15 Sep 2015

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olopeng has reiterated that African Games are a yardstick to Olympic Games qualifiers for some sporting code.

Addressing the media on Monday September 14, he said he was aware that there was speculation that the African Games were not used as Olympic qualifiers, adding that athletics, table tennis, paralympic sport, boxing and basketball were some of the codes which are used for qualifications.

Talking about the stand off between Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and African Union Sport Council (AUSC), he said it all started in August, after the president of ANOCA wrote a letter to the AU.

He said according to the letter, transferring the Games to ANOCA would include ceding of the rights thereto and that the use of the AU flag, logo and the anthem during the Games would be prohibited because it is contrary to the provisions laid down by the constitutive instruments of the organisation of the International Olympic movement which are apolitical entities by essence.

He said the letter also emphasised that ANOCA will not provide technical support but required ownership of the African Games, and as ANOCA they did not agree to most of the provisions of the draft Memorandum of Understanding. 

He said on September 2 he attended the AUSC Region 5 Caucus meeting in Congo Brazzaville which upheld that the games should remain under the custody of the AUSC on behalf of the member states.

According to Olopeng, AUSC Region 5 ministers of sport felt they could not be party to any decision to take away full ownership of the African Games from AU to ANOCA, and ministers of sport were comfortable in partnering with ANOCA as technical partners, which is why there was a draft Memorandum of Understanding.

He said after ANOCA’s refused to cooperate with the African governments, the ministers then refused to hand over the games to ANOCA.

“We also considered the tone and behaviour with which ANOCA is addressing AU and ministers of sovereign states as disrespectful and arrogant” he said.

He said they did not agree with ANOCA’s claims that they can grant the African Games Olympic Games qualification status, adding the appropriate bodies to do so were the Association of African Confederations of Sport (AACS) and their International Federations.

Minister Olopeng said the decision of the AUSC Region 5 ministers of sport was adopted and declared by the Specialised Technical Committee Sub Committee Meeting of African Ministers of Sport on September 3.

Furthermore, he said, AUSC adopted 2015 Brazzaville Declaration which rejected and condemned with utmost contempt ownership of the Africa Games by ANOCA, and upheld that the Games shall be owned by AUSC on behalf of member states. The position is non-negotiable according to demands by ANOCA. Ends