The green water in the diving pool at the Olympics may have been treated so that it was back to clear for Oliver Dingley’s competition yesterday but there are fears that the cost of making it right has come from money originally set aside to stage the Paralympic Games which take place next week.
Other monies have been diverted to deal with last minute construction improvements at the athletes village and in making sure that the Olympic Games went as smoothly as possible.
This has left a major problem for the Paralympics though with a court ruling in Rio that there could be no more spending from public funds unless the Rio Organising Committee made public their financial records.
Concern
This has not been forthcoming and Paralympics organisers are now expressing genuine concern that budgets for the games will have to be cut further.
Payments to cover travel expenses for the travelling competitors are now two weeks overdue and this is believed to be placing some countries ability to travel to the games at risk.
There has even been a suggestion that the Games might be cancelled though this was quickly refuted by the International Paralympic Committee.
Guarantees
Guarantees have been promised by the Mayor of Rio and the Federal Government but both are dependent on either overturning the court ruling or persuading the Organising Committee to come clean on their financial expenditure.
In a statement issued yesterday by the International Paralympic Committee, Chairman Sir Philip Craven said “Although the situation is pretty precarious, rumours that the Games may not go ahead or that sports may be cut are totally unfounded and not true.”
“Our aim right now is to bring in additional funding and resources in order to deliver the Games at the service levels expected by all stakeholders, most importantly the athletes.”
Cuts
“If no extra funding is available then the Organising Committee will have to implement further cuts to the Paralympic Games on top of the cuts we have already made alongside the IOC and Olympics.”
“Throughout this whole situation, we have always wanted to guarantee the athlete experience. Regrettably, if no more funding is available then the Organising Committee’s additional cuts will start to impact on the services offered to the athletes who have dedicated years of their lives to reach and compete at these Games. This is the last thing that we want to do.”
“We are extremely thankful and grateful that Mayor Paes, who has always been a huge advocate of the Paralympic Games and the impact they will have on his city, continues to show great leadership and support for the Paralympic Games. This morning he reaffirmed his support to the Paralympics and said he was prepared to deliver BRL 150 million to ensure the success of the Games.”
Injunction
“The hurdle to this solution is that there is currently an injunction on any further public funding from Municipal and Federal Governments going towards the Games unless the Rio 2016 Organising Committee make available full financial spending details.
“Clearly, the simplest and easiest way round this is for the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to be open and transparent with its financial records in order to allow this additional funding to come in.
“In Brasilia we had a good meeting with the Minister Chief of Cabinet who reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to the Paralympic Games.
“Finally, it looks like we are a step closer to the payment of support grants to National Paralympic Committees which are now more than two weeks overdue. The Organising Committee has now committed to paying these grants by the end of the month. Failure to do so could result in a number of countries being unable to attend the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, an event they have been planning and preparing for for a number of years.”
