Athletics SA and SRSA Reach Agreement After EPG Report

The Department of Sport and Recreation have reached consensus with Athletics South Africa which allowed the national federation to move forward. 

This emerged in an ASA statement followed the pronouncement of Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Fikile Mbalula on Monday, in which he announced the revoking of the privilege of ASA to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa.

This, the Minister said, was as a consequence of ASA not meeting their own set transformation targets.

The Minister made this pronouncement at the handover ceremony of the third Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Transformation in Sport Report for 2014/2015, which then presented him with the opportunity to pronounce on Transformation.

Athletics SA and SRSA Reach Agreement After EPG Report

Late this week, however, ASA is happy to announce that a meeting held in Tshwane led by our President, Aleck Skhosana and the Director General of the Department of Sports and Recreation, Alec Moemi, has paved a way forward.

The results of the meeting have seen the Department of Sports consenting to ASA's hosting of the CAA Senior T&F Championships scheduled for Durban on 22-26 June 2016 with full backing.

ASA President, Skhosana, said: 'We thank the Minister, the DG and the Department for the sensitivity they have exercised around this matter.

'We appreciate, in particular that after our discussions between the two parties, the Minister's office threw their weight behind our hosting of the African Championships which they noted should proceed undisturbed as it had already been in preparation long before the announcement of the Minister on Monday.

'On our side, we have acknowledged to the Minister through the DG, the areas where we have had shortfalls in the accounting process and a special team in our office has been setup to address these said areas.

'Thereafter, ASA will re-submit what's outstanding within the shortest possible time, as we are confident and pride ourselves as one of the best compliant sports federations in South Africa when it comes to transformation.

'We have identified the relevant glitch or two that have led to ASA being counted amongst the sports bodies that the Minister referred to. We will ensure that this mishap is not repeated.'

According to Skhosana, ASA takes the opportunity to re-affirm its continued commitment to the future of South African athletics and quality of opportunities to all.

ASA, he said, has been one of the pioneers of the Transformation Charter and that ASA remains in the forefront in ensuring that this goal remains in the national federation's day-to-day focus of the sport.