‘Show us the money’: furious parents demand

A NUMBER of Zululand parents are fuming and their children have been left devastated after being conned out of thousands of rands by a Gauteng-based sports tour operator.

Empangeni victim Kobus van der Westhuizen approached the Zululand Observer on Wednesday morning after Vision Sport SA’s alleged scam was exposed by Gauteng newspapers.

Van der Westhuizen said the company’s shady dealings had to be exposed locally as other Zululand parents had also fallen victim, while it must also serve as a warning to those who might still be caught in the trap.Vision Sport is known for scouting young sport stars at various school tournaments throughout the country, and ‘selecting’ them for teams to compete in international tournaments.

This comes at a hefty price tag that puts parents under financial stress.

Vision Sport recently announced the cancellation of many tours they claim to have organised, leaving many parents  furious and questioning why they are not being refunded.

‘My 18-year-old daughter, Kerry, who attends Empangeni High School, represented the first XI hockey side at a tournament in Margate in April and was selected to go on tour to the Netherlands beginning this week,’ said a furious Van der Westhuizen.

‘After numerous fund-raising events we managed to pay R38 725 for the tour, excluding visa costs and internal flights.

‘Closer to the tour date, I discovered through other parents that the tour was cancelled and that no compensation would be offered.

‘The Rapport newspaper ran a photo on their front page exposing Vision Sport CEO, Michael Beyneveldt, with an article on page three. This came as a shock as not only did we lose a lot financially, but my daughter is also hugely disappointed about not being able to go on tour.’

‘This was my final year of high school, and despite studying for and writing trials and my final examinations, I went out of my way to raise the necessary money to go on this once-in-a-lifetime excursion,’ said Kerry.

Van der Westhuizen told the ZO that a rugby tour to Argentina and Namibia, as well as two hockey tours to the Netherlands, were cancelled without any explanation.

‘There are 30 children in these squads, so one can just calculate the amount of money that this guy is pocketing.

‘We contacted the flight centres and accommodation places, just to discover that no deposits had been paid.’

Another local learner – a talented 16-year-old netball player in a local private school – was selected for a tour to Mauritius from 23-30 September after performing well at a tournament in Margate earlier this year.

‘We paid R28 000 plus R2 000 for internal flights, just to find out the day before leaving that the tour had been cancelled,’ said the girl’s mother, who preferred to remain anonymous.

‘After making some noise about the situation, I was refunded a minimal amount, no doubt in the hope I would then let the matter rest. Netball South Africa was blamed for the cancellation of the tour.’

The Krugersdorp News reported that Beyneveldt stated that parents had failed to pay and that he had no option but to close his business.

However, all the parents who contacted that paper said they had paid in full.

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