“I’ve heard it, but it’s nothing real,” said Tyron Flores about the public announcement made by the Ministry of Sports in the sense that the resources that correspond to the Onade (Ecuador Anti-Doping Organization) will be delivered to the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee ( COE).
“I spoke until yesterday (last Tuesday) with the WADA (International Anti-Doping Agency), they don’t have the necessary knowledge of what they want to do either,” said the doctor.
“We do not want to cling to the position, if they (Ministry of Sport) make that decision, let them make it; yes, they have to leave the whole problem, both legal and economic, corrected, until the month they decide to deposit the resources to the COE. That is feasible, they can pass the budget to be managed by that body, there is no problem for us; but we will continue to have the operational part because we are qualified by the International to carry out control doping”, said the former head of the COE medical corps.
Flores referred to the circumstances under which they can stop acting: “We are officers recognized by the WADA and at the moment they tell us, Dr. Tyron and his entire team (we are almost 16, including lawyers and doctors), will no longer work because the COE takes over, we stop working; but first they must fix all the legal part and the lawsuits that we have pending and that solve the economic part”.
He insisted on the powers: “The only ones who can say that we disappear like Onade is the WADA, not the Ministry of Sports or the COE. We are like an Ecuadorian federation, recognized by its international organization. Sometimes it is not accredited here in the country, but the International does recognize it.”
The head of Ecuador’s anti-doping control added: “The Onade was established in December 2019 and lasts four years. We have continued working despite the fact that we have not received the financial resources″.
Regarding the version of the Ministry of Sports that the Onade was not well created, Flores pointed out: “They argue that, then it would be a mistake by the previous administration (Secretariat of Sports), we do not have to pay for those broken dishes if there was any erroneous administrative act.
“Minister Palacios was here in our offices and congratulated us on the work we had been doing. When they wanted to deliver the resources to us, they realized that they couldn’t do it because the word agreement should appear in the text of the contract, everything stalled there. Different happened in the administration of the secretary (Andrea) Sotomayor, that we received the resources without problems”, said the also doctor of the Ecuadorian tennis team.
“The 2021 budget did not reach us and we know that those resources, which amount to around 100,000 dollars, were destined for the Ibarra National Youth Games that year, which could practically be said to have been lost. Hopefully the Ministry of Sports has the good will to give us those resources, because we have debts with laboratories, suppliers and the doping officials themselves,” Flores said hopefully.
Asked about the formula to survive without resources, the medical professional indicated: “We survive because those who apply for doping control cancel a previously agreed item. A year has passed since the Minister of Sport and our surprise is that they summon us to a meeting in which they will indicate that they will transfer the powers to the COE”.
Regarding the destination of the resources they receive, Flores clarified that they must pay for each kit that has a cost of 300 to 400 dollars because it does not exist here, cancel the doping officer, the laboratory, and not all the organizations have the resources to cover that worth.
“An annuity of $12,000 is paid to WADA and I just saw that two days ago the Ministry of Sport itself canceled it.”
Asked if Ecuador can be sanctioned if the parameters mandated by WADA are not met, Flores indicated yes. “For example, requesting a report on this year’s budget and we will not be able to deliver it because we do not know the amount because we have already presented the POA (Annual Operating Plan) to an official from the Ministry of Sports, but it is no longer there and the replaces it still doesn’t check the documentation. International tournaments would be harmed because if there is a record and there is no doping control, that brand would not be recognized”.
“In the last Cycling Tour of Ecuador there was a positive case and the athlete was sanctioned with the knowledge of WADA, everything we do we have to communicate to them,” said Flores.
The Onade was created by the COE, the Ministry of Sports, the Paralympic Committee and the National Sports Federation of Ecuador. The president is chosen from its delegates or representatives and no one who does not have experience in this field and is not qualified can be called or chosen by hand, said the current president of ONADE. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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