South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport Amendment Bill: New loveLife Trust oral submissions

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture (hereafter referred to as the Committee), Ms B Dlulane (ANC), welcomed Members and the respective delegations to the meeting.

The Chairperson informed that other stakeholders had been engaged. This was the third week of engagements before the Bill was to be finalised.

Stakeholders present in the meeting had to indicate whether they agreed with the amendments proposed. The Portfolio Committee welcomed their input.

The Chairperson described the Bill as being a national issue. She recalled that South African teams were nearly prevented from hoisting the South African flag at international events due to the delay in processing the Bill. She made particular reference to the Rugby World Cup.

The Chairperson also wanted to know why Love Life was referred to as New Love Life (hereafter referred to as the Trust or LoveLife).

The Portfolio Committee envisaged to finalise the Bill by the end of March 2024.

Inputs by Committee Researcher
Ms Fiona Clayton, Committee Researcher, outlined the rationale behind the Bill.

The reason for amending this legislation goes back to October 2022 when the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) identified several positions in the Amendment Act of 2006 that were not compliant with the WADA code which made WADA issue a corrective action report. Should these non-compliant areas not be addressed, there will be consequences for South Africa, including not being able to raise the national flag or fly it at sporting events, or not being eligible for WADA funding.

In response, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) Amendment Bill was drafted with proposed amendments to certain sections of the legislation. On 23 November 2023, the Minister published a notice of intention to introduce the Amendment Bill to Parliament. The following day, the Bill was introduced to Parliament and referred to the Committee.

The Bill was referred to the Joint Tagging Mechanism and was subsequently officially tagged as a Section 75 Bill. On 05 December, the Committee met with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (hereafter referred to as the Department) to discuss the Amendment Bill, and the Committee resolved to process the Bill in line with constitutional prescripts which included public participation.

Opening Remarks by the New LoveLife Board Chairperson
The Chairperson of the New LoveLife Board, Ms Doreen Kosi, thanked the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity to present on the South African Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) Amendment Bill.

Ms Kosi added that the NewLove Life Trust had tracked this particular piece of legislation as it had major repercussions. The Trust was also a subsidiary of the Department and wished this legislation to be finalised. The hoisting of the South African flag was a social cohesion imperative.

Members were informed that NewLove Life was looking for a CEO and that LoveLife's officially registered name was New LoveLife. NewLove Life had over 25 years of community service under its belt. Communities were aware of the work conducted.

The Chairperson thanked Ms Kosi for the clarification and recounted the community work conducted by LoveLife for the past 25 years.

New LoveLife Games Presentation on the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) Amendment Bill
Mr Jongi Mei, Provincial Coordinator at the LoveLife Trust, informed the Committee that the Trust welcomed the invitation to present to the Portfolio Committee. The Trust was also funded by the Department. The Trust had gone through the Bill and deemed it of national importance. He thanked the Portfolio Committee and the parliamentary staff for the work completed.

The Trust endorsed the various amendments as it ensured that South Africa was compliant with global anti-doping standards. The endorsement was based on the amendment of section 10 of Act 14 of 1997. The Trust saw the amendment’s wording as “fitting".

Section 10 (d) of the Principal Act had a grey area that the amendment adequately addressed. A centralised anti-doping control programme would now be established. This provided greater clarity on who was running the programme. The sub-section on the independence of the Institute also carried agreement.

The Trust also supported the repeal of Sections 11 A to 11 C of Act 14 of 1997 as well as the substitution of section 17 of Act 14 of 1997.

The new provision spoke of the establishment of an independent board which shall be known as the Anti-Doping Appeals Board. The Board shall comprise nine members. The Minister of the Department had been vested with the powers to effect these appointments.

See attached for full submission

Discussion
The Chairperson commented that the Trust's presentation was precise and they understood the situation at hand. They have been part of the Department for 15 years.

The Chairperson then opened the floor to Members to pose questions.

Mr D Joseph (DA) welcomed the presentation and said that the Trust had put in a lot of work.

He then referred to the Trust's comment on the medical conditions of athletes for clarity. He wanted to establish whether the Trust felt that athletes needed more protection. He also wanted to ascertain whether "institute" had referred to the SAIDS.

Ms R Adams (ANC) said that she appreciated the presentation and the Trust's 25-year longevity. She also expressed her gratitude that the Trust was in agreement with the drafting of the Bill.

Responses by New LoveLife Trust
Ms Kosi reiterated the Trust's support of all the amendments proposed. The Trust felt that no further protections were necessary. 

Ms Kosi added that the Trust had noted past incidences on an international level that implicated the South African sports fraternity.

Mr Mei added that the Trust had no further comments on the medical condition of athletes and was in full agreement. It felt that athletes were fully protected. The Bill should act as an “agent of protection” as well.

Members further heard that, on a national level, the Trust was also involved with various national school championships at which SAIDS always had a presence. The Trust had also worked closely with SAIDS on various anti-doping strategies. This collaboration started from school-sport championship level to federation level.

Mr Mei also confirmed that the “institute" referred to the SAIDS.

The Chairperson thanked the Trust for the important work they had done in communities, in particular those that had no forms of recreational activities. The Portfolio Committee had been kept abreast of these activities and she hoped that the same amount of support would be given to the incoming Portfolio Committee after the general elections.

Gratitude was also extended to the SAIDS for their diligent participation in the legislative process.

The Chairperson excused Ms Kosi and the delegation from the meeting.

Committee Programme
The Chairperson took the Members through the draft Committee Programme. Members were informed that the Portfolio Committee had received permission from the House Chairperson to conduct a meeting on Monday, 11 March 2024.

The draft programme was adopted.

Pan South African Language Board Interview Schedule
The Chairperson also took Members through the Pan South African Language Board Interview Schedule set for 15 March 2024. The procedural staff was asked to disseminate the information to Members.

The Chairperson also spoke about the need for questions to be uniform and asked the researcher and content advisor to provide these to Members.
 
Committee Minutes

The following set of Minutes were adopted:

-16 February 2024: Mr Joseph moved for adoption. Ms V Malomane (ANC) seconded the adoption.

-20 February 2024: Mr Joseph moved for adoption and Ms V van Dyk (DA) seconded the adoption.

-22 February 2024: Mr Joseph moved for adoption and Ms D Sibiya (ANC) seconded the adoption.

-23 February 2024: Ms Malomane moved for adoption and Ms Adams seconded the adoption.

-27 February 2024: Mr Joseph moved for adoption of the Minutes. He also extended gratitude to the Portfolio Committee's support for their hard work. Ms Adams seconded.

The meeting was adjourned.