ANC officials implicated in Semenya saga must appear before Parliament
Athletics South Africa (ASA) boss Leonard Chuene must reappear before Parliament in light of information published in last Friday's Mail & Guardian, in which testimony from ASA team doctor Harold Adams directly contradicts the version of events presented to Parliament by Mr. Chuene (see report).
That report details how Mr. Chuene refused to withdraw Caster Semenya from August's IAAF World Championships in Berlin against the recommendations of team doctor Adams, and at the behest of senior ANC politicians. In the report, Mr. Adams says that an IAAF medical team was told by Mr. Chuene that:
"Withdrawing Semenya was not acceptable to top-level South African politicians who are also in government."
Mr. Chuene told MPs that the IAAF had suggested that Semenya should fake an injury and withdraw from the competition, and that such a suggestion was rejected on the grounds of it being "unethical" (see submission). Friday's report, however, indicates that Mr. Chuene decided to keep Semenya in the competition after contacting a number of senior ANC politicians, with no mention of the IAAF suggesting that Semenya fake an injury. Mr. Adams says the following:
"[The IAAF stated] that Semenya could compete at the World Championships, on condition that she accepted that she would be subjected to the IAAF's gender verification tests in Berlin and that, if any unfair advantage was detected on the part of her, she would be stripped of any medal she might have won at the championships; or that Semenya is withdrawn from the world championships... If [the latter] was to be the option exercised, the IAAF was comfortable with ASA handling the matter of the gender verification tests back in South Africa and a report on the said tests sent to the IAAF."
It is now quite clear why the ANC has been so vigorously engaged in its public relations campaign around the Semenya debacle - because it was implicated in it from the very beginning, and needed to set up the IAAF as the fall guy. This is further evidenced by Mr. Adams's comment that "the whole thing was well planned; everyone is now blaming the IAAF and this was part of the plan". The ANC is incapable of distinguishing between party and state at the best of times, but if it is true that the ruling party was consulted ahead of the decision not to withdraw Semenya, it is an indictment of both ASA and the ANC.
We believe, those senior ANC politicians consulted by Mr. Chuene must appear before the portfolio committee.
In response to a recent parliamentary question to the Minister of Sport about ASA's finances, the Minister responded that ASA was a section 21 company and that its "share holders" should deal with its finances. This answer is disingenuous (ASA reports to the portfolio committee) but it also demonstrates how the ANC is willing to hide behind the distinction between public and private when it suits them and then quietly go about abusing it behind the scenes (as it did with Caster Semenya). The ANC is not a political party. It is a collection of egos. Of people who believe their opinion is all important and that there is not sphere of public life it does not apply to.
Though there certainly remain serious questions surrounding the IAAF's overall handling of this matter, once again we have evidence that Mr. Chuene is deliberately distorting the truth. Mr. Chuene along with the ANC officials implicated, must be called before Parliament to explain themselves; clearly Mr. Adams must appear before the committee at the same time, along with Mr. Wilfred Daniels. I will request on Monday that such a session is arranged.
Statement issued by Donald Lee, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of sport and recreation, October 25 2009
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