Recent statements by National Assembly sports portfolio committee chairperson Butana Komphela do not reflect the committee’s views, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said on Wednesday.
Holomisa has written to Speaker Baleka Mbete and the Parliament to object to Komphela’s ”unacceptable behaviour” and to gain clarity on ”people who masquerade as spokespersons for the committee”.
In his letter, Holomisa said Komphela’s statements regarding the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), led by Moss Mashishi, are racist and do not reflect the views of the committee or its individual members.
”There is a big difference between advocating transformation, on the one hand, and outright racism, on the other,” Holomisa said. It comes as no surprise that Sascoc has reacted to these unmandated and offensive remarks by Komphela.
”Now we hear that the portfolio committee has summoned Sascoc to appear before it on Tuesday July 29 2008.
”We believe the correct process would be for the committee to first meet and discuss whether or not the chairperson brought the committee and Parliament into disrepute with his racist comments.
”I am of the view that we must first establish whether he was correct in saying what he did, before this institution seeks to intimidate members of civil society for not simply accepting an abuse of parliamentary privilege,” Holomisa said.
Parliament’s rules committee needs to advise on whether it is correct that the Sport and Recreation Department is responsible for managing transformation in sport.
”Then, in fact, the portfolio committee’s first duty is to exercise oversight over the Department of Sport.”
Therefore it would seem only sensible that the committee should be asking of the department what budget, benchmarks and targets it has dedicated towards transformation in sport.
In turn, the department should tell the committee whether it is making progress in each sporting code. The department and the particular sporting code could appear jointly before the committee when these reports are made.
”The current ad hoc process of seemingly randomly picking sporting codes without consulting the responsible department and then calling people names and issuing threats is counter-productive and will sooner or later backfire.”
Already there is a hullabaloo in the media about invoking Parliament’s powers to summon people, when the underlying reasons for the situation arising in the first place have not yet been addressed, he said.
The situation has ”nothing to do with Sascoc and everything to do” with Komphela and the manner in which the committee conducts its business.
”We appeal to the rules committee to outline clearly in writing the role of the portfolio committee, and the relationship between it and the department and the various sporting codes.
”In particular, we would appreciate clarity from you about public utterances by people who masquerade as spokespersons for the committee, without any mandate from the committee,” Holomisa said. — Sapa