The investigation follows ASA’s appearance before the parliamentary portfolio committee on sports, arts, and culture last week, where concerns were raised about Moloi’s use of the federation’s credit card between December 2022 and January 2023.

Hendricks also revealed that he has met with the minister to discuss these matters and is now awaiting the findings of the audit.

He emphasized that ASA must resolve these issues to regain the confidence of potential sponsors.

"This is not the first time that credit card expenditure issues have come up, but I don't want to say this instance was an example of the misuse of a credit card without the necessary evidence.

"My position and the SACOC position is very clear, the independent auditor must advise on several aspects, like financial mismanagement, and whether ASA have the necessary policies in place to guard against credit card misuse, amongst many other things," Hendricks pointed out.

READ: SAFA to review national teams bonus structure amidst financial strain

Hendricks clarified that while Athletics South Africa (ASA) is accountable to World Athletics, it is still required to adhere to SASCOC's governance structures and regulations. He also pointed out that SASCOC does not have the authority to suspend ASA president James Moloi, and if they suspended him, World Athletics would step in.

"ASA is linked to SASCOC, so they must follow SASCOC's rules and regulations. So SASCOC has the power to suspend it's members, but it does not have the power to suspend individual members. We can make recommendations based on our investigations, but we cannot suspend a democratically elected member," explained the SASCOC president.

Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture Gayton McKenzie told SABC that he planned to launch a forensic investigation into allegations of irregular credit card spending, which include claims that James Moloi purchased alcohol at taverns for clients.

However, following discussions with the minister, SASCOC has now taken over the investigation.

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