Sasco slams 'racist' Komphela

2008-07-20 19:40

Johannesburg - Comments made by the chairperson of parliament's sport portfolio committee Butana Komphela that Sascoc (the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) was "full of whites and Indians who don't understand transformation and lack vision" was both slanderous and racist.

This was stated by Sascoc president Moss Mashishi at a press briefing at Emperors Palace on Sunday during the course of the South Africa-Denmark Davis Cup tennis tie at the gaming resort on the outskirts of OR Tambo International Airport.

Mashishi confirmed a Sascoc decision taken at the organisation's annual general meeting on Saturday not to have any dealings with parliament's sport portfolio committee as long as it was chaired by Komphela.

And the Sascoc president added that a complaint would also be lodged with the Human Right Commission against Komphela for making remarks designed to incite racism.

"Sascoc is an organisation dedicated to implementing meaningful transformation in sport," said Mashishi, "and the wild allegations against a body made up of officials who have worked tirelessly towards this objective only demonstrate the ignorance of the source from which they emanate."

Unanimous decision

Mashishi said all sporting codes affiliated to Sascoc - and they include the major sports of soccer, cricket and rugby - would abide by the "unanimous decision" taken at the general meeting.

"As matters stand," added, the Sascoc president, "our contact with government will be channelled through the Minister of Sport until someone with greater finesse and understanding of the complex problems at hand heads parliament's sport portfolio committee."

Mashishi also commented on the thorny issue of race quotas for national teams and said it was a complex problem that had to be dealt with delicately and in a different manner for each and every sport - and implemented in cases where the effect was seen as adding to the progress of meaningful transformation.

Sascoc are also concerned by the manner in which the R500m annual grant to sport from the national lottery is distributed, with the money not being utilised in the best manner to achieve meaningful results.

Sascoc intended taking up the matter of this distribution in order to ensure benefits were visible from the lottery's distribution to sports bodies and ambiguities were eliminated.

- SAPA