‘Sascoc is not your property’: IOC tells board members to shape up

A defiant faction within the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (Sascoc) leadership has been warned by international governing bodies to step back in line, as an ongoing power battle is waged in the build-up to elections next week.

In a joint letter addressed to their members on Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said they were “surprised and confused” after some Sascoc board members refused to accept a recent general assembly decision.

“In this highly regrettable context, it may be worth recalling that Sascoc is not the property of individuals, but essentially emanates from its member federations… as expressly stated in the Sascoc constitution,” the IOC and IPC told their members.

“Therefore, it is once again expected that the general interest should prevail over personal interests, and that everyone should respect the collective decisions taken by the general assembly.”

A five-member faction within Sascoc’s depleted executive said it would not accept the decision to reinstate suspended acting president Barry Hendricks and cancel disciplinary procedures into his conduct.

The board members claimed that veteran administrator Sam Ramsamy,
appointed by the IOC to oversee Sascoc elections, did not have the authority to change the agenda of the meeting where the decision was made.

“It is entirely self-serving and opportunistic to assert that the general assembly is the highest decision making body and therefore it could override a validly taken and lawful board decision,” Sascoc board member Aleck Skhosana wrote in a scathing letter to the IOC.

Elections for the Sascoc board were initially scheduled to be held in March but had been postponed by eight months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In their joint letter this week, the IOC and IPC called on the national body’s members to work together in order to ensure the delayed election process could be completed.

“We trust that common sense and respect for the democratic principles which govern the Olympic and Paralympic movement will now prevail,” they said.

“We urge everyone to act responsibly and in good faith to ensure that the Sascoc elections take place smoothly on 7 November, as planned, so as to normalise the situation.”

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