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SASCOC is sicker than sick

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Sport24 columnist Graeme Joffe (File)
Sport24 columnist Graeme Joffe (File)
South Africa's IOC executive member, Sam Ramsamy, celebrated his 75th birthday at a four star hotel in Umhlanga at the weekend. A birthday bash attended by the SASCOC big wigs, other high profile people, some Olympic athletes and the SASCOC PR team.

I applaud some of the work Mr Ramsamy has done for SA sport but who gives SASCOC the right to use public monies to pay for guests, airfares, hotel accommodation and of course the extended stay for some to watch the AFCON game between Bafana Bafana against Morocco in Durban?

Wouldn’t surprise me if they paid for the party as well but my calls and messages to the hotel were not returned.

SASCOC may have got in before me.

It is just sickening how SASCOC continue to spend on themselves and friends while the majority of SA sporting codes and athletes are suffering.

One hand continues to wash the other and I’m disappointed in Mr Ramsamy, who as an IOC executive member, should be making sure SASCOC runs a clean ship.

Chances of that happening are slim and none and slim just left town.

Mr Ramsamy and SASCOC CEO, Tubby Reddy go back a long way and the former even wrote the letter of support for Reddy when he stood for president of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) in 2011.

Mr Ramsamy wrote: “Tubby Reddy has now become one of the most respectable leaders of Sport in South Africa, the African continent and indeed the world.“

I’m going to throw up!

Mr Ramsamy, volleyball in South Africa has been completely destroyed by the complete lack of Mr Reddy’s ability and ethics. From being a premier televised sport 10 years ago with annual world series events taking place, we can’t even get 20 men’s teams to compete at a national championships!

Is that good leadership?

He should be collecting UIF but instead, he is rewarded with the position of SASCOC CEO.

Ironically, Reddy only got six out of a possible 47 votes at the CAVB election - the only other candidate, Dr Amr Elwani got 41 votes and was re-elected. So much for one of our most respectable leaders on the African continent, never mind the world. Needless to say, a whole SASCOC delegation went over to Sudan for the CAVB elections and no doubt a good time had by all with public monies.

Spike!

“SASCOC’s new spokesperson”, Shane Keohane, tweeted from Durban at the weekend: Durban you have been an excellent host to honour a legend who has given his all to SA sport. Happy 75th Birthday to Sam Ramsamy

How does Shane Keohane, a New Zealander who has been in SA for a few years and with no PR experience, know what contribution Mr Ramsamy has made to SA sport? Give me a break.

A “proudly South African” SASCOC spokesperson, just like the Olympic clothing deal with the Chinese manufacturer, Erke. 

Shane Keohane has seemingly assumed the position of SASCOC’s PR spokesperson, taking over from his brother who resigned in disgrace just before the London Olympics. Still to this day, no tender for the SASCOC PR account, which SASCOC awarded to HSM and Gideon Sam’s old “Bok” mate, Mark Keohane.

In September last year, Mark Keohane tweeted: Gideon & Tubby. I had pleasure of seeing the work put in over 4 yrs. Stay strong, stay united. There's not a better Pres/CEO combo

Keo, come up for some air!

No doubt, you’ve seen a recent upsurge in Luke Watson PR and “good” publicity. Luke apologising for his Afrikaans insult and saying the Lions have been treated unfairly with Super rugby relegation.

Well, the spin doctor, Mark Keohane is Luke’s agent but when exposed that he wasn’t an accredited SARU agent, he quickly threw the hospital pass to brother, Shane, as the cover up.

The HSM stable also “own” the SA Rugby magazine to aid their spin but SA Rugby (SARU) have conveniently turned a blind eye.
   
In short, SA Rugby is not the registered trademark of HSM and if they use it they should be paying SARU a rights fee - which they haven't. SARU also paid HSM a stipulated annual amount to produce Fifteen and other publications.

They’re all in bed together.

So, you can see why SARU never took any action against Keohane for being an unaccredited agent and why I got hogwash answers and lies from SARU to a number of my related questions in a previous column.

More importantly, SA sport is in turmoil due to the failings of SASCOC.

One of SA’s sporting greats, Ernst van Dyk just recently resigned from the board of Cycling SA, saying: “The glimpse I got into the politics in sport at the recent SASCOC elections also gave me second thoughts on any plans for future involvement in the administration of sport. I had no disillusions about my chances of getting elected and I only went through the process as I wanted to see how these things unfold.

Unfortunately what I witnessed during that process with certain last minute withdrawals of candidates to not split the votes on other candidates and then those late withdrawals simply got co-opted on to the board at a later stage was very informative and I now understand it’s not a place or a space where I want to be or function.”

Yes, SASCOC “fixed” the election and Gideon Sam is getting caught up in his own lies.

Then you hear how top SA sprinter, Anaso Jobodwana, had to spend two nights at the airport in Portugal on his way back to university in the US after the London Olympics because SASCOC didn’t organise a flight for him.

This makes my hair stand up (the little I have left) and it’s nothing short of an absolute disgrace.

Rumour has it that after AFCON 2013, SA will have a new sports minister. Please let it be someone who knows about sport and is willing to implement a full forensic audit of this “sicker than sick” SASCOC gravy train

This current SASCOC administration cannot be entrusted to take our athletes to Rio in 2016!

Email Graeme at: graeme@butterbean.co.za

Catch Graeme Joffe on SportsFire every Monday and Thursday at 17:30 on Radio Today, 1485am in JHB, National on DStv audio channel 169 and streaming worldwide on www.1485.org.za. Follow Graeme Joffe on Twitter: @joffersmyboy

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