OPINION: More clarity should be given on investigations into suspended federation leaders
· Citizen
The list of suspended leaders in South African sport is growing, and we are being kept in the dark.
Swimming SA president Alan Fritz and chief executive Shaun Adriaanse were the latest individuals to be provisionally banned, the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) confirmed this week.
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And while we know they are facing allegations of “abuse of power and the provision of false information and fake documents”, the AQIU said it could make no further comments because the process was ongoing.
However, swimming is not alone. Multiple sport codes are facing similar controversies.
Athletics SA president James Moloi was suspended last year due to the alleged misuse of an ASA credit card.
He was later cleared after an internal disciplinary hearing, but the federation’s mother bodies overturned this decision and requested an independent process.
Moloi has been accused of using a federation card on purchases at a retail outlet and a tavern, but there seems to be some confusion around him potentially having used the card rather than taking a monthly stipend.
As things stand, this matter has not yet been resolved, and we still don’t know if there was any real wrongdoing or how much money was involved.
Ongoing netball investigation
Former Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane was suspended by World Netball in April last year, and though she has since been replaced by newly elected president Mami Diale, the issue remains unresolved.
Though Molokwane was accused of various things including financial mismanagement and professional misconduct, details have not been released and the disciplinary case against her is ongoing.
According to labour laws, disciplinary hearings must be confidential to protect the privacy of both the employee and the employer.
However, aside from Adriaanse, none of the people mentioned above are employees. They are elected officials who are not protected by labour laws.
It seems strange that details around the charges and proceedings in these disciplinary processes are not shared with the public.
As long as this information remains locked within the walls of private hearings, all we can do is rely on hearsay and continue to ask the same question: What is going on?