Johnathan Paoli
THE Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture has called for a forensic investigation into the affairs of Boxing South Africa (BSA) following a long decline in professional boxing and allegations of misgovernance at the organisation.
A delegation of representatives of BSA, headed by Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie appeared before the Committee on Tuesday to present its annual report, performance plan and other important issues.
Committee chair, Joe McGluwa said the situation at BSA is dire and required urgent attention from the minister, the department and other stakeholders in the boxing fraternity.
“We must act to save the sport of boxing from the mess it is in. Everyone in the room and the sector agrees boxing has died a long time ago. This is largely due to misgovernance at Boxing South Africa,” McGluwa said.
McGluwa said intervention was urgently needed in light of the growing challenges.
He said the committee had considered calling for the disbandment of the BSA, but resolved to give the new board the benefit of the doubt.
BSA briefed the committee on governance challenges and confirmed that its budget had been exhausted in December last year, three months before the end of the financial year and was forced to approach the Sports department for funds to pay staff salaries.
The boxing organisation said the litigation in the matter of former CEO Moffat Qithi required R12 million, resulting in BSA owing the South African Revenue Services R4.5 million.
McGluwa said the committee remained concerned that BSA is unable to attract sponsorship, has no broadcasting deal and is in debt to contractors.
The committee resolved that the Minister will present a plan of action in improving the situation at the BSA within 21 days.
It further called for a quarterly report on the progress made on all outstanding matters.
“We want to take the sport forward. We want to see consequences in the mess that has occurred and continues to besiege boxing in our country. Surely if they fail, the committee must consider disbanding the new board if it is unable to improve things,” the chair said.
McGluwa said the governance challenges needed to be resolved for the sake of the future of the country’s children.
McKenzie promised to provide a detailed action plan, with specific information that identifies the people in line for consequence management, opening of cases and plans to recoup whatever had been misappropriated.
“I will not take a fall for corrupt people. If I come with stories after 21 days, I am the one who should be fired,” McKenzie said.
The minister said that it did not make sense that BSA would accumulate a telephone bill of over R600 000 when boxers earned a meagre sum of R4000.
During the engagement, committee members asked questions about a number of issues including officials serving on the previous board, ongoing and unnecessary litigation, lack of staff and the broader role of the department in conducting its oversight over BSA.
McKenzie agreed with the need for a thorough forensic investigation and said despite his previous calls for a forensic investigation, a new panel has been advertised in light of the calls from the committee.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, BSA announced its partnership with Gsport in a bid to revitalise women’s boxing at all levels.
The year-long collaboration is expected to focus on elevating the visibility of women in boxing and driving greater interest in the sport through content creation, masterclasses, event partnerships, and mentorship programmes.
Gsport Founder Kass Naidoo said, having covered women’s boxing since 2009, they are excited to partner with Boxing South Africa 15 years later to amplify their efforts.
“This collaboration will significantly boost the sport’s visibility and attract new interest, benefiting female athletes and the sport as a whole,” Naidoo said.
BSA Women In Boxing chair Nande Mheshe said the organisation is excited to partner with Gsport to champion and elevate women, and eagerly anticipated a successful partnership that highlights and advances women’s contributions to boxing.
“This collaboration aims to boost visibility and open new doors for female boxing practitioners, celebrating their achievements and propelling the fistic sport forward,” Mheshe said.
INSIDE POLITICS
