Commonwealth Games preparations: SASCOC briefing; with Minister

Meeting report

Director-General introduction on SASCOC
Mr Vusumuzi Mkhize, DSAC Director-General, presented an overview of the SASCOC mandate and its budget allocation.

The National Sport and Recreation Act mandates SASCOC as the representative body for all sport and recreation bodies including the Olympic National Federations, and secondly, it is a macro body for coordinating promotion and development of high performance sport in South Africa.

The financial allocation for SASCOC in 2021 was R11 701 000, in 2022, it is R12 009 000 and in 2023 it will be R12 055 000.

Commonwealth Games preparations: SASCOC briefing
SASCOC CEO, Ms Nozipho Jafta, and SASCOC Acting Manager of High Performance, Mr Leon Fleiser, presented the planning for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be the 22nd edition and will take place in the United Kingdom from 28 July to 8 August.

SASCOC is proud of the South African Olympics team in recent performances; for instance, South Africa ranked sixth place in the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games which took place in 2018, with 13 Gold, 11 Silver and 13 Bronze medals. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be used to assess the readiness of the Olympic and Paralympic teams in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Commonwealth Games are the only multi-coded games that include sports for people with disabilities; and will have the largest ever female and para-sport programme in Commonwealth Games history.

Tennis was confirmed for the Games. SASCOC prides itself on its champions including Akani Simbini, Tatjana Schoenmaker, Caster Semenya, Chad le Clos, who have all achieved gold medals in Olympic competition.

The qualification process for the Commonwealth Games started in late 2021 and ends on 29 June 2022. The team announcement will take place in June 2022. SASCOC is dealing with the clothing sponsor, Mr Price Sport on the kit launch event, which is scheduled for May 2022, to be held in KZN, Durban. Dependent on Covid Regulations, there will be a team farewell event in July 2022 before the first team departs for the Commonwealth Games. The team departures are staggered based on the start of the competition programme and likewise the team return will be staggered based on when athletes complete their competitions. There will be a team welcoming event in Birmingham taking place between the 23 and 28 July, before the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. The opening ceremony is 28 July and the closing ceremony takes place on 8 August. Medal celebratory press conferences and events will be held in Birmingham during the games. There will also be a celebration of medals event when athletes return.

All of the selected athletes will undergo full medical screening using the international Olympics Committee’s Periodic Health Evaluation protocols to ensure that athletes are fit and healthy to attend the games. All injuries will be declared prior to the games; there will be a final medical screening before the departure to ensure potential injuries are identified, injured athletes will be ineligible to participate. All team members will have to complete the World Anti-Doping Agency ADEL online course as part of the Anti-Doping Programme. SASCOC works with the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport to ensure a clean team is sent to the games. All team members and managers will be participating in the Safeguarding Webinar online before departure.

There are eleven sports for which a maximum of 92 athletes are selected; an additional 71 possible support team personnel including managers, coaches, technical analysts will attend the games. In terms of transformation, SASCOC is pushing for gender and youth representation with an eye on Paris and LA Olympic and Paralympic Games, and racial diversity to represent the demographics of the country. There is also a focus on performance selection and improvement of athletes with an aspiration to finish within the top five rankings. In terms of the media and stakeholder build up, there will be a social media campaign to educate the public about the commonwealth games, SASCOC will profile team South Africa as well as individual athletes, there will be press conferences to update the media on the Commonwealth Games. In terms of budgeting, the estimated expenditure is R14 298 500, there will be a travel grant of 524.95 per person; the total required amount will be R10 770 534 and the estimated income is R3 527 966.

Discussion
Mr M Zondi (ANC) asked SASCOC about its relationship with the South African Institute of Drugs and Substance. He asked DSAC how much funds will be put aside for the Commonwealth Games. Are there any incentives for athletes to encourage their performance? Are there are sponsors for the outfits of the athletes? What is the status of Operation Excellence that the Minister had spoken about in a previous meeting?

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) congratulated the new SASCOC CEO, Ms Nozipho Jafta, on her position. He asked why particularly she, and not the then Acting CEO, had been selected for the position. Why is the National Lotteries Commission not supporting SASCOC directly with a trust fund? Given that there is evidence of doping among South African athletes, what can be done to protect the integrity of South African sport? Are South African athletes getting enough international exposure and competition prior to the Commonwealth Games? When is the closing date for athletes to qualify for the Games? The appearance of the athletes' clothing in 2016 was bad, although it looked better in 2018. Are there any other sponsorships for the athlete sports outfits? What administrative measures for safeguarding are in place prior to the games to ensure athletes are protected?

Ms V Van Dyk (DA) asked if there are incentives for athletes that perform well. Are there are sponsors for promising athletes and their coaches? What practical measures are in place to ensure athletes are safeguarded?

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) asked what has SASCOC done about the dismal performance of the South African Olympic team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? What has it planned to ensure such poor performance is not repeated? What have athletes said and have they been given a platform to comment about their poor performance? Who is given the right to decide on the appearance of the South African athletes' sports kit at the Commonwealth Games?

Mr D Joseph (DA) asked SASCOC what conclusions has the independent third party reached on the assessment of the SA’s performance in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? What is the cost of the third party assessment? What is the timeline of the review report? What other money will DSAC provide SASCOC and based on what criteria will SASCOC qualify for more money? Which sports codes in SASOC are not effective because anti-doping tests show high positive results for drug use?

Mr Barry Hendricks, SASCOC President, responded that the relationship with SAIDS is good and that the anti-doping services are being improved. On Operation Excellence, SASCOC is currently in talks with a major sponsor interested in supporting the project and also other aspects of the organization. The Association of National Olympics of Africa is also providing financial support for athletes. The list of athletes that have been sponsored will be presented to the Committee on request. SASCOC is considering a national sports foundation so that businesses can step in and further support athletes.

Mr Hendricks explained that SASCOC negotiated a long term sponsorship contract with Mr Price Sport in 2021 who offered to cover the cost of sports clothing for several events from 2021 to 2024. The design of the clothing was done by a team of design students from Kwazulu-Natal. This year there was an online competition for the public to vote for the Commonwealth Games sports kit. The clothing is designed by professional designers taking into consideration the climatic conditions of sports events locations. The colours of the outfits are chosen based on the colours of the South African flag.

On the appointment of the CEO, Mr Hendricks explained that SASCOC went through a professional, transparent and thorough process of defining the terms of reference, requirements, characteristics, background, and skills for selection. There were independent members on the selection panel. They forwarded two names to the SASCOC Board who selected the CEO based on the best fit for the organization.

SASCOC had a meeting with the National Lotteries Commission senior management last week, and there will be a workshop to determine the future support of SASCOC. Several issues need to be considered. Currently, SASCOC is regarded as a national federation, whereas the Act recognizes SASCOC as a sports confederation. As SASCOC is recognized as a federation and not a confederation, the current Lottery policy states that SASCOC should only get R5 million, this is a significantly reduced amount. This needs to change. SASCOC and the Lottery will be discussing the future of funding to access more funding. Another point that came up in the meeting was about the sports trust fund to support some SASCOC athletes. It made clear that SASCOC will ensure that any funds afforded to Team South Africa and its athletes go through the organisation’s administration and it will report on how the money is spent and allocated.

On SASCOC ensuring the safeguarding policy is implemented, Mr Hendricks explained that every SASCOC member will have the safeguarding policy to ensure team members are protected through the policy and via a monitoring process.

On what athletes have said about their performance, the Athletes Commission has been established to provide a platform to gather information from athletes. The Athlete’s Commission meets on a regular basis and reports back to SASCOC. The information gathered by the Athletes Commission from athletes can be made available to the Portfolio Committee on request.

Mr Hendricks explained that SASCOC is working with the sports codes in applying the SAIDS policies. SASCOC will provide the Committee with a list of federations depicting the anti-doping test results, although this will be done in consultation with SAIDS as some information is confidential.

Mr Leon Fleiser, SASCOC Acting General Manager: High Performance, explained that the final date for qualification for the Commonwealth Games is 29 June 2022. The design of the athletics uniforms is guided by international federations specifications. On safeguarding, there will be delegated safeguarding officers attending the Games to ensure that athletes and all team members have someone in the village they can approach on safeguarding matters.

Director-General Mkhize replied that the Department is engaging with SASCOC on finalizing the funding for the Commonwealth Games and the final budget will be presented to the Committee once the engagements have concluded. On incentives, the Department is working with SASCOC to finalize the matter before the Commonwealth Games so athletes know about the incentives that they are likely to receive.

On the appointment of the new SASCOC CEO, this is a SASCOC matter and the Department has no role in nomination. However, if there is a concern raised about potential conflict of interest, the Minister or the Department will engage if there happens to be a need.

Mr Mkhize said that the Department remains committed to ensure all sports federations have a safeguarding policy. The Department is considering enforcement mechanisms and is engaging with SASCOC to ensure that the funding granted is linked to the safeguarding policy being in place. On the timeline of the review report, it was communicated in a meeting three weeks ago that the review report was being finalised. SASCOC had appointed an independent panel for the review report. Mr Mkhize requested that SASCOC communicate the timeline.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, appreciated that Committee Members have emphasised the need to speed up the safeguarding policy.

Director-General Mkhize said that the Department has concrete policies in effect to ensure that safeguarding of children is given substantial priority within schools. Each province is compelled to appoint a safeguarding officer who will monitor the safeguarding of learner athletes during events. The safeguarding officer is required to do a full briefing to all manages and coaches about the safeguarding of children, as well as providing a code of conduct for what is expected of them. To ensure this is done across the country, there will be workshops for provinces with the aim of creating national awareness as well as teaching children about what to do when faced with situations of abuse such as the reporting mechanisms.

The Chairperson thanked SASCOC and the Department and ended the meeting.