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SA no dope when it comes to sport

THE Olympic clock is ticking. Ticking very fast for our athletes and it was a good sporting weekend in both the aquatic sport and track and field where our athletes were qualifying.

One that deserves a special mention is Caster Mokgadi Semenya for being the first woman in 21 years to impressively clock under two minutes in the 800m on SA soil. Having failed to clock it in Port Elizabeth previously she came back with a BANG!

The bar has been raised. We wish all those athletes who are still going to qualify all the best. Indeed, I can feel it, Siyaya eLondon.

We have just returned from the Association of National Olympic Committees meeting in Moscow, where discussions on the strengthening of the Olympic movement took place.

From Russia with love, so they say.

Thousands descended there to shape the future in the interest of the athletes. The Moscow scenery was beautiful.

South Africa will also welcome thousands to our shores in Johannesburg next year.

In 2010, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) requested expressions of interest from cities of the world to host the 2013 World Conference on Doping in Sport.

The City of Johannesburg received the endorsement of the government and South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee to bid.

Our success as a country in the world of sport has been showcased by our continued support for the anti-doping initiatives and the World Anti-Doping Code.

South Africa has signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport, ratified the Unesco Convention on Doping in Sport and has represented Africa on both the Wada executive committee and foundation board.

We have also led Africa in the implementation of anti-doping strategies and annually contribute more financially than invoiced, in order to cover for poor African countries that are not able to pay the annual Wada fees.

On July 7 2011, on the sidelines of the 123rd session of the International Olympic Committee general assembly, the second giant sitting of the Olympic movement on the continent, we signed a memorandum of agreement with Wada president John Fahey, stipulating the terms and conditions of hosting the 2013 conference.

One of the conditions was that Sports and Recreation SA and the City of Johannesburg must also sign their own separate memorandum of understanding, stipulating the roles and responsibilities of the two organisations.

The department's director-general and the city manager will sign on the dotted line in Sandton tomorrow.

Our commitment to drug-free sport, as showcased in more ways through the activities of the South African Institute for a Drug-Free Sport , has been well documented.

We are proud participants of the world anti-doping movement.

In November 2013, South Africa will be on the world map again.

Let's do it for uTata Nelson Mandela.

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