Julian Drew
WITH 19 medal sports and two demonstration sports that will attract over=20 5 000 competitors from 43 countries, next week=D5s All Africa Games are an=
enormous undertaking. Not surprisingly there are not many African=20 countries who can afford to organise them.=20 Even Zimbabwe, which is one of Africa=D5s wealthier countries, has fallen=
upon hard times since agreeing to stage the Games at a Supreme Council=20 for Sport in Africa (SCSA) meeting in Mauritius in 1989. Some of the=20 problems were created when the Games were staged in Nigeria in 1973 and=20 Algieria in 1978 as these countries were flush with oil money at the time=
and set expensive precedents which have continued until this day. Officials and politicians were pampered and these privileges have now=20 become a right. The Games have also grown considerably since Brazzaville=20 in 1965 when 28 countries participated in nine sports. Nairobi in 1987,=20 whose main facilities were specially built for the Games by the Chinese,=20 and Cairo in 1991 both received financial assistance from the International=
Olympic Committee (IOC) to organise the Games.=20 Although the Zimbabwean organising committee, COJA-Z, has received a=20 substantial amount of outside assistance, it was relying on government=20 money for the bulk of its funding. With the crippling drought which began=
in 1991, and the World Bank-imposed economic adjustment programme,=20 the government has not been able to honour its previous commitments.=20 There are now serious concerns in Harare about where the money to co- n To PAGE B18 ver the cost of the Games will come from with taxpayers fearing the worst.=
On Tuesday the chairman of COJA-Z in Bulawayo, Webster Sibanda, went=20 on national radio saying they had not been given any money by the central=
organising committee to prepare for the events to be staged there. Cash=20 flow problems also led to delays in the preparations of venues with fears=
that some venues will be sub-standard and some events have had to be=20 cancelled through lack of money. One of the biggest setbacks facing the Games is the unwillingness of=20 sponsors to support the event.=20 This is because they are run by the SCSA which is a political body=20 consisting of ministers of sport from African countries which is affiliated= to=20 the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The SCSA passes on the=20 responsibility for organising the Games to the host government and=20 sponsors are extremely reluctant to donate money to government entities.=20 One way out would be to hand over the responsibility for organising the=20 Games to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa=20 (ANOCA) which is the representative of the IOC in Africa. All other=20 continental games, like the Pan American Games and Asian Games, are=20 organised by their continental Olympic bodies and consequently can use=20 the Olympic rings, one of the world=D5s most powerful marketing symbols, to=
bring sponsors to the party. =20 ANOCA president Jean Claude Ganga of the Congo, who was in=20 Johannesburg this week, is clearly aware of the dilemma but would not be=20 drawn on what should be done about it. He was secretary general of the=20 organising committee for the first All Africa Games in Braazaville and=20 understands the enormity of the task facing Zimbabwe, but he was also the=
founding secretary general of the SCSA in 1966, serving for 13 years. =D2I=
drew up the constitution and financial regulations of the SCSA in 1966 so=
it is not for me to say to them what they must do,=D3 said Ganga.=20 =D2We are trying to assist the SCSA rather than have a confrontation with=
them. That is why we arranged for the IOC to donate $250 000 to COJA-Z=20 and why, through Olympic Solidarity, we are paying for one athlete and=20 one official from every member country to attend the Games,=D3 said Ganga.=
The problem would appear to be that although it would make sense to=20 disband the SCSA and let ANOCA assume responsibility for running the=20 Games, the ministers are reluctant to relinquish the perks the Games=20
Outside of organising the Games, the SCSA has few remaining=20 responsibilities and in fact its staff have not been paid for two years. We=
it a private company it would have been declared bankrupt a long time ago. =
Many organisations which were created by the OAU have passed their=20 useful lifespan and disbanded themselves voluntarily, and perhaps the=20 SCSA needs a gentle nudge to do the same. Such a decision will come too late to help Zimbabwe through its current=20 crisis but should ensure a healthier future for the Games which are due to=
be held in a South African city in 1999. =20 Ganga agreed that COJA-Z does have problems, but said the media only=20 focuses on the negative side of the Games which he said because of their=20 size would inevitably not be trouble free. He was, however, scathing of=20 some sports federations who had contributed unnecessarily to Zimbabwe=D5s=
financial burden. =D2Some federations have appointed officials from places=
like Australia when we have equally competent officials in Africa and=20 Zimbabwe must pay for their travel expenses. They should follow the=20 example of the Confederation of African Football which has only=20 appointed African officials,=D3 he said.