Basketball South Africa and its interim committee
Almost 3 months has past and despite the best efforts to get some feedback from the chairman of the interim committee of Basketball South Africa, we still don’t know what progress has been made since the meeting with The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
Let me remind you of the committee members, the terms of reference and the time frame allowed to this interim structure by going back to the press release issued by SASCOC (see SASCOC convenes special meeting to discuss Basketball South Africa).
“To this end the meeting dissolved the current BSA Executive and constituted an Interim Committee composed of all chairpersons of provinces, affiliates and a management committee as follows:
1. Malesela Maleka
2. Gezephi Mbatha
3. Cabby Cabanelas
4. Dr Malumbethe Ralethe
5. Dali Dzingwa
6. Dumisani Tuka
7. Representatives of SASCOC.
The following are the terms of reference of the Interim Committee
1. Assess the financial state of BSA and conclude a financial audit for the year 2006/7 and 2007/8.
2. Take measures to restore the functionality of the federation including a review of provinces and affiliates status with the federation.
3. Convene a proper AGM for Basketball within the next six months. This will be preceded by an extensive organizational renewal process, which will include a constitutional review, and the development of proper policies and guidelines for the federation.”
So there are 7 members and they have been mandated to find solutions to the game and to shed some light into the state of affairs as left by the previous regime (see: Mail and Guardian article on SA chiefs accused on embezzlement). And we, the public as stakeholders, are partners in this new adventure to find solutions on the ground but we require the leadership and information necessary to make the right steps. Over the next few months leading up to the proposed AGM, BSA and the interim committee will be under the spotlight to see if the interests of the game are being looked after and share with you the good work that they have done so far. And with the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 around the corner and the other sporting codes preparing for this great event, let’s hope that the building blocks are put in place now to ensure that basketball competes on an equal footing with other African nations for the 2012 Olympic Games.
If you have any questions you would want us to ask BSA and its interim committee members (if they entertain our requests), please leave a comment below in a CONSTRUCTIVE manner.
I have three questions.
BasketballSA has succeeded in its efforts to see through a working relationship with the Premier Basketball League Trust. What will the BasketballSA do to enhance the professional status of PBL, in that the PBL is still run by an interim committee?
The sponsorship for basketball has been a problem over the last few years. This was primarily due to the court case between BasketballSA and PBL. What is being done to rebuild the reputation of the sport? Publicity campaigns and Integrated Communication campaigns come to mind.
Sometime ago, the SABC commissioned a research which concluded that basketball has the prospects of becoming the number 2 sport in the Republic of South Africa after soccer. Do the executives believe this research and what is being done to build mass consummerism of basketball?
I thought I would hold my horses for this debate as my contribution might harm my prospects of ever being in GBA or BSA leadership in the future as I feel I can contribute.
WHAT A HACK, I AM ALREADY IN THE BLACK BOOKS ANYWAY, SO HERE GOES!
I have always maintained that people like Cabby Magongwa and Tshepo Ditshego are the relevant people to take bball forward. It was in this belief that I made it a personal crusade to force them into the structures ie JBA & GBA therefore BSA, hence my constant arguing and fighting against them forming private structures, which I seem to have failed so far.
The interim committee consists of some of the members of the Vusi committee who sat and did nothing when Vusi began going out of order. Some of them supported Vusi and ensured his re-election even though it was evident that he is not taking bball forward. Therefore by association and non-action these interim exec members are also fully to blame for the current state of bball.
For us to expect the interim commitee to deliver we need to look at their track records. Schools basketball, SASSU basketball, PBL have not developed ideally and these are/were led by some of the members in the interim exec.
Therefore, personally, I was not expecting much from the interim and so far they are proving me right. Until such time that the likes of Cabby and Tshepo realise that they need to make themselves available for GBA and BSA leadership we are going nowhere slowly.
I hope that if any of the interim exec members read this they do not take my comments personally, but see them as constructive criticism. I hope, also, that in reading my comments they would in fact work hard to prove me wrong. I hope that as I am writing this an announcement will be made by the interim that something big will be happening soon.
ALUTA CONTINUA!
I have said this before and I will say it again. Silence is not golden. The interim committe needs to apoint someone to be their media liason. Its frustrating to wait and yet you dont know what is happening. Even if they havent done anything major they need to tell us their vision and motor. I mena we dont know the plans for the future and we definately know the past, SA basketball stakeholders are in a volitile state and the longer this committe keeps us in the dark the more angry we gonna be tested.
thanks Joe..the point exactly..you may ask..who is new in there..haven’t they done that and failed..question is, where does it start..our provinces..when last have you heard of provinces electing new committees except Gauteng..year in and year out you see the sae faces as chairperson, secretary or whatever in this provinces..do we expect them to be pro-active when they can’t even manage a province..
hell no..question 2, what do they know about bball..your guess is as good as mine..ZERO..so, we are all in dreamland if we think that we will get something out..Francis Maleka, Dali Dzingwa Mike Ralethe, Cabby Cabanalas ( not sure with the surname), Joe Machaba..come-on..how many a times have we seen and debated about this people..
we not going anywhere unless if they prove us wrong..they are the same old faces before the millenium..as they say, to build an organisation from scratch you need to get rid of dead-wood first then bring new minds with new ideas..that is what we should do..
Baller
Eastern Cape does elect new Chairpersons.It was Sbongile Fondini,Alicia Kelme and now I hear its Mr Wallace Moyake.Whether they are effective is another topic for another day.Changing or keeping the same executives in the provinces for me is not the issue.
I feel if executives dont work then they should be relieved from their positions.Why people want to sit in positions whilst knowing that they cant deliver I dont know.Which takes me to my next point.You can only serve what you love.
Anybody can be voted in positions but only people who love the game can SERVE.People associate exec positions as step ladders to success and when in,reality kicks in that bball has no money they then disappear.How difficult is organising a LOCAL tournament?Our club (CUT PANTHERS) organised a provincial tournament where we tried to ignite the love of basketball once more.We then received threatning sms’s telling us to backoff because we were doing their(Executive) work.
By organising that tournament we were accussed of hosting a provincial LEAGUE. Now if people in administration dont know the difference between a LEAGUE and a TOURNAMENT then I rest my case.
We plan to have a memorial tournament in September where we hope to invite teams from Lesotho and teams from other provinces,hopefully FIBA wont send an sms saying we cant organise an INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE.
Its difficult to comment about the national situation until there is feedback up top but hopefully something is being done.
i hear you point Kim but then at the end, if you don’t have AGM’s annually we will not be able to ensure that executives are accountable to us the stakeholders..the longer you sit on that position the more we derail development..that is why then you always see the same faces at BSA now and then..remember the provincial chairpesons are responsible for voting who has to lead BSA..
that is where we also need to start changing things to ensure that we have a functional BSA and provincial structures..at the same time, we have to ensure that the people we put there do their job and if not remove them..
as for your threat, those are just insecure people who want to make a quick buck out of basketball..they think that you making millions from the tournament..then the issue will be, when last did FS have an AGM to elect or account to ballers??if we have that platform we can pass a vote of no convidence and remove them quicker..
i might be wrong here but its an opinion open for criticism and additions..
If as ballers we do not follow protocol then we cannot expect the people we put in power to follow protocol, we are then as hypocritical as they are.
Therefore Kim, in as much as you do not see the need to consult the FS association with your programme, they do have authority over any bball programme in the FS. As such they are within their powers to inform you that your programme is illegal as you are not empowered to organise a provincial tournament without consulting with them.
As a member of the FS association you are empowered to remove the exec if they are not perfoming as expected/required.
The previous BSA exec thrived on the fact that as the basketball community we fail to follow protocol, and if we want to really change basektball, we must show the administrators that protocol is important.
This is where I disagree with administrators.I agree that as you correctly mention protocol is the way to go.If we look at the FS situation and someone happens to organise a tournament illegally those people must be corrected so as to know what they did was illegal as per constitution bla bla.That would be the PROTOCOL to follow when disciplining wrong doers in this case.
Joe,Administrators must realise that players in the FS are hungry for basketball.Resources must be identified which the province can benefit from (eg CUT,Indoor,Navalsig etc).BBall will develop if there are programmes on the ground, if development officers,coaching directors and technical officer do not do their jobs ballers will continue to organise ILLEGALLY.
Joe,point taken.
the compliance issue is back again to haunt us..if as a team we decide to organise a tournament and invite other teams, do we really have to get permission from the provincial association??
in my understanding, i take it that a team can organise a tournament be it a weekend or day and that would not necessarily need approval from the provincial body..maybe i’m wrong here and if i am, can someone take it upon himself/herself to explain proper perotocol to us..
what Joe says is serious and at the end we need to be informed with the right protocol..i don’t know if you can help Joe..
also, what if the provincial structure is ineffective and has to crush every idea implemented not on merit..how best do you vote them out of the office..
Baller
Hence I say that ballers will continue to organise illegally.If thats the case then red tape will slow down bball.I am not sure if GBA requested permission from BSA to host a national team(zimbabwe)and a province(Eastern Cape) during december last year.
My point is this,if you try looking for administrators and cant find any dedicated one then you will push for action.Let the children play.I challenge all Associations to ask themselves what they have done this whole year for them to start threatning officials and players.
Guys, the BSA constitution, which also binds provinces, is quite clear on this matter, any organisation wanting to organise a basketball event must consult with the relevant association, if this is not done then that event is ‘illegal’. Therefore the associations will be within their right to enforce this.
Protocol dictates that if CUT organises a bball event where only CUT teams, eg Residences, will be involved then CUT does not need to consult anyone. However if CUT organises an event to include other teams from the Free State then it needs to consult the FS association. Similarly if CUT orgnanises an event inviting teams from outside the province then BSA needs to be consulted, through FS association.
If, as ballers we are saying we disagree with the above, we need change the constitution.
The fact that associations are not effective does not mean that we should also encourage further corrosion of protocol, as the saying goes two wrongs do not make a right. Also, another saying goes, people in glass houses should not throw stones, meaning we cannot accuse the associations of not following proper procedure while we ourselve do not follow procedure.
We must set an example if we want the associations to work properly.
Againg, administrators are elected by us and are accountable to us, if they do not serve our interests then the constitution gives us the right to request for a special general meeting to remove them from office.
Thanks Joe,this has been a learning experience and we will take your suggestions.I wish administrators had addressed us like that.Thats the beauty of this site cos we have peeps who can help.Keep up the gud work guys.
thanks for the information Joe..i hope that all the administrators take their time to notify affiliates and also direct them to relevant people in the provincial association to deal with..
does the association have a right to tell the team organising the tournament that they need a share of the registration fee??
Absolutely NO!
this has been enlightening for me and i hope others out there..now i hope that our associations if they exist of cause will have to ensure that members know about that..
i hope you can be of help here too Joe, if the association does not comply with the BSA constitution e.g. no AGM, elections, audited financial statements etc..what are the remedies available from BSA point and the provincial members..
Constitutionally, as a member you first write to the association raising your concern, if the response is not adequate, you can then canvass other members and request a special general meeting in which you can force the exec to comply or remove them from offiec. Alternatively, you can write to BSA to intervene, BSA can then force the association to comply or face disbandment.
thanks again..the information has been useful..i hope that the interim committee’s scope also includes the provincial structures for compliance to the constitution..
my take has been that we need to revamp the entire bball structure from cape to limpopo..people should be made accountable for their actions..that to me will be a good building block as the new committees coming into place will know that there are consiquences for their actions..
thanks again Joe.
Joe
Let say for instance, i am organising a local tournament and surrounding teams want to take part in this tournament, do i have to consult the association or reffer the teams to the association?