ASA’s Skhosana up for Sascoc top job
JOHANNESBURG – Athletics South Africa (ASA) has paid a glowing tribute to its president Aleck Skhosana, who is lobbying to become the next head of South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).
Skhosana is one of three men who have been nominated for the first vice-president’s position left vacant after Hajera Kajee had to step down after reaching retirement age.
The Sascoc council will be voting for the vice-president and a regular board member at the Olympic body’s annual meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Sascoc vice-president Barry Hendricks and Free State Rugby president Jerry Segwaba will go up against Skhosana.
The winner of the race will take over as president when Sascoc president Gideon Sam has to retire at the end of the year.
“It is a day in which how we vote will determine our maturity as federations to whether Sascoc continues its free-fall or we intervene so that it fulfils its mandate down to the last letter,” ASA said in a statement.
“In that regard, it was within the wisdom of ASA to nominate Aleck Skhosana as the person to save the sinking ship that Sascoc is.”
Sascoc president Gideon Sam has to retire at the end of the year Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
There was no indication of who the author of the ASA statement which claimed Skhosana possessed “that one distinctly human competitive advantage of integrity, a sober approach and calmness to matters and a proven record for corporate governance”.
It made no mention of the cloud that has hung over Skhosana since his days as president of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA).
Skhosana has faced allegations of maladministration after a KZNA audit report found he had signed hundreds of blank cheques.
But the ASA board dismissed auditing firm Wesscor’s findings in 2015 that Skhosana was ‘unfit to hold office’ due to a police case that was opened by former ASA president James Evans in January 2012.
ASA yesterday charged that the “delivery and quality on standards and expectations at Sascoc are unacceptable”.
“Federations need a leadership that will respect them and make them part of the decisions and not isolate or take the constituency for granted,” the statement read.
In another swipe aimed at the current Sascoc leadership, ASA said it did not agree with the current process of deciding on Olympic selection criteria.
Eleven federations have not signed qualifying agreements with Sascoc with the African pathway remaining a sticking point.
“It is without a doubt that, while we don’t agree with the selection of athletes for joy rides, the time has come for restructuring and improvement at Sascoc,” ASA said in their statement.