Following reports that former Athletics South Africa (ASA) boss, Leonard Chuene, and several other ASA officials received vehicles including a Mercedes Benz from the organisation for the paltry fee of R1, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is requesting the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to conduct a special investigation into ASA and its administration.
I will write this morning to the SIU to request that this investigation is initiated immediately.
For some time now there have been several fundamental questions about the management of ASA and the conduct of its key administrators in this regard. Not only has this particular entity been in financial difficulty but there is a serious of irregularities which have come to define its financial management. Thus, in order 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.
The Department of Sport itself should not be excluded from such an investigation. The minister in particular and the department in general are responsible for overseeing ASA's management as such; its role also needs 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 Athletics South Africa after its interim board took office.
While the DA welcomes the progress made by the interim board, revelations such as those of Mr Chuene's financial mismanagement and abuse suggest deeper structural problems and we believe that the SIU must 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 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.
Statement issued by Donald Lee, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of sport and recreation, February 24 2010
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