Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance wants the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to conduct an investigation into Athletics SA (ASA) and its administration.

This follows reports that former ASA boss Leonard Chuene and several other ASA officials bought vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz E class, from the organisation for the paltry fee of R1, DA spokesperson Donald Lee said on Wednesday.

"I will write this morning to the SIU to request that this investigation is initiated immediately," he said.

For some time now there had been several fundamental questions about ASA's management and the conduct of its key administrators in this regard.

"Not only has this particular entity been in financial difficulty but there is a series of irregularities which have come to define its financial management.

"Thus, to get to the bottom of all of this once and for all and clear the air, the SIU needs to conduct a thorough and in-depth investigation into this institution's systems, structures and management," Lee said.

The sport and recreation department itself should not be excluded from such an investigation.

The minister in particular and the department in general were responsible for overseeing ASA's management as such. Its role also needed to be interrogated.

"If the ANC wants to control every aspect of the South African state then it must also be made to account for every aspect of the South African state.

"South Africa's Olympic governing body Sascoc has also brought forward evidence of document shredding and has said that deleted computer files were uncovered at ASA after its interim board took office."

While the DA welcomed the progress made by the interim board, revelations such as those of Chuene's financial mismanagement and abuse suggested deeper structural problems and the SIU should get to the bottom of the rot at ASA.

"In 2001 I handed a dossier of information on ASA's financial mismanagement to the minister of sport, and to date, nothing has been said by the department on the matter.
"The department of sport and recreation, and Minister [Makhenkesi] Stofile need to acknowledge that they share the responsibility for the chaos at ASA as they have erred in their oversight role and allowed the collapse of a previously functioning sports body," Lee said.