Broke ANCYL explains donations

2009-08-26 12:06

President Jacob Zuma congratulates men's 800m world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi during a meeting at the Presidential guest house in Pretoria. (Themba Hadebe, AP)

Johannesburg - The ANC Youth League said it had privately raised the R125 000 it pledged to South Africa's three athletics medallists to help them "relax", spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said on Wednesday.

"We fundraised for that," said Shivambu, in response to a question following the League's announcement earlier in August that it was in debt and was raising money to pay for conferences in Mangaung and Johannesburg.

At the time it said it was closing its investment wing Lembede and taking stock of the league's assets.

Shivambu said the sources of the athletes' relaxation fund donations were private.

Ceremony

Meanwhile, they were planning a ceremony to give 800m women's gold medallist Caster Semenya R60 000, 800m male champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi R40 000 and silver long jump medalist Khotso Mokoena R25 000.

Shivambu said that as a first-time winner, they felt that Semenya should be apportioned the larger amount.

"She is a young, first-time, gold medallist," he explained.

League president Julius Malema announced the donations at a media conference largely dominated by outrage over the International Association of Athletics Federations' plans to verify Semenya's gender.

- SAPA