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The great SASCOC election fix

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Sport24 columnist Graeme Joffe (File)
Sport24 columnist Graeme Joffe (File)
Dear athletes, federations, sponsors and sports fans,

It is with utter disgust, sadness, anger, yet no surprise, that I share with you what transpired with the recent SASCOC elections.
 
Firstly, this was the SASCOC email sent to selected federations, four days before the election on November 24.

Who sent the below email from SASCOC and the receiver have been deleted for obvious reasons. but it was received by a number of federations.

Sent: 20 November 2012 04:14 PM
Subject: FW: SASCOC Leadership


Please find below Gideon Sam’s list as discussed with Mubarak.

Vice-presidents:
Hajera Kajee, Les Williams

Board Members:
Mark Alexander, Kobus Marais, Mubarak Mahomed, Keikabile Motlatsi, Themba Hlasho

End email

The federations were also advised to vote for these seven nominees by SASCOC members via secretive canvassing, phone calls and on the day of the election itself. Even more disgustingly, some of these nominees had the audacity to pass this email onto the federations themselves, making promises at the same time, if they voted for them. The same list was also discretely circulated among delegates.

So, with no surprise, the voting went as “fixed” by SASCOC.   

Voting: 
Hajera Kajee 120 - 1st vice-president
Les Williams 118 - 2nd vice-president


Wiempie du Plessis 38
Colin Webster 13
Kirsten Nematandani 9

A landslide win for Kajee and Williams.

Mark Alexander, Jace Naidoo and Kobus Marais withdrew their nominations but don’t you worry, it was all well calculated.

Voting: Additional Board Members:
Muburak Mohammed 125
Mark Alexander 112
Kobus Marais 109
Keikabile Motlasi 94
Temba Hlasho 84


Wiempie du Plessis 52
Ernst van Dyk 24
Nomsa Mahlangu 18
Anthea Harms 18
Colin Webster 17
James Letuka 16
Tim Noakes 15
Selwyn Nathan 15
Mami Dial 14
Ilhaam Groenewald 10
Elise du Rand 10
Moekie Grobbelaar 9
Goliath Munro 6   
  
Landslide win for Mohammed, Alexander, Marais, Motlasi and Hlasho. 

Kirsten Nematandani, Jeremiah, Segwabe, Merrill King, Kaya Majeke, Jace Naidoo withdrew their nominations. SASCOC had suggested to the respective federations they do so, if they wanted their sport represented on the SASCOC board as co-opted members.

Boom - co-opted onto SASCOC board:

Jace Naidoo, Jeremiah Segwabe and Merill King

Apart from the ethics of it all, how does Jace Naidoo, the president of Swimming SA, a federation that is broke, doesn’t have a main sponsor and has serious allegations of maladministration, get onto the SASCOC board? Naidoo will also claim another salary as a SASCOC board member, that alone is more than what a junior school teacher gets.

Sadly, many of the  federations had little or no choice but to vote for these gravy train SASCOC administrators. With Hajeera Kajee, also occupying the position of the chair of the National Lotto Distribution Agency, it would not have been in any federations interests not to vote for her, although some were brave enough and did, which will probably hurt them when it comes to lotto allocations.

One hand washes the other and from what I heard, there couldn’t have been more false hugs and smiles as SASCOC CEO, Tubby Reddy and Kajee thanked the federations who voted the “right” way after the election.

Reddy and the auditors the only ones who have access to who voted for who.  

But the federations have a chance to right the wrongs and all stand together to get rid of this SASCOC board, the majority of which are only in it for themselves.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - Edmund Burke

Please go back and look at some of the heartbreaking stories that have corrupted SA sport and destroyed the dreams of so many of our athletes.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Columnists/GraemeJoffe

SASCOC needs to be cleaned out with a full forensic audit.

Prof AM Louw said it:

“South African sport cannot afford SASCOC. I would suggest that the response to government by sports federations, players’ associations, sponsors and other stakeholders should be the following: No thank you, we do not need this dictatorial creature that is being set up largely against our will, and which we will be forced to support in the furtherance of what remains a shady but painfully clear agenda. Millions of taxpayers’ rands and lottery funds can be spent to prop up this creature, but it will always have feet of clay; it will topple spectacularly before long, and we do not want to go down with it.“
 
It’s about to topple!

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

Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
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