Not so long ago Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene was demanding a public apology from Moss Mashishi, the president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), and threatening to interdict the Olympics governing body’s elections.
But suddenly last week it emerged that Chuene has been lobbying for Mashishi to serve another term as Sascoc president. Mashishi will square up against Gideon Sam, the chairperson of the national lottery distribution fund, for the presidency this weekend.
Chuene has held meetings with both Sam and Mashishi in a bid to encourage Sam to bow out of the race. ”This concern is informed by the resolutions taken at the sports indaba, held recently in Durban, where Mashishi was clearly mandated to deal categorically with the issues of transformation in Sascoc,” Chuene said in a statement. ”I believe that he needs to be given a chance to oversee the mandate and this can happen only if he is allowed to lead Sascoc for another term.”
Mashishi has been involved in a bitter public spat with Chuene and Butana Komphela, who chairs Parliament’s portfolio committee on sport and recreation, since last November over issues of transformation and the national academy.
Chuene was banking on discontent in Sascoc, which some felt was not transformed, and on the serious need to establish a national academy, which Sascoc has promised but so far failed to establish.
Sascoc has been criticised for failing to secure sponsorship. It also turned a blind eye to Basketball South Africa (BSA), the former president of which, Vusi Mgobhozi, and the former treasurer, Eric Nkosi, were accused of running the federation as though it were their own fiefdom.
Sascoc took action only in May and dissolved the BSA executive committee. An interim committee was appointed to investigate the allegations and report its findings in October. But it looks like Mgobhozi and Nkosi will be let off the hook.
The governing body’s biggest failure came in August at the Beijing Olympics, where Team South Africa managed to bring home only one medal — Khotso Mokoena’s silver in the long jump. At that point people started losing confidence in the Sascoc leadership, with some calling for Mashishi to step down.
As Chuene raised most of these issues, there is a perception that this sudden change in heart from someone who didn’t believe in Sascoc’s leadership means Chuene has made a deal to get a position within Sascoc.
Ultimately, whoever is elected by the 70 federations to lead the Olympics governing body faces a daunting task to rebuild the organisation. The new leader will need to focus on developing the country’s sporting talent and ensure our athletes excel on the global stage.