IAAF orders GAA to hold elective congress or face sanction
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has ordered the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) to organise its elective congress or face sanctions from the world athletics governing body.
The GAA, scheduled to hold its elective congress in December last year rescheduled due to a court injunction brought against them by its former president George Haldane- Lutterodt.
Lutterodt, who is contesting for the position of president of the Association, sought for court injunction at an Accra High Court with the believe that, the current executives were trying to manipulate the electoral process to favour certain candidates.
At their last appearance in court, both parties agreed to amicably settle the issue out of court which required the National Sports Authority (NSA) formed a committee to meet both parties to find a resolution to the matter, but following the meeting, it proved futile.
With this, the GAA and the Plaintiff, Lutterodt are set to appear in court again on April 29.
However, in a letter signed by Jee Isram, the organisation’s Senior Manager for Governance, Member and International Relations, asked the GAA to use its constitution to resolve the matter and proceed to congress immediately.
“You may wish to note that the provisions of Article 14.6 and 14.7 of the constitution of the GAA covers any disputes arising between members of your federation and it is up to the General Assembly of your federation to decide by simple majority if no amicable resolution through mediation is reached.
“We request that you convene the elective General Assembly of your federation, adhering to the provision of Article 3, 4 & 5 and the applicable deadlines for the convening notice, as provided in the constitution of the GAA.
“As you know, the IAAF has recently made significant governance reform and expect that in turn, its Members follow the principles of good governance. Members who fail to meet these high standards, such as organizing their elective General Assembly every four years, may run the risk of being disqualified to participate I international competitions or see any financial benefits related to its membership suspended,” the statement said.
Jee Isram also stated that he has personally spoken to Lutterodt and informed him to settle the case in accordance to GAA’s dispute resolution mechanism.
“To clarify, we have not received any letter from the plaintiff’s lawyer, however, you may wish to note that we have received a correspondence from Mr George Lutterodt, former President of the GAA, filing a report of breaches of the constitutional provision of the GAA. As you may know, we usually correspond with our Member Federation, not the individuals.
“However, I called Mr Lutterodt to inform him that all disputes arising from a member of the federation should be dealt with in accordance with the provision of the GAA and no other bodies (Ghana NOC, National Sports Authority, governmental agencies) can intervene and any issues regarding the constitution should at the General Assembly of the federation,” the letter concluded.
Source: GNA