Barry Hendricks commits to ‘servant leadership’ at Sascoc

Newly elected president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), Barry Hendricks has committed himself and the Sascoc leadership to be servants of the formerly troubled sports mother body.

“Let’s see if we can honour the concept of servant leadership. We together will now commit to forming a unified progressive and possibly conflict-free Sascoc board. We commit to making conflict a thing of the past,” he said in his maiden speech accepting his election.

Hendricks takes the helm of the next four-year cycle leadership from 2021 to 2024 following his election at a Quadrennial General Meeting held at Olympic House on 7 November which was also attended by Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa.

The position of Sascoc president was contested by Alan Fritz and Hendricks after other candidates withdrew their nomination at the 11th hour, leaving the pair to battle it out.
Lwandile Simelane and Debbie Alexander were elected as the 1st and 2nd vice-presidents respectively.

Five board members were elected out of the original 24 nominations and those newly elected members are Fritz, Qondisa Ngwenya, Kim Pople, Ilhaam Groenewald and Welhemina Grobbelaar. As per the constitution, there will be two other board members to be co-opted, one with legal and the other with finance expertise.
Wesley Maringa of the Independent Elections Facilitators of Southern Africa oversaw the electoral process and 74 members of Sascoc accounted for a voting strength of 170.

“We need to put the interest of the sport at the forefront so that we regain our position as one of the best sporting organisations in the world. This election is the first step, the struggle will continue but together as a unified team, we commit to working harmoniously together for the sake of the sport,” Hendricks concluded.

In his address, Mthethwa said, “It goes without saying that this meeting takes place under the backdrop of bitter infighting and acrimony – a situation that does not speak well about sports’ ability to effectively manage their affairs.

“In line with my conviction that government needs to intervene in sport as a last resort after the relevant sports authorities have had an opportunity to self-correct, I decided to allow that process to take place.”
Other key decisions were taken at the meeting which included the adoption of the audited financials as well as the reappointment of Mazars as the auditors for the next financial year.