South African Sports Confederation & Olympic Committee Update & Transformation in South African Karate: briefing
Sport, Arts and Culture
02 August 2006
Meeting Summary
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
Meeting report
SPORT AND RECREATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
2 August 2006
SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS CONFEDERATION AND OLYMPIC COMMITTEE UPDATE AND
TRANSFORMATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN KARATE: BRIEFING
Chairperson: Mr B Komphela (ANC)
Documents handed out:
SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee presentation: Part1 & Part2
SUMMARY
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee met with the
Committee to provide a progress report on transformation in South African
sport. The aims of the organisation were outlined. The promotion of student
sport would receive urgent attention. The organisation intended to hold
discussions with the National Lottery Board to facilitate changes in current
financial distribution channels. Members were asked to assist in sourcing
additional funding for sport in general. The Confederation’s programme of
action was explained. Brief updates on dispute resolution activities in certain
federations were presented. An attempt was made to forge greater unity between
Karate South Africa and the Karate Association of South Africa. A meeting of
all karate stakeholders would take place at the Confederation’s offices on 12
August 2006.
Members asked questions about the need to promote transformation at senior
levels, extended grants to smaller federations, the need for government
intervention to expedite transformation, improved school sports facilities at
rural institutions, the assessment of academy performances, how to increase the
participation of women in sport and the importance of an improved national
soccer team.
MINUTES
The Chairperson stated that the Committee had to interact with the SA
Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to receive feedback on
sports-related matters and the present challenges to transformation in South
African sport. Solutions should be relayed to the Committee for evaluation and
debate. Significant transformation in sport had to still occur. For example, a
single governing body for karate had to be created.
South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee presentation
Mr M Mashishi (SASCOC President) explained that the aim of the organisation
was to consolidate sport under one umbrella body. The inclusion of disability
sport remained a challenge. A Commission on Students Sport would be created.
SASCOC had recently received international recognition. The Framework Plan for
2005-2014 had been compiled. Discussions had been held with the National
Lottery Board (NLB) regarding funding allocation alterations. The Committee was
requested to assist in the process to acquire additional funding. National
federations were administered by volunteers and consequently capacity
shortfalls did arise. A Commission had been established to promote the interests
of athletes. Current priorities and challenges were outlined.
Discussion
Mr D Dikgacwi (ANC) asked what mechanisms were in place to monitor
transformation and noted that significant transformation occurred in rugby at
the junior level but not at higher levels.
Mr C Frolick (ANC) asserted that informal processes could also be highly
effective in facilitating transformation. SASCOC should investigate specific
problems within federations. Warring factions within federations had to be
addressed. Parliament had to devise appropriate mechanisms to understand
developments within federations. He reminded Members that government funding
for SASCOC had been removed. Grants to smaller federations should be enhanced.
Transformation within federations should also be advanced. The contribution of
the NLB to sport development had to be re-evaluated.
Mr L Reid (ANC) added that federations were not adequately addressing
transformation issues. Government intervention was required to fast-track
progress.
Mr Mashishi responded that federations had to have transformation plans that
the confederation could refer to in evaluating progress. A transformation
commission had been established to oversee transformation and a dispute
commission focused on resolving disputes within various federations. A strategy
was in place but implementation had to be improved. Activities and
responsibilities had to be aligned. Funding requirements had to be correlated
to business plans. Progress had to be gauged in order to consider additional
funding. The confederation required more powers to facilitate positive changes.
The NLB had contributed R271 million to sport in the past financial year.
However, further developments were needed. A holistic strategy plan was
required that included a transformation agenda. 11% of the national budget for
sport was below the international norm and the NLB had a vital role to play. A
financial distribution agency should be placed closer to the confederation to
promote effective disbursement of much-needed funds. Allocations should occur
in conjunction with the overall strategy. SASCOC had to rely on the various
federations to implement transformation plans.
Ms H Bogopane-Zulu (ANC) noted that improved sport facilities were required at
both urban and rural schools.
Mr E Saloojee (ANC) commented on the continued skewed benefits to the white
minority in terms of sports funding. Political transformation within sport was
required to facilitate meaningful change.
Mr A Mlangeni (ANC) asked whether federations in general had the capacity to
effectively administer school sports. Sport academies had recorded variable
levels of performance and it was difficult to conduct accurate assessments of
performance.
Mr Frolick asserted that the role of the United School Sports Association of
South Africa (USSASA) had to be reconsidered. Teachers should play a major role
in school sports as opposed to excessive levels of bureaucratic interference.
The involvement of women in all sports had to be increased. He asked whether
Durban would bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Mr Mashishi concurred that rural facilities were inadequate and the backlog had
to be addressed. Sports facilities had been placed in rural areas in the past
but lack of sufficient maintenance had eroded the value of the initial
investment. The needs of rural communities had to be incorporated into the
national strategy. Provincial and satellite academies were needed to broaden
the interventions. School facilities had to be fully functional and assisted by
the relevant federations. Resources would be provided to increase the pool of
women participants in all sporting codes. The bid for the 2016 Olympic Games
had to be forwarded before 2010 which presented a problem for Durban.
The Chairperson declared that the original intention of the National Lottery
was to fund school sports and the present distribution practices had to be
re-evaluated. Guidelines for academies had to be formulated with appropriate
norms and standards. Access to funding had to be improved for less privileged
tertiary institutions. High performance centres had to be developed in rural
areas. Academies had to adhere to financial and operational norms and
standards. The Committee wanted to see meaningful progress with transformation.
Anti-doping measures had to be improved. Sports personalities should learn
relevant life skills. The national colours had to be more prominently displayed
in relation to logos and brand names. The national soccer team had to improve
its performance.
Mr Mashishi stated that plans were being formulated to improve the performance
of the national soccer team. The role of federations within SASCOC would be
addressed at the next President’s Council meeting. Plans to improve the
performance of academies would be presented to the Committee in due course.
The Chairperson asked the two karate federations present to provide their own
accounts of recent attempts to achieve unity in South African karate. The
Committee sought a progress report on implementation of a recent agreement.
Submissions by karate federations
Mr R Dangor (Karate Association of South Africa (KASA) Executive Committee
member) stated that the planned merger would result in the cooption of KASA
into the federation on an unequal basis. Therefore, KASA had been unable to
agree to the specific terms of the agreement. SASCOC was requested to arbitrate
on the matter and provide a solution.
Mr L Beech (Karate South Africa (KSA)) stated that concerns had been raised
about misappropriation of funds in KASA. No real progress had been achieved in
facilitating unity between opposing federations. The Minister of Sport and
Recreation had mandated that KASA should undergo a name change, hold elections
and restructure. Elections were held but KASA refused to accept the outcome.
The challenge lay in trying to draw KASA into the KSA fold. Leadership
positions had to be finalised. Communication had broken down between the two
groups. Disharmony within South African karate appeared to be to the benefit of
international bodies. Tournaments had been held in South Africa without any
consultation with the controlling body.
Discussion
The Chairperson acknowledged that international interference appeared to be the
case. Certain federations had been banned from international competition until
unity had been achieved. Elections conducted by the Sports Commission should
have been accepted by all parties.
Mr Dangor stated that KASA challenged the status of the regional
representatives that attended the elections.
The Chairperson stated that the various parties had to focus on the
transformation of karate.
Mr Mark Alexander (SASCOC Vice-President) declared that a dispute committee had
been established to resolve the issues in karate. Unity had to be created
before teams could represent South Africa. Both parties agreed to form a
committee at a recent meeting. However, that agreement had not been
implemented. Progress could not be achieved at this juncture.
The Chairperson asserted that a unity meeting had to be arranged as soon as
possible to establish a committee to drive the process. A relevant plan of
action should be formulated. A meeting would be held at the SASCOC offices on
12 August to debate all pertinent issues and reach a binding agreement.
The meeting was adjourned.
Audio
No related
Documents
No related documents
Present
- We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting
Download as PDF
You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.
See detailed instructions for your browser here.