DA declines SASCOC's invitation for Rio Olympics junket

01 May 2016

The DA has declined SASCOC's invitation to the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation to attend the 2016 Rio Olympics for oversight purposes. We notified the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of our principled rejection of the invitation in a letter to her office on Friday, 29 March 2016. 

SASCOC's offer for "the Chairperson of the Committee and two other members" as "guests to join Team South Africa for the role of oversight" at the Olympic Games from 5 - 14 August 2016. It includes return business class flights from Johannesburg to Rio and accommodation.

As Members of Parliament we are constitutionally obliged to hold all entities accountable for the use of public funds particularly when they are ethically problematic. 

Any politician who accepts unnecessary trips from entities that are accountable to their respective portfolio committee compromises their independence, and exposes them avoidable conflict of interest. 

We challenge the ANC Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, to dissuade the ANC members of the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation to avoid compromising the integrity and independence of the committee by proceeding with the Rio Olympics junket.

We also find it ironic that SASCOC, which often bemoans the lack of funding for struggling to support our athletes as extensively as it wants to, can somehow afford to bankroll 3 MPs to Rio. 

We are adamant that SASCOC should be spending more of its money on athletes and the overall development of sports rather than junkets for politicians and administrators.

Statement issued by Solly Malatsi MP, DA Shadow Minister of Sport, 1 May 2016