Sam Ramsamy, the chair of the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (Nocsa), who has taken widespread flak for the underperformance of South Africa's Olympic team in Sydney, and Ngconde Balfour, the minister of sport, are at loggerheads over competing inquiries into the 2000 Olympics.
Balfour is expected to announce a wide-ranging inquiry into South African sport this week, aimed at establishing why South Africa fared so badly in the Olympics and drawing up a 12-year plan to produce world-class sportsmen and women.
But Ramsamy, reacting to Balfour's planned move, said the minister's inquiry would "serve no useful purpose" as the Nocsa inquiry ahead of the 2004 Olympics in Athens was "already under way".
On October 3, parliament called on Nocsa to hold an inquiry into the performance of the Olympic team and devise a detailed plan to ensure that South Africa sent the strongest possible team to the 2004 Athens games.
Ramsamy said on Saturday that he had responded to parliament's decision and publicly announced Nocsa's Athens 2004 initiative in an address to the Johannesburg Press Club on November 1.
"The Nocsa inquiry will undertake a meticulous analysis of how best the South African Olympic movement can continue the improvement of standards that was evident in the number of records our team smashed in Sydney, where our athletes reached a record 28 finals and, in swimming alone, smashed 18 South African and African records in 12 events," he said.
He said the Nocsa inquiry would be headed by Louis Skweyiya, an acting judge in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial division of the high court.
According to Balfour's spokesperson, Graham Abrahams, Balfour will make an announcement about the government inquiry at a press conference in Cape Town this week.
South Africa finished with a modest haul of five medals in Sydney - two silver and three bronze - for 55th place in the medal standings overall and sixth in Africa.
Ramsamy and Nocsa, who were involved in several controversies before and during the Sydney games over team selection, came under fire in South Africa for the below-par performance of the team.
But Ramsamy shrugged off the criticism, saying Sydney had been a learning experience and that South Africa would perform better in 2004.
He announced the so-called Athens 2004 Initiative, Nocsa's blueprint for South Africa's participation in the Athens Olympics, and said he would attempt to raise R100 million from the private sector and additional finance from the government for the plan.
However, some observers believe that Balfour's inquiry could sideline Nocsa's initiative and dash any hopes Ramsamy may have of an increase in government funding.
But Ramsamy dismissed the suggestion that the minister's initiative could sideline Nocsa.
"Any suggestion that any meeting by the minister could sideline Nocsa is based on a misunderstanding of Nocsa's structure," Ramsamy said.
"Nocsa is an independent body and derives its mandate from the Olympic charter and Nocsa sporting affiliates in South Africa.
"Nocsa is the highest Olympic sports body in the country and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as such."
He denied that Nocsa already receives a grant of R60-million from the government.
"Nocsa wishes it were so," he said. "The truth is that we received only R3,95 million from the minister's department in the four-year period of preparation leading up to Sydney."
Although Nocsa will also be consulted on the sport ministry's 12-year plan, it will not be the only body involved. Other interest groups will also be given a say in plotting the way forward.
"It is going to be the entire spectrum of South African sport, starting with the big federations such as rugby, soccer and cricket," said Abrahams.
"The National Sports Commission, the department of sport and recreation, the ministry, and any other agencies involved in sport will be there."
Abrahams refused to speculate about Ramsamy and Nocsa's future, saying a "whole range of issues" were at issue, not only the Olympics.
"We have to decide where we want to take South African sport over the next 12 years," he said.
