There are two sport issues ongoing in our civil courts. This is an unusual occurrence.
The first of these two cases is the legitimacy of the recent FAM electoral process. (Male' FC vs. FAM).
The second is the case of sports manager Hanim, publicly lobbying for a national presidential candidate, incumbent President Gayyoom, while in the post of a senior civil servant. (Manager Hanim vs. the Maldives Civil Service Commission).
Male' FC vs. FAM
Male' FC, a member of the National FA claims the law requires the express approval of the statutes by the Registrar prior to elections. The club contends the FAM is trying to hide behind a claim made by the Registrar that the law do not specify that elections held without his approval may be deemed null and void.
What the Registrar and the Home Ministry fail to consider is the precedence set by the previous verdict in 2006. The civil court actually ruled that the Registrar's approval is mandatory. The obvious inference is that elections conducted without such approval will not be accepted by court. We are yet to see how the court may yet again justify the Registrar's claim this time around.
The Gayyoom administration is quite dismissive of the law. "Gayyoomism" dictate that corners be cut to ensure that the direct line of command is anchored at the top.... the President!
Here is a case where the Gayyoom administration is unable to fathom the notion that a party outside of the government dare raise a point of order on the way government conduct it's business. Gayyoomist culture dictate that this is not just any body's business. This is government business and others better keep out!
The Sports Ministry claims to the outside world that sports associations such as the FAM are civil society organisations. The reality however is quite different at home. The FAM is an organisation run by the Sports Ministry.
The club's claims their reason for taking this issue to court is rooted more in principle than any other ulterior motive. The club is merely upholding the requirement of the Articles of Association that members must be responsible for ensuring that the rule of law is upheld in the activities they participate.
Manager Hanim vs. the Maldives Civil Service Commission
National Football Manager Hanim is in court to reclaim his civil service Director Generalship at the Ministry of Sports. He has been recently demoted to the post of a Director by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service Commission ruled Manager Hanim's public lobby on behalf of the incumbent President Gayyoom at the launching of his Presidential campaign last month contravened their regulations.
Hanim's lawyer Fizan claims the recently ratified constitution do not bar Hanim as a civil servant from participating in political activity. Lawyer Fizan is dismissive of the principle of conditionality that limits such rights based on circumstance.
In the meantime the question of Manager Hanim's actions with regards his encroachment of the statutes of a sports body have been shelved by the rather "complicit" FAM, already running for cover under pressure from the law abiding Male' FC.
Significance
The significance of both these cases and their ramifications will not escape both present and future sports administrators.
Firstly, both cases are rooted in an inability to change. The administration failed to bring about necessary reform from within. Gayyoom's Reform Agenda specified these objectives. He failed miserably.
The government is therefore constantly on the defensive. Those who believe change can only be brought from the outside is having a field day.
The government is therefore hard at work seeking devious escape routes. The Law is interpreted to justify their actions. This is topped off with administrative manipulations such as exchange of backdated correspondence between concerned ministries to build a case.
The exercise however is wearing thin. Especially when the international sports community turns up on the scene.
The entry of the international sports community on the scene is the second development. This occurrence have further complicated things for the government who have been showing them a "democratic face" for the last 30 years.
FIFA backing for the the FAM's flawed process have been quite a bombshell.
I have highlighted in earlier posts how the FIFA representative Dato Paul of the AFC appears to have initiated this flawed process by unilaterally misinterpreting the FIFA Statutes. His decision favoured government manipulation of elections.
The involvement of an important member of the the international sports community have been a pressure on the government. How the government dealt with the issue with the good Dato' leaves much to be desired in terms of best practice.
The third development is the ratification of an amended national constitution that will wrestle the judiciary free from the executive within a phased interim transitional arrangement. The impact of this development on how the court rules in both cases is yet to be seen.
Ratification is the very act that barred civil servants from political lobbying. The macho response to the July-August SAFF Cup Tour have highlighted government meddling in sport.
We must be optimistic. We await what new twists the coming court hearings will bring to Male FC's and Hanim's cases.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
South Africa FIFA World Cup and the Zimbabwea political situation
An interesting account of the Zimbabwea political situation and potential ramafications for the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup.
Mbeki's world crumbling for defending Mugabe
8 September 2008
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is edging closer to serious trouble that could see him facing the wrath of South Africans over his failure to objectively handle the Zimbabwean political crisis for finding a solution, and now risking his country being stripped of the right to host the 2010 soccer World Cup. In that context, one of the serious issues of concern is the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.
Mbeki has really backed himself into a cul-de-sac by fatuously maintaining a supportive and defensive approach towards his handling of an intransigent Zanu (PF) regime headed by Robert Matibili Mugabe.
As the SADC appointed mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, Mbeki has, shockingly, gone out of his way to block censure and punishment of Mugabe but yet without any workable solution coming out of his infamous quiet diplomacy strategy.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter in July stated that he had a Plan B based on three countries he had already advised and obtained commitment from to be able to step in and take over in the event SA fails to host the tournament.
ZimDaily has it on good authority that FIFA, who are keeping a keen eye on developments in SA and SADC in general recently sent a secret investigation team to the region with particular interest on Zimbabwe and how the situation in this country was affecting the whole region.
A damning report casting aspersions on the Zimbabwean issue was submitted, triggering desperate deliberations between FIFA, the SA government, soccer leaders as well as business.
The broader international community, particularly the west, which has been at loggerheads with Mugabe for close to a decade, is also deeply involved in the deliberations.
"Mbeki has been forced to explain the situation, particularly by his government, SA business as well as the 2010 organising committee," a highly placed source in Mbeki's administration told us in confidence.
"He managed to get another chance by promising that there would be a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis and seemed to have made a substantive breakthrough when he succeeded in having the Zimbabwe leaders to sign the MoU in July.
However, his two-week deadline has long elapsed and everything now points towards a serious confrontation over the matter."
FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke has in the past weeks made several correspondents to Mbeki through the SA organising committee, showing the deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe.
"There is concern over the security situation in the SADC region because of the political situation in Zimbabwe and questions are being asked on whether this presents a conducive environment for hosting the tournament," one of the correspondents leaked to ZimDaily states.
It is for this pressure, coupled with a groundswell of grumbling within his government, which has been forcing Mbeki to spend most of his time recently trying to scrap a settlement between Mugabe and his nemesis, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
"Mbeki's last hope is beating the announcement by FIFA that an alternative host would take over, otherwise he knows what awaits him in SA," a member of the ANC, SA's ruling party said.
We also spoke to sources within the SA 2010 organising committee, and one of them said, "It is unimaginable that after all we have put together and sacrificed, the finals may be moved to another country.
The amounts put into the preparations are too much to go down the drain." A massive R5 billion is estimated to have already been spent on the preparations.
But it is in the ANC that Mbeki faces the worst prospects and harshest reprimand if the soccer tournament goes because of his "playing with Mugabe"
The troubled SA leader was given the loud message by ANC that he was no longer popular at Polokwane last year when he lost the party's presidency to Jacob Zuma, with whom he is engaged in a multi-faceted political battle often turning ugly.
"The Zuma ANC will relish an opportunity to skin Mbeki alive and that shall be very possible if the worst comes to happen around the soccer world cup issue," an SA diplomat based in Harare told us. "They (the Zuma ANC) are already seeing this coming and busy sharpening their knives for a final kill."
With unprecedented hyperinflation approaching 30 million percent, under the iron bondage of a dictator, Robert Mugabe heading a military junta and one of the worst levels of humanitarian crisis in peace time, Zimbabwe is simply a bad destination for anyone.
SA has already made it clear that it would need the serious involvement of its neighbours in hosting the teams and fans that are expected for the soccer finals, including Zimbabwe.
But not only is the impoverished country doing nothing as way of preparing infrastructure and other requirements, it is actually further sliding backwards under the current situation.
Above all this, the major concern is the political chaos Mugabe causes in and outside Zimbabwe, as recently epitomised by massive demonstrations in SA, Botswana and other SADC countries against the geriatric dictator.
"FIFA shall never take that risk for anything. There is no way the west will accept to attend the tournament under such as political situation," our SA diplomat source privy to the goings-on told us.
On Monday we reveal how Mbeki now considers ditching Mugabe to avoid the above-explained trouble, a possibility that could bring a new twist to the Zimbabwean political issue.
Zimdaily
Mbeki's world crumbling for defending Mugabe
8 September 2008
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is edging closer to serious trouble that could see him facing the wrath of South Africans over his failure to objectively handle the Zimbabwean political crisis for finding a solution, and now risking his country being stripped of the right to host the 2010 soccer World Cup. In that context, one of the serious issues of concern is the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.
Mbeki has really backed himself into a cul-de-sac by fatuously maintaining a supportive and defensive approach towards his handling of an intransigent Zanu (PF) regime headed by Robert Matibili Mugabe.
As the SADC appointed mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, Mbeki has, shockingly, gone out of his way to block censure and punishment of Mugabe but yet without any workable solution coming out of his infamous quiet diplomacy strategy.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter in July stated that he had a Plan B based on three countries he had already advised and obtained commitment from to be able to step in and take over in the event SA fails to host the tournament.
ZimDaily has it on good authority that FIFA, who are keeping a keen eye on developments in SA and SADC in general recently sent a secret investigation team to the region with particular interest on Zimbabwe and how the situation in this country was affecting the whole region.
A damning report casting aspersions on the Zimbabwean issue was submitted, triggering desperate deliberations between FIFA, the SA government, soccer leaders as well as business.
The broader international community, particularly the west, which has been at loggerheads with Mugabe for close to a decade, is also deeply involved in the deliberations.
"Mbeki has been forced to explain the situation, particularly by his government, SA business as well as the 2010 organising committee," a highly placed source in Mbeki's administration told us in confidence.
"He managed to get another chance by promising that there would be a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis and seemed to have made a substantive breakthrough when he succeeded in having the Zimbabwe leaders to sign the MoU in July.
However, his two-week deadline has long elapsed and everything now points towards a serious confrontation over the matter."
FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke has in the past weeks made several correspondents to Mbeki through the SA organising committee, showing the deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe.
"There is concern over the security situation in the SADC region because of the political situation in Zimbabwe and questions are being asked on whether this presents a conducive environment for hosting the tournament," one of the correspondents leaked to ZimDaily states.
It is for this pressure, coupled with a groundswell of grumbling within his government, which has been forcing Mbeki to spend most of his time recently trying to scrap a settlement between Mugabe and his nemesis, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
"Mbeki's last hope is beating the announcement by FIFA that an alternative host would take over, otherwise he knows what awaits him in SA," a member of the ANC, SA's ruling party said.
We also spoke to sources within the SA 2010 organising committee, and one of them said, "It is unimaginable that after all we have put together and sacrificed, the finals may be moved to another country.
The amounts put into the preparations are too much to go down the drain." A massive R5 billion is estimated to have already been spent on the preparations.
But it is in the ANC that Mbeki faces the worst prospects and harshest reprimand if the soccer tournament goes because of his "playing with Mugabe"
The troubled SA leader was given the loud message by ANC that he was no longer popular at Polokwane last year when he lost the party's presidency to Jacob Zuma, with whom he is engaged in a multi-faceted political battle often turning ugly.
"The Zuma ANC will relish an opportunity to skin Mbeki alive and that shall be very possible if the worst comes to happen around the soccer world cup issue," an SA diplomat based in Harare told us. "They (the Zuma ANC) are already seeing this coming and busy sharpening their knives for a final kill."
With unprecedented hyperinflation approaching 30 million percent, under the iron bondage of a dictator, Robert Mugabe heading a military junta and one of the worst levels of humanitarian crisis in peace time, Zimbabwe is simply a bad destination for anyone.
SA has already made it clear that it would need the serious involvement of its neighbours in hosting the teams and fans that are expected for the soccer finals, including Zimbabwe.
But not only is the impoverished country doing nothing as way of preparing infrastructure and other requirements, it is actually further sliding backwards under the current situation.
Above all this, the major concern is the political chaos Mugabe causes in and outside Zimbabwe, as recently epitomised by massive demonstrations in SA, Botswana and other SADC countries against the geriatric dictator.
"FIFA shall never take that risk for anything. There is no way the west will accept to attend the tournament under such as political situation," our SA diplomat source privy to the goings-on told us.
On Monday we reveal how Mbeki now considers ditching Mugabe to avoid the above-explained trouble, a possibility that could bring a new twist to the Zimbabwean political issue.
Zimdaily
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