be sourced to coach the coaches. A formal qualification framework had been put in place.

Mr Tubby Reddy, CEO, SASCOC, said that the academy issue had been dragging out for many years. SASCOC was now ready to implement the system at provincial level. Academy managers were often sitting at government offices. Existing facilities should be identified where the academies could operate.

Mr Ivan Meyer, MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape, was happy that SASCOC was taking action. He was very worried about the commitment to school sport. The Ministers had signed an agreement, but nothing was happening. The Wednesday sport programme had been launched with much fanfare, but little had resulted. He suggested that sport should be included as a part of the performance agreement with principals. The Committee had done good work in promoting the use of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) for sports infrastructure. He felt that municipalities should be called in to explain how they had used the MIG funding. He agreed that office space must be set aside for sports administrators. The Tusong centres could also be used as bases. A start had been made at Langebaan and Oudtshoorn.  He would visit the Free State MEC to see how he could learn from their experience.

The Chairperson said that MECs should benchmark with each other. Lottery should be persuaded to move quicker on providing funding for sport. The sport economy was huge all over the world. It seemed that dispute resolution was on track. He assumed that all federations were voluntary members of SASCOC, and should abide by the rules. It seemed that the sports councils in the provinces were working, but not all at the same level of efficiency. Government needed to give a push in some cases. It was important to meet with the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education to discuss school sport.  Social media had been buzzing after the Committee had pronounced that rugby was on track in terms of transformation based on the evidence presented.

Mr Lee said that there was a national Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministers on school sport.  He felt it would be good if there were similar agreements at a provincial level.

The Chairperson agreed. Everybody was talking about issues in sport. In-fighting made for exciting news. It was time for SASCOC to take a lead to ensure that sport united the nation and ensured social cohesion.

Mr Sam felt that the discussion on the use of the municipal grant was crucial. In the Free State the MEC had enforced this and the results were evident. There were still three provinces where some work was needed to bring them up to the level of the other provinces. These were Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West.

Briefing on Federations
Cricket South Africa
Mr Reddy said that there was a challenge resulting from the Nicholson recommendations on the governance of Cricket South Africa (CSA). SASCOC did not see how an independent director could chair the Board. It had now been agreed that the President of CSA should chair the Board.  By 2014 the Board would reflect the geo-political make-up of the country. There had been an issue on the misuse of the King Protea, as the badge could not be incorporated with the flag.  This situation was to be remedied and an 18 month period had been given, ending in December 2012. The badge had to change.

Athletics South Africa
Mr Reddy said that Athletics South Africa (ASA) had approached SASCOC in December 2012.  ASA had serious financial problems, with a debt of over R6 million and no prospect of turning the situation around. Mr Sam had committed himself to formulating a turnaround strategy. Athletes would be helped. A meeting had been held with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to address the finances. A number of discrepancies had been found with the financial controls at ASA.  Payments had been made on the instructions of the President, including a monthly payment of R20 000 as a salary to himself. Although there was no budget, the President insisted that funds from certain projects be used for this purpose. The CFO had provided an affidavit, and there was evidence in the books. The president, Mr James Evans, had refused to attend a meeting called to discuss the matter. He cited a visit to Nigeria. The Board had met without Mr Evans being present, and the Board members had invoked a provision of the ASA constitution to impeach Mr Evans.

Mr Reddy said that Mr Evans had not attended the impeachment meeting, but had frozen the bank account. SASCOC had made it possible for members of the board to attend the meeting by providing funding for flights. There was a debate about the constitutionality of the meeting.  Western Province had challenged this, but accepted that it was correct. The vote for impeachment was 33 for, one against, and four abstentions. Mr Evans had taken the fight to the media. There was an argument aboutwho had jurisdiction. A date had been set for arbitration, which Mr Evans had tried to derail. Mr Evans had urged for a meeting to keep the matter out of court, but had himself instituted legal action against Mr Hendrick Ramaala and other Board members.

Mr Reddy said that the board of SASCOC had met the previous Friday, and had placed ASA under administration. The Board members could continue to function at a provincial level.

South African Football Association
Mr Reddy then turned to the South African Football Association (SAFA).  A request had been sent for a meeting to discuss three issues, namely match fixing, the SAFA financial situation, and complaints about the Football Transformation Forum, which was seen as interfering in the affairs of the regional affiliates. A meeting had been called between SASCOC and SAFA. SAFA reported that the match fixing issue was being handled, but did not see the need to answer SASCOC's financial questions. On the regional complaints, SAFA felt that they first needed to consider the matter. SASCOC was awaiting feedback from a meeting SAFA was to call with the regions. The financial statement was for June 2012, and the meeting was held on 5 March 2013.  It now seemed that the financial situation had been turned around.  SASCOC was still waiting for an expected letter to confirm this.

Mr Reddy said that an anonymous dossier had been dropped off at SASCOC's offices.  This document contained information of an explosive nature. The SASCOC board felt it more appropriate to hand this matter over to the Hawks. A forensic investigation was called for.  SASCOC felt it better to wait for the judicial commission of enquiry on the match fixing issue to be completed, as another judicial commission might be needed and this would obviate the need for a forensic audit.

Mr Reddy said that the Minister had then requested a full report so that he could consider calling for an enquiry. There were now reports that SAFA was happy that the enquiry would only be into match-fixing, but as far as SASCOC was concerned only President Zuma could define the terms of reference.

Mr Reddy confirmed that a motion of no confidence had been tabled against him. He was an employee of SASCOC and his employment was at SASCOC's discretion. The issue had not been raised at the Council meeting the previous weekend.

Discussion
Mr G MacKenzie (COPE) said that the Minister had supported the Nicholson recommendations as a model for other federations in terms of governance structures. He asked why the provincial cricket authorities, who owned the game, could not be assisted by independent directors who were experts in finance and other fields. Having an independent Chair of the Board would be an excellent move towards transformation. He asked why SASCOC rejected this option.

Mr Dikgacwi asked how far the issue of the suspended CEO of CSA, Mr Gerald Majola, had progressed. He asked if SASCOC had dealt with the CSA question in the same way it had dealt with ASA under the presidency of Leonard Chuene. He asked if there was enough progress on transformation in cricket. He did not want to be a selector, but there were athletes performing well at a provincial level without receiving higher recognition. Thami Tsolekile and AB de Villiers started their careers together. Thamie had been dropped for his batting even though he was selected as a wicket-keeper. Jacques Kallis had struggled early in his career, but the selectors had kept faith in his talent and he had succeeded.  Loots Bosman was one of the best opening batsman but could not make the T20 team. Youngsters were becoming disillusioned. There was some development in the rural areas, but those working there needed lots of assistance. Some players were coming through in the Eastern Cape franchise, but he questioned how far these players could go.

Mr Sam responded that SASCOC had no problem with independent directors. In fact, most federations needed such assistance. Independent directors had been a dismal failure in rugby, and SASCOC had taken a stance that independent directors should not chair the boards of the federations. This was the policy of the Council, and therefore represented the views of the sports bodies. The policy might be reviewed in the future.

Mr Reddy added that as per the King report, an independent director could be the lead director to guide the President in his particular area of expertise.

The Chairperson asked if such independent directors carried the same fiduciary responsibilities.  The King 2 report was an important guideline.

Mr Sam continued that the country was still grappling with transformation. At the sports indaba there had been a decision to take transformation seriously under the leadership of SRSA. The Minister had put an eminent persons group together. A useful workshop had been held with this group over the weekend. Federations should now be able to produce numbers on current and future demographics, and would be challenged at the appropriate time. This was the last throw of the dice. In terms of governance, if structures were governed properly they should get there. Mr Majola was now busy with the labour court.

Mr M Rabotapi (DA) asked what the situation was with Power-boating South Africa.  He asked how things were progressing with disabled sports.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would shortly meet with CSA, and the issues raised by Members would be raised on that occasion.

Mr Dikgacwi said that he had seen the minutes of an ASA board meeting. There had been serious disagreement. There had been accusations that ASA was being run as a 'one man show'.  The president said that there were minutes to disprove this allegation. The alleged misuse of funds was a serious matter and must be dealt with. In the Caster Semenya case, a Mr Wilfred Daniels had been prominent. He asked what the current involvement of Mr Daniels was. It seemed that controversy followed this gentleman. There had even been a letter to the Speaker on alleged unfair treatment of Mr Daniels at the hands of the Committee. He asked if matters of internal strife were being raised, and what SASCOC intended to do. Mr Vermaak was the CEO of ASA at the time, and there had also been allegations of financial abuse.

Mr MacKenzie said that Members were now getting to the heart of the problems. ASA had been a centre of controversy all the time he had served on the Committee. There had been great hopes for medals at the Olympics, but the results had been bitterly disappointing. People of African origin dominated athletics worldwide, and he could not see why South African athletes were not more successful. The situation was now becoming ridiculous. It was not up to Members to take sides, but there were some issues which needed clarification. He asked if Mr Evans had not twice asked for the meeting of 12 February 2013 to be postponed.  He asked what role SASCOC had played in arranging the meeting. He asked how constitutional the meeting had been, as there was divided opinion on this issue. It almost seemed to an outsider that the meeting could have been for a single faction only. It could be a problem if SASCOC had only provided a loan to certain members to attend the meeting.

Mr Lee said that sport should be organised in boardrooms and played on fields. There was no place for court action. Federations needed to improve their governance, and this would lead to more medals. He would have loved to see SASCOC bringing the two groups together and reaching an amicable settlement. Matters had now gone to court with a High Court order in place.  Parliament had to respect such orders. In the meantime there were moves and counter-moves, and he feared that the Court Order was being disrespected. He asked if SASCOC was within its rights to proceed as it had despite the court order being in place.  Would it not have been better to wait for a final order to be handed down by court, as the measures taken by SASCOC might undermine the court?

Mr Reddy replied that Mr Daniels was no longer officially involved in athletics, but he was linked to Mr Evans and his supporters. Mr Vermaak had been hired by the president for a seven year term. Some board members felt they were not involved in this appointment. Mr Evans had dismissed Mr Vermaak, and the case had gone to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The settlement was that Mr Vermaak should be paid six month's salary, amounting to R360 000 at a time when ASA was R6 million in debt.

Mr Reddy said that ASA only had 17 provincial affiliates.  A ticket had been sourced for Mr Evans to attend the meeting through his own travel agent. Mr Evans had declined to accept this. Mr Evans had sent a note to Mr Sam. The other board members were available. SASCOC felt it important enough to hold the meeting in Mr Evans's absence. Although Mr Mohamed was present, Mr Ramaala had chaired the meeting.

Mr Reddy said that SASCOC had only received the court order the previous day. They would attend a meeting called by the judge the following week. They had assisted with the finances for delegates to attend the meeting.

Mr Sam added that tickets were made available to all board members as Mr Evans had frozen the bank accounts. SASCOC was criticised when it acted, and equally when it did not intervene.

The Chairperson noted that an administrator had been appointed for ASA. He asked why this situation had been allowed to develop. SASCOC should have taken note of the problems with ASA's administration over a long period. 

Mr Sam said that it was an expensive process. Money set aside for athletes was being spent on court action. SASCOC had hoped that the Board would resolve the issue, but had to take action when it was clear that there was a serious division. The matters of Power-boating South Africa had also resulted in court action. 

The Chairperson said that some Olympic codes and other national codes demanded proper administration from the start.  The mother body should not allow such situations to arise.  Intervention was expensive, but not intervening at an early stage might lead to even greater expenses. It seemed that it only occurred where men were at the helm. He was not sure who was screening the Board members. Prosecution might be advisable for shirking fiduciary duties.

MEC Meyer asked if any South African athletes had been injured in the explosions at Boston. He suggested that the administrator of ASA should be invited to appear before the Committee to present the turnaround strategy.

The Chairperson agreed. South Africa should be earning more medals in athletics. The Committee had a duty to criticise SASCOC where it saw failings. The ASA administrator should be given some time to settle in before the suggested meeting was arranged.

The Chairperson said that many talented athletes were being produced by the academies, but many seemed to disappear due to hitting the ceiling. The mother body should trace the development of athletes in all federations. Sport would grow with proper development. Some codes were well sponsored, but others were struggling due to poor governance deterring sponsors.

Mr MacKenzie said that the match-fixing allegations had dragged South Africa into the international arena. There was massive sponsorship in soccer, despite questionable governance.  SAFA would appear before the Committee, but there was a public perception that SASCOC was tough on some federations but was loath to intervene with others such as SAFA. It was unacceptable that the seven day deadline on the financial statement had been missed.

Mr Lee agreed that ASA should be hammered, but the amount allegedly misappropriated by SAFA officials dwarfed the ASA debt. There had been a long waiting period before the money for the 2010 World Cup was paid over, and shortly afterwards the body was in financial crisis again.  Match fixing was one issue, but a full investigation was needed into SAFA's financial affairs.

Mr Dikgacwi said that there were also perceptions that the Committee was soft on SAFA. When CSA or the South African Rugby Union (SARU) appeared before the Committee, there were huge media contingents but very little interest in a meeting with SAFA. Basketball had been suspended. There were allegations of fancy cars for SAFA officials and buses. Many clubs had no transport to honour their fixtures. SAFA needed to be called once they had sorted out their financial affairs. He had a number of questions which he would keep until SAFA appeared. There was buck-passing between SAFA and the Premier Soccer League (PSL). CEOs came and went regularly.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would meet SAFA on 30 April 2013.

Dr Sam said that there must not be a perception that SASCOC did not act against its members.  Once SASCOC saw the terms of reference issued by the President, it would call for a forensic audit into SAFA's affairs if this was not addressed by the enquiry. There were no sacred cows.

Mr MacKenzie asked about the documents handed to SAFA. He asked if these related to the FIFA investigation or if they were of a financial nature.

Mr Reddy confirmed that the documents dealt with finances.

The Chairperson asked if SASCOC was supporting a commission to investigate all the affairs of SAFA.  Match-fixing was but one aspect.

Mr Sam said that if the financial allegations were covered by the enquiry, they would be satisfied.  If not they would renew their call for a forensic investigation.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) asked how often SASCOC met with the national federations. The SAFA issue was a long running affair. 

Mr Sam said that SASCOC met the federations at least three times a year, excluding a special session with the Presidents to discuss policy matters. There had not been financial reporting, but this was now being set as a requirement.

The Chairperson said that Members were frustrated by their dealings with boxing. It seemed that something was being done at a professional level. 

Mr Reddy said that the amateur boxing body had met with him about a year ago. They had asked to be put under administration and this had been done. The administrator had looked at the situation in the different provinces. A new leadership had been put in place, but some mavericks had complained to their contacts in the international body. The latest situation was that the international body wanted a full update, failing which South Africa would be suspended.  SASCOC had offered to take the matter up with the IOC. SASCOC had not attended the meeting in Zurich, but understood that FIFA was satisfied that there was no government interference. In some of the smaller codes like table tennis, there was inclusivity. Wheelchair basketball and table tennis were the first to have fully revised structures.

Mr Lee returned to boxing. He believed in talking through problems. There should be a meeting facilitated between the two parties. An amicable solution was needed.

The Chairperson said that greed could not be tolerated. SASCOC was an important body and should do its work. He asked for an overall impression of the state of transformation.

Mr Sam felt it safe to say that some transformations were doing very well. He and the Deputy Minister had been impressed by the integrated nature of a chess tournament held recently.  Some federations were not known in certain areas. It was up to administrators to take the game to new areas.  Sports should be represented in at least five provinces to be a member, and be represented in 50% of the areas within those provinces. The federations now understood the urgency. The first review would be made in December 2013.  Action would follow if there was no action.

Mr Dikgacwi said that when there were incentives, these should be put in place before the events.  There had been a discrepancy before the Paralympics in London.

The Chairperson said that during oversight visits, there should be meetings with local sports councils and SASCOC representatives. There was resistance to change. There was a decline in the number of footballers playing at top level overseas.  Corruption had to be uprooted. Decisive action was needed.

The meeting was adjourned.