The two-week public spat between Butana Komphela and Moss Mashishi was settled on Thursday, with funding distribution and the development of sport the winners.
Komphela, the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee for sport and recreation, and Mashishi, the president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), were at loggerheads after last month’s interview with the Mail & Guardian in which Komphela said: “The Olympic governing body is full of whites and Indians who don’t understand transformation and who lack vision.”
Sascoc labelled the remarks as “racist” and Mashishi turned down an invitation to appear before the sport portÂfolio committee on Tuesday, sending a letter instead.
But the expected showdown after Mashishi’s snub never occurred; he and Komphela left a media briefing on Thursday holding hands. They retreated to a quiet spot to have coffee undisturbed by the media furore they themselves had caused.
Each of the parties left Thursday’s meeting having made concessions. Mashishi succeeded in getting the issue of government funding on the table while Komphela’s concerns about racial representation at Sascoc’s top levels have been heard.
The details will be thrashed out after the Olympics start in Beijing later this month, when Komphela and Mashishi have agreed to meet.
Komphela said his “whites and Indians” comment had been quoted accurately but was misunderstood.
“I was not misquoted in the media: the portfolio committee and I remain very concerned about transformation in sport. The statement I made was in the context of addressing transformation. To the extent that these comments were interpreted as racist, it is unfortunate and regrettable and was certainly not intended.
“After our meeting we have agreed that we need to deal with the issue of funding and the development of sport first, as there is a huge gap. The issues raised by Sascoc will be addressed accordingly.
“We are both dedicated to working even more vigorously together to accelerate the development of sport and in particular to prioritise the issues of transformation and funding,” said Komphela.
By placing funding on the table, Mashishi finally got Komphela’s attention on a subject that Sascoc and other sports observers have raised several times — for transformation to succeed, government needs to put its money where its mouth is.
Mashishi had made the point in the letter he sent to the portfolio committee. In the letter, which is in the possession of the M&G, Mashishi wrote: “We differ with the view that constant public battering of sport leadership will yield the outcomes we all desire. Our view, in a nutshell, is that we need a national strategy inclusive of all key stakeholders that will address a number of key challenges in a comprehensive and inclusive manner.
“Further, not only do we need more resources for effective development of sport, we also need to optimise those we already have. For instance, the National Lottery distributes over R500-million a year for sport. However, it is common cause that the current distribution mechanism is spread too thin and also that the system is inefficient and needs a total overhaul. All these issues have been dealt with in our Vision 2014 document.”
Mashishi said it was important to put “the cloud” behind them and start on a clean slate ahead of the November Sascoc board elections.
“When we come back from Beijing we will be preparing for the new term, which is from 2009 to 2012. We will elect our new board later in the year and address the issues raised accordingly as we will be preparing for the next Olympics,” he said.
“We know that transformation is an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with but in order for us to address that we need to look at issues of funding, areas that are neglected [and] provision of facilities so we can nurture talent that will be selected on merit and reflect the demography of our society. We are confident that this will be achieved.”
The stand-off appears to be over for now and Sascoc has reversed its decision to boycott future “invitations” to appear before the parliamentary committee.
“Sascoc holds Parliament in the highest regard and never intended to boycott the institution of Parliament,” said Mashishi. “I’m satisfied with Komphela’s clarification in relation to the media statements that were the subject of the dispute.”