CAPE TOWN – South Africa could get kicked out of the Olympic community if it follows recommendations made by a judicial inquiry.
That’s according to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) President Gideon Sam.
The Zulman Inquiry probed governance issues at Sascoc and issued a damning report highlighting serious ethical issues.
The Zulman report recommends term limits for board members be implemented and that they be forced to abandon membership of the other sports federations they belong to.
And perhaps most controversially, the report recommends that the Sascoc president be elected by an independent committee instead of the council.
Sam says this will be a major sticking point for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Issues that they will not negotiate. Like that the president will be elected outside, they will not agree.”
He says he has letters from the IOC saying they will strip South Africa of Olympic status if recommendations were enforced.
“If you’re going to be on a confrontational road, it means that Sascoc will be dropped from the IOC.”
The Sascoc council did agree and said it would institute a forensic audit going back five years, as well as an internal process to rectify corporate governance issues.
Sports Minister Tokozile Xasa told Sascoc to amend its Constitution by the end of April, but Sam has asked for more dialogue
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