Karate SA 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan & development progress

Meeting report

The Chairperson made reference to the newly appointed Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa’s earlier speech where he highlighted the challenges faced by women in sport, and called for equal remuneration in the sport industry. The Minister’s objectives were in line with those of the Committee, which was striving for transformation and gender equality in sport. This was evident in the Department and Committee’s plans, and the intent was still to carry these plans out despite the change in Ministers. The Deputy Minister remained unchanged, which gave confidence that the new Minister would be well guided. The Committee was to assist and hold the Ministry accountable, to ensure that all objectives are met within the five-year strategy plan. She is confident in the new Minister’s capabilities in the industry of sport.

Apologies were noted from the Minister who had a prior planned commitment that could not be rescheduled, Acting Director General Khumalo who was representing the Minister at another event. Ms Khan asked to be excused from the meeting at 11am. The Deputy Minister asked to be excused after 10am due to another commitment with the Minister.

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) highlighted the importance of wearing netball T-shirts during meetings. He asked about the Minister’s presence in the next Committee meeting. He noted the Chairperson’s opening remarks.

Ms R Adams (ANC) asked that the Committee be understanding of some Members since digital network seemed to be an issue.

Mr M Zondi (ANC) asked about access to netball T-shirts to be worn during meetings as Committee members would like to have the T-shirts for the World Cup that hosted in July 2023 in South Africa.

The Chairperson replied that the netball T-shirts were provided to the Committee office and political parties, despite the majority of Committee members not having the T-shirts. She asked the Deputy Minister address this with the Acting Director General.

The Chairperson stated that she could not comment on the Minister’s availability the upcoming Tuesday meeting. Perhaps the Deputy Minister could answer with more knowledge.

Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu made a commitment to ensure that all Committee members would have received the T-shirts by the next week. On the Minister’s future availability, they were trying their utmost best as the department to facilitate the change of Ministers and the handover. The Minister would most likely avail himself for introductions with the Committee. She would communicate with the Minister and all developments would be communicated to the Chairperson.

The Chairperson stated that despite the Minster’s absence, the Minister did communicate that he wished to be present in this meeting, even if it was to explain in depth why he would not be part of the meeting. The Minister had many commitments, and wanted to avail himself to the Committee only once all these commitments had been met. The Chairperson thanked the Deputy Minister for responding to the queries.

The Chairperson welcomed Ms Khan as the substitute for the Acting Director-General. The Ministry had already communicated Ms Khan’s limited availability due to other commitments.

Ms Khan introduced the DSAC delegation which included Deputy Director General, Mr Vusi Ndima, and Chief Director, Mr Simphiwe Mncube.

DSAC overview of Karate South Africa
Ms Sumayya Khan, DSAC Deputy Director General & COO, detailed the support provided to Karate South Africa in 2020/21 and 2022/23; the major events hosted; and governance matters.

The Covid-19 pandemic affected key Karate SA projects, just as it did with other sporting codes. Karate SA did, however, make strides through relief funding and other forms of support to ensure that they strengthen their organisation.

KSA hosted their Annual General Meeting on 23 January 2022 in Johannesburg, and their last election was in 2020, to be held again in 2024. The federation scheduled their next Annual General Meeting for 19 March 2023 in Umhlanga.

KSA received R1.4 million in 2021/22 year from the department. These funds were intended for the following areas: capacity development programmes, women’s karate and the development of the youth coaches, referees and technical officials. In the current year, R3 million had been allocated to KSA, with R480 000 intended for administration and the remaining R2.52 million for coaching and referee development, administrative skills development, women’s karate, and the development tournament.

KSA hosted a number of important events such as the National Tournament in Durban March 2022, the national leagues in the Free State in April 2022, the National and Provincial Women’s Cup in Gqeberha on 20-21 August 2022, it accumulated 160 medals in the Region South African Continental Championship in May 2022. KSA also participated in the Commonwealth Karate Championship and won four gold medals in September 2022. KSA took 6th place out of 25 countries in the All Africa Championship in November-December 2022.

Karate South Africa presentation
Mr Sonny Pillay, Karate SA president introduced his delegation: KSA vice president, Mr Sydney Hoaeane, executive members, Mr D Gumede and Ms M Degenaar, KSA treasurer, Ms S Lakaram, Secretary-General Mr L Cuitto, and technical convenor Mr B Pillay.

Mr Pillay expressed his gratitude to the Committee for recognising the relevance of Karate SA and its contribution in the sport industry. Karate is not just a sport but a life skill inclusive of everyone, regardless of gender or age. He usually has age limitations with younger children, encouraging that they start with karate at the age of four years, but there was no limit for older age groups.

Karate is the second largest global sport, as per a survey carried out by the World Karate Federation. It is a cost effective sport, that is available to everyone. KSA is affiliated to DSAC, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Union Des Federations Africaines de Karate (UFAK), for which Mr Pillay is also the Vice President, the Commonwealth Karate Nations of the World which encompasses 45 of the 52 Commonwealth countries and the World Karate Federation. Mr Pillay is also the president of the Commonwealth Karate Federation (CKF) in his second term after being voted in again in 2022 in Birmingham after the Commonwealth games

Mr Pillay states that KSA has objectives such as hosting the World Youth Cup in 2024/25. Negotiations are underway, with the support of the SASCOC president.

In terms of membership, KSA has 350 affiliated clubs, 14 976 affiliated members, 10 183 non-paying development members, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds such as rural areas and townships. Membership is from all nine provinces in the country, along with all 52 districts. Some districts are currently not operational due to financial and logistic constraints, however, KSA is working to resolve this. Sixty percent of the membership consists of children, and the remaining forty percent is adults, which is hopeful for the future.

KSA is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the World Karate Federation. Karate as a sport is taking centre stage in the Olympics as it was included in the Tokyo 2020/21 stage, and will be featured in the 2026 Olympics in Senegal.

KSA has had a number of major achievements such as hosting the WKF Region South (SADC), they hosted 30 countries for the United Federation of African Karate (UFAK) All Africa Championships in 2022, and attended a number of international events.

KSA’s development is ongoing, with athlete preparation training, the teams of coaches, referees, table and administrative personnel are constantly being renewed with younger candidates, with much attention being paid to transformation and gender equity.

In terms of social responsibility, KSA contributed towards initiatives such as gender focussed classes, senior citizens’ self-defence classes, where over 300 women from old age homes in Kwa Zulu Natal took part in a recent self-defence class, karate awareness campaigns in non-urban areas, and youth open day programmes.

A number of KSA executive members also hold international appointments in other organisations and these were listed.

The para-karate programme is KSA disabled persons inclusive programme. Plans to officiate it as a mainstream sport are underway. However, the main constraint remains having to find specialised referees and coaches for para-karate, since it comes in many different forms. It remains at demonstration status.

The three main constraints faced by KSA are: funding, logistics, and mainstream versus schools. The cost of having to employ coaches, purchase equipment and host or participate in international events, is one the organisation cannot afford. All KSA officials work as volunteers, receiving no remuneration for their services. All funding from the department is used to administrate and develop the sport. Logistics are challenging due to the size of the country and distance between provinces. Equipment and apparel will no longer be much of an issue, considering the funding that has been allocated to KSA for the year. However, the challenge of safe venues remains prevalent, as Mr Pillay complained about a previous venue having a collapsing roof.

Karate is not a priority sport in schools, it is rather seen as an after-school activity, instead of an extra-curricular one, therefore funding for karate as a school sport is difficult to acquire.

Mr Pillay stated that despite facing challenges in acquiring funding for karate in schools from the relevant departments such as the Department of Education, his passion for the sport keeps him optimistic that he will eventually succeed in his quest.

Mr Pillay stated that karate could be the catalyst against violence in schools, since it is a sport that instils discipline. Karate may assist students, especially those in university, to voice their grievances in a more cordial manner, instead of causing damage to property.

Ms Lakaram displayed South African provincial populations and the numbers of potential karate members aged 5 to 19 years in each province. There was a large market for karate in schools.

Mr Sydney Hoaeane, KSA vice president, stated that it was possible for blind people like himself to practice karate. KSA is an internationally recognised organisation. It serves the duty to promote karate in all spheres such as schools and karate clubs, to develop the sport and regulate it in its practice.

KSA has ten basic tenets in its mission statement to encourage the advancement of the sport of karate in South Africa according to the principles of KSA and WKF to enforce the laws of the art, as passed by WKF, to ensure that the game is protected from any form of abuse.

KSA relies on funds from the DSAC as well as all its affiliated members.

The advancement of karate in schools by KSA will instil important values in children at schools, such as leadership skills, self-discipline, respect, and confidence. Karate instils good morals in children, and provides children with respect both at home and at school, promoting focus and intellectual advancement.

Mr Hoaeane explained the structure of KSA; upon joining a karate school will affiliate to its respective region, and from there to its respective province, then to the national executives or committees. The clubs in a region will vote for their leadership, and this regional leadership will in turn vote for the leadership of the province. The provincial structure will vote for its national representative. The elections are of a democratic nature.

Mr Pillay presented KSA organogram, stating that transformation and gender equity is the organisation’s utmost priority.

KSA encouraged the formation of karate clubs and promoted the increase in membership. KSA complied with the rules and regulations of their governing bodies, such as the statute of laws adopted by the WKF, and made sure to settle disputes.

KSA financial management, tournaments, equipment, and the institution of karate as a school sport were discussed.

Mr Brando Pillay, KSA technical convenor, presented the implementation plan of introducing karate to schools. Mr Pillay spoke of the three pillars of school sport, starting with physical education, calling for the recruitment of qualified personnel to coach and teach karate in schools. The problem of untrained or unqualified coaches is a major issue, and it negatively affects athletes and scholars. KSA coaches should be dispatched to schools and coach athletes and students adequately. Provincial schools’ championships will be held, after adequate training, to determine national championship participants.

The attempt of a national schools’ championship in 2022 in the Wynberg region of Cape Town was a success with approximately 200 participants and 12 schools in attendance. This number should grow to fulfil the mass participation objective of KSA.

Mr Pillay stated that competition was not the most important aspect of KSA’s objectives, but discipline and self-defence were of great importance. With the facilitation of national championships, a school league program should be facilitated as a way to establish champion schools that will compete with one another provincially twice a month. Upon the realisation of provincial school champions, these schools will participate in the World Youth Cup in Croatia, which is one of the largest events hosted by WKF where 2500 young karate sports personnel from all over the world meet and form relations as friends and possibly lifelong competitors.

Mr Pillay stated that most of the support for KSA athletes comes from primary and high schools in South Africa, and filters through to seniors who are being prepared to qualify for Olympics. It is of utmost importance to hone the talents of future karate athletes from a young age to develop them into quality future global champions.

The rollout programme and structure at schools was further explained to consist of the national executive, whose duty would be to oversee the portfolio and be co-ordinated by Mr B Pillay, followed by the national coordinator that was to be appointed for Schools Karate specifically. The last two tiers of the structure consisted of the nine provincial coordinators that report back to the national coordinator of School Karate, and the last tier was the provincial district representatives. This structure is the current structure used for KSA referees and coaches, and it is also the structure KSA would like to use for schools at district, provincial, and even national level.

Mr Nechodemus Banyane, KSA head coach from Free State gave a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of KSA. Weaknesses included a lack of mass participation at root-level and by schools due to lack of support from institutions such as the Department of Education, and the sport of karate not being formally recognised in mainstream school curricula. Under strengths, karate is slowly being integrated into schools, with its availability amounting to approximately 60% of urban schools. There is also availability of qualified training personnel who are ready to be dispatched, upon the availability of funds.

The threats that exist are there is not enough public sector funding, and there is much marginalisation due to the economic disparities amongst parents. The lack of funds affects the recruitment of qualified local coaches, as they may seek work opportunities in other countries where better remuneration and work terms are offered. In terms of opportunities; KSA is internationally recognised by karate governing bodies such as WKF, which creates opportunity for KSA to host international events, which in turn encourages increased participation amongst keen South Africans. KSA also provides women and children the opportunity to acquire self-defence skills.

Mr Pillay presented the three-year plan for the integration of Schools Karate into KSA. The first year aims at integrating into five additional schools, recruiting 50 additional students from the five schools, three should public schools, one rural and the other be IEB.

The other two years have similar first objectives, with differing add-ons. Year 2 had an introduction of competition formats after adequate training in all three tiers (regional, provincial and national), while Year 3 had the add on of full-time qualified coaches available to students at all times for free, and the staging of ranked competitions, to determine representative athletes.

Mr Pillay stated that integration would be facilitated by the regional districts within which each school resides. Multi-disciplinary teams of coaches and administrators would be appointed at district level with the oversight of the technical director.

Ms Lakaram presented the funding aspect. The statistic of schools against the number of students was displayed to show that the market for mass karate participation existed. The budget required to realise the three-year plan. For year 1, R17 million was required, year 2 – R23 million, and year 3 R24 million. These costs included start-up costs, operational costs, and competition costs.

Mr Pillay made closing comments by highlighting the important points made in the presentation.

Discussion
The Chairperson thanked Karate South Africa for its well detailed presentation.

Mr Zondi supported Mr Pillay’s statement that karate is a life skill. He referred to his experience as an individual who had participated in the sport in the past, as substantiation of Mr Pillay’s statement. Mr Zondi agreed that the relevant departments did not support KSA adequately, as there were several complaints from administrators and karate personnel on the lack of assistance from departments with regards to resources.

Mr Zondi welcomed and recognised the federation, along with its presentation, however, he questioned why KSA had not been audited by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), and how the organisation recorded its transformation, access and inclusivity progress. “Why is the department not investing more into the sport of karate, despite the fact that crime and gender based violence and abuse are rife in the country, and self-defence is a need?” Access to karate was specifically advantageous to women and girls seeing as they were most vulnerable.

Mr Zondi questioned the decline in karate structures; was it due to lack of funds to publicise the sport or due to negligence of the sport code? Mr Zondi commented that the R1.4 million 2021/22 budget allocated to karate by DSAC was not enough, especially considering the achievements and progress by KSA. Even the R3 million allocated to karate in the present year, despite it being an increase, was not enough. He requested the KSA audited financial statements.

Ms R Adams (ANC) asked how the federation was mitigating against challenges of lack of awareness of karate as a sport. How was DSAC ensuring that sports considered as uncommon in townships are being exposed to communities? Did the federation have any sponsors, and how easy or difficult was it to acquire these sponsors? How did KSA leverage its competitive players to promote and train upcoming players from historically disadvantaged backgrounds? What was the extent of private sector support for KSA?

Ms V Malomane (ANC) questioned the gender distribution of players, coaches and referees in karate. She questioned the Department’s decision to allocate R1.4 million to the development of karate, including women in karate programmes. When would the Department review its funding, since it was evident the national karate federation was underfunded?

Ms V Van Dyk (DA) stated that formalising karate as a sport in school curriculum would be advantageous, especially for economically disadvantaged students who cannot afford private karate membership due to factors such as unemployment. She asked about KSA’s position as a national federation on full contact combat, and why after all these years, full contact combat is not a part of the federation. She asked if full contact would be catered for in the 2023/24 KSA annual plan, and what steps had been taken to include full contact by KSA as a governing body? Would KSA be full contact inclusive, to allow participants to acquire benefits they otherwise could not in other governing bodies such as WKF – as the art of full contact combat was incompatible with its constitution? Would KSA be able to give the Committee a timeframe as to when, if any, of these measures would be implemented? Did medal winners in the 2022 Commonwealth Karate World Championship receive prize money or any form of remuneration for their achievement? Would South Africa be represented at Budapest in the largest karate event in October 2023? If not, why? What type of support will be provided to South African representatives?

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) welcomed the KSA presentation but questioned what was done with the allocated R1.4 million since it was not outlined in the presentation. He seconded Mr Zondi that karate be made a mainstream sport in schools since it plays a vital role in self-defence, amongst other aspects.

Mr Mhlongo questioned why the EPG did not include transformation books for sporting codes such as karate. How were they keeping record of their transformation progress?

He seconded the increase in the Department’s allocation for the sport. Mr Mhlongo questioned the exact number of active districts of the 52. What were the areas lacking for those that were not so active and how was this to be remedied?

Mr Mhlongo noted the KSA website only being updated until 2022 and asked the reason. Websites should be updated regularly if an organisation intends to appeal to prospective members. He reiterated the question on how the federation was handling funding for athletes who needed funds to qualify for national and international events.

Mr Mhlongo asked if SASCOC, despite its recognition of KSA, was helpful in the advancement of KSA. He questioned the conditions of affiliation of private karate clubs to KSA; what were the procedures to ensure that this was smooth-sailing with no blockages? He asked for clarity on the rights of affiliation for athletes who qualified to pay, and for those who did not, at both national and local level.

Mr Mhlongo questioned the criteria for which club instructors were qualified because there were allegations of instructors between the ages of 18-21 years being discriminated against due to alleged lack of experience. There was also discrimination that he called political in terms of karate affiliation rights to the association.

Mr Mhlongo asked for clarity on KSA’s relationship with SASCOC and the blockages that exist and prevent South African youth from benefitting from the sport of karate.

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) who was offline had questions which were read out. He asked about the screening procedure for coaches assigned to schools to work with children. What plans did KSA have in mitigating their financial problems. How were they going about being inclusive of children from rural areas. Were they advertising enough in places like townships where karate is much needed to alleviate social ills such as substance abuse amongst the youth.

KSA response
Mr Sonny Pillay addressed the financial difficulties encountered, by stating that administrating a national federation and providing management for teams that were to travel abroad was all very costly. The funding received from DSAC in past years has been bare minimum in helping to cover these costs but the grant received from the department this year was encouraging.

KSA is vigorously pursuing corporate and the private sector for partnerships with regards to outreach programmes. The private business sector provides resources for these programmes.

KSA welcomes any private karate club that wishes to join the organisation, despite rumours of restriction. However, these clubs need to observe the prerequisite that they are to respect the statute that the WKF has put in place, otherwise they may face expulsion from KSA. It was also for this reason that full contact combat was treated with sensitivity. The February 2018 SASCOC General Assembly resolution was that all karate would be recognised under KSA, and the full contact component would be under Martial Arts South Africa (MASA). There was therefore no restriction on clubs that could sign under KSA. There were, however, clubs whose quest to join KSA was rejected due to non-compliance with the WKF statute. For the past five years to present, there is a 50% cost reduction policy that applies to affiliated clubs from disadvantaged backgrounds, townships, and less fortunate communities. Karate cannot be free, but costs should, and are altered to be inclusive of even those who are marginalised.

Children’s rights are observed and respected.

Mr Pillay stated that 34 of the 52 districts were active in 2020 and that attention was currently being given to regions that were inactive.

The KSA website was recently refurbished and is a work in progress that is being constantly developed to meet the standards of modern-day sport organisations. Much attention is given to the website, especially since KSA intends to appeal to the private business sector.

The money received from DSAC cannot be used for travelling purposes for teams, athletes and even management, therefore KSA cannot afford to pay for travelling expenses unlike better recognised federations such as the South African Football Association (SAFA), and Cricket South Africa. Costs for travelling are much less than what Mr Mhlongo assumed. Travel for KSA athletes is outsourced to a travel agency, and the only subsidy afforded by KSA to travelling teams is for that of the travel of the general managers, head coaches and their assistants if required.

Mr Pillay replied that there had been prior complications in the relationship between SASCOC and KSA but as of 2018 the relationship was cordial. He had met with the SASCOC president to discuss current challenges, and seek SASCOC approval on KSA’s quest to bring major world federation karate events to South Africa.

Mr Pillay stated that KSA was fully functional, and only needed financial support to fulfil other duties such as appointing a CEO and paying officials for the services they render to the organisation on a regular basis.

There are regular events such as meetings, championships, competitions, and tournaments.

The KSA organogram should be symbolic of its observation of gender equity and transformation.

The affiliated university karate clubs remain active, and there are annual university championships that take place in South Africa. University karate clubs affiliated with WKF and KSA regularly participate in world university karate competitions. One of the university karate clubs [name inaudible] has not been active in international participation due to financial constraints.

As KSA president Mr Pillay continues to visit provinces to mobilise prospective karate members. His current focus was the North West and Limpopo.

KSA has been regulated on an ongoing basis in terms of technical as well as political criteria to ensure that it meets the standard expected by both DSAC and SASCOC, and to avoid putting its WKF membership at risk. This is why it is important that clubs adhere to the WKF legal statute.

Since 2012 KSA has always presented financial audits from external auditors, which are presented by Ms Lakaram at its AGM.

Mr Pillay replied that sexual offenders exist in every industry, including karate, which is why KSA worked hard to develop strict criteria for the recruitment of coaches and training personnel in clubs. Even during the period of Covid-19 all protocol was strictly observed. Mr Banyane would address international tours, composition of teams, team transformation and any issues he may have encountered while travelling.

Mr Banyane, KSA head coach, thanked the Committee for recognising the challenges faced by KSA. He, too, had negative experiences in the karate industry due to lack of funding, just as athletes are experiencing presently. It becomes unfortunate when first-class level athletes drop out of karate due to lack of funds, which sabotages the teams. KSA tries to subsidise travelling and competition costs to accommodate previously disadvantaged athletes who qualify to compete internationally, but this is not always effective, since there is little assistance from other entities such as DSAC. Transformation and inclusivity in teams is often hard to realise as athletes from previously disadvantaged backgrounds often cannot travel to international competitions. Adequate financial aid will be the resolution to such problems.

Mr Brando Pillay stated that the athletes representing South Africa at the World Championships in Budapest had partnered with the Free State High Performance Centre and Sport Science Institute to adequately prepare the team. Approximately 22 athletes would represent the country there.

As far as the refereeing transformation and gender equity component, KSA has qualified three referees at continental level for the UFAK. There was reference to 12 referees at continental level Three referees qualified at the WKF, with Mr Banyane being one of them, with the hope of doubling this number by the time of the WKF Championships.

A South African gentleman by the name Thabo Molobi has been appointed as the first person of colour to occupy the Chief Referee of South Africa, in South African history, based on merit.

When Mr Mhlongo questioned the use of “person of colour” to refer Mr Molobi who is black, the KSA president apologised on behalf of Mr Brando Pillay.

Mr D Gumede, KSA Executive Member, explained that full contact combat clubs did not want to be affiliated to KSA, because they did not wish to support the karate federation, despite KSA president’s efforts to resolve any issues. It was therefore evident that they excluded themselves, and were not restricted by KSA. Mr Gumede stated that KSA had always been in support of full contact combat, and this was evident even when full contact had its first World Open Karate Tournament in 2019, where 12 South African representatives participated, with the support of KSA. Other clubs, however, still reject KSA, and would much rather go to MASA to establish their own full contact federation.

Mr Gumede thanked Mr Zondi comment about the budget allocated for karate as it highlighted that the budget was not enough for the programmes KSA was involved in. KSA members were forced to contribute towards the organisation’s needs from their own personal incomes. The federation makes strides in protecting and assisting communities, and facilitating self-defence classes, but the government does not help in return.

Further questions
The Chairperson asked how the lack of formal acceptance of karate into the school curriculum an issue if students could just volunteer themselves to the sport any time they were free? The issue of karate being part of school curriculum seemingly was not going to be resolved soon, but what was KSA to do about that? How would they gauge the attention of relevant departments?

The Chairperson then suggested that the Committee could perhaps assist KSA by engaging sister departments such as the Department of Education (DoE) to take action. The DoE could be made to account before this Committee. The only way to resolve KSA financial constraints was for the federation to develop a business-minded attitude in its management.

The Chairperson asked about the positive values KSA instilled in its members and how instances of this influence are demonstrated.

The Chairperson asked for the number of women in the organisation as part of gender equity, and how physically challenged karate participants were accommodated, especially when travelling to other regions or countries for competitions.

Mr Mhlongo asked that KSA prepare a detailed report on their affiliation to other federations, and the criteria for affiliation. He requested the KSA constitution and to have the Committee invited to their next annual general meeting. He asked Mr Pillay about the legacy he intended to leave after serving KSA as president for eleven years. Did Mr Pillay plan to return for yet another term?

Mr Mhlongo noted that the Committee does its own oversight work besides what an organisation presents so he was well aware of the required funding of R50 000 in a prior enquiry.

Mr Mhlongo asked that KSA give at least one example of a club refused affiliation to KSA due to non-compliance with its criteria.

The Chairperson said she had received a message during the meeting that made it evident that KSA did not encompass all forms of karate, as Kimura Shukokai International (KSI) was hosting an event that KSA was not a part of. She asked why this was the case and what were the challenges with this.

Ms Adams asked about gender representation of KSA officials such as coaches and referees, and about the observing the regulations of the National Sport and Recreation Act.

Mr S Pillay replied that regulation is priority to meet the criteria for SASCOC and to observe the statutes set in place by governing bodies. In terms of finances, KSA was approaching the corporate and private sector, along with relevant departments for assistance, just as these entities had previously financially assisted KSA for the 2022 All Africa Championships hosted in Durban.

Mr Pillay stated that KSA was actively participating in alleviating socio-economic issues such as gender-based violence, through the implementation of self-defence classes, as well as poverty, through regular outreach programmes with the intent to clothe, feed and impart valuable skills to vulnerable children.

According to Mr Pillay, the positive values instilled in KSA members can be seen in how inspirational the coaches are to them, which is why it is important for KSA to observe strict criteria for the recruitment of coaches and training personnel.

Mr Pillay’s vision is to leave a healthy legacy behind. He disputed Mr Mhlongo’s claim of the R50 000 funding that was allegedly required by a karate athlete online, claiming that travel costs are usually within a R30 000 maximum.

The organisation prides itself in obtaining a 33% gender equity rate in its makeup of officials, coaches and trainers.

Ms Lakaram stated that the annual KSA fee by affiliate clubs was R1 370 per annum for existing membership and R 1570 for new members. For those who qualify for subsidy, it is R757 for an annual membership fee. The KSA annual financial audit is sent to DSAC annually. The allocated R1.4 million by DSAC was spent on women’s karate, women’s administration and on youth development as well. In conclusion, KSA is in need of funding for its development.

Mr B Pillay addressed Mr Mhlongo’s query on the criteria for clubs wanting to affiliate to KSA by explaining the age restriction conditions for those in management of dojos or karate clubs. He explained the required documents and clearances such as police clearance and first aid certification that all prospective affiliate clubs should acquire. New karate clubs are put on a 12-month probation and are required to register all their members, regardless of qualification level in karate. Only group affiliates are allowed, meaning no one individual may be affiliated to KSA. All applications are done virtually on the KSA website. Prospective affiliate clubs may not have dual membership with another federation and should indicate that they will observe the rules and regulations of KSA and WKF.

Mr Mhlongo asked about the stipulations in the KSA constitution, especially the conditions around the presidency.

Mr S Pillay stated that current KSA constitution has no provisions on the conditions of presidency and a new constitution with amendments was underway, and would be officiated at the General Assembly that was to take place on 19 March 2023. The KSA constitution is available for perusal to anyone who wishes to view it as it has been endorsed by WKF and SASCOC. The new constitution underway will attend to any unclear provisions.

The Chairperson noted that Mr Madlingozi’s questions were not responded to.

Mr S Pillay replied to Mr Madlingozi’s questions stating that the IOC does not support blood sport, therefore the karate incorporated by KSA is not a blood sport and encompasses minimal to no contact combat. In the event of injury, perpetrators face the possibility of disqualification. For children, safety gear is prioritised to avoid injury. He invited the Committee to the Junior Championships taking place on 18 March so that they could witness for themselves how protocol was observed to ensure children are not injured. In the event that KSA engaged in any behaviour that resembled that of a blood sport, they would be expelled by WKF.

The question on finances was previously answered.

Mr Pillay expressed concern about the condition of the Tongaat Sports Centre that KSA uses to convene, due to a collapsing roof. It poses a threat to the safety of members and children. KSA is subjected to using the Old Mutual Sports Centre at the UKZN complex. The quest for suitable convening centres was an ongoing one, as safety and space remained a concern.

Mr Madlingozi questioned the process of screening prospective coaches and training personnel.

The Chairperson asked Mr Madlingozi to give KSA an opportunity to complete their response.

Mr Banyane replied that as part of rural development, all provinces had development officers to ensure that karate is made available in rural areas. The challenge had then been facilities, as there were not adequate facilities for karate activities to take place in. The acceptance of karate in schools would allow for KSA to use schools as facilities, which would accelerate the federation’s development.

DSAC response
Mr Simphiwe Mncube, DSAC Chief Director: Federation Support, responded about the decision of the amount allocated to KSA. Sport federations were invited to draft business plans that indicated their costs, and it was from the assessments of these plans that DSAC decided on suitable amounts to allocate. Decisions were affected by other factors, such as what the federation intended to achieve, how well it explained these objectives, and if they were in line with the priorities of the country. Other aspects include and are not limited to demographics.

On the underfunding, Mr Simphiwe replied that DSAC allocated funds from what it had been provided within its budget for the financial year. This was R117 million which has to be shared amongst 65 entities, hence the inadequate funding allocation.

The reason for the KSA exclusion from the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) assessment was the EPG on Transformation and Sport had focused only on five sport codes which then later was extended to 16 codes. Priority was given to school sport codes, which karate is not part of, and this is why it was excluded.

Mr Mncube stated that there was a need to revisit the EPG sport codes and discussion would follow.

On the monitoring, DSAC had occasionally sent out delegates to monitor activity, but it was impossible to monitor all activities since there are too many, but monitoring indeed happens.

Mr Mncube said that the inclusion of karate sport in schools would have to be incorporated through discussions with the DoE.

The requested KSA constitution and annual audit had been sent to the Committee by DSAC during the meeting.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting after some closing remarks.