Sascoc has stated that in June, Sasol became an Olympic team sponsor. It has also stated that Sascoc promised R400 0000 for a gold medal, R200 000 for a silver and R80 000 for a bronze at the Olympics.
For the Paralympics the rewards are lower – R100 000 for a gold medal, R70 000 for silver and R40 000 for a bronze.
Does Sasol associate itself with Sascoc’s opinion that disabled athletes don’t deserve the same incentives as the Olympians?
The ignorance displayed by Sascoc, in its view that the disabled don’t need or deserve the prize money that able-bodied athletes earn – makes it glaringly obvious that it shouldn’t be the caretaker of disabled sport.
It should be handed over to an organisation that values the hard work and mental strength that a disabled athlete gives in order to gain the privilege of going to the Paralympics.
What is missed by Sascoc is that disabled people make up for their disabilities in many other areas of life and, like anybody else, they can read a newspaper that informs them that their work is not as highly valued as that of a person who has no physical disabilities.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in this set-up are the minds at Sascoc who have no idea that an athlete is an athlete and hard work is required all around, and finally, that a disabled person can spend and invest like anyone else.
Cilla Webster, Chatsworth