BOXING SA acting chief executive Loyiso Mtya has allayed fears that boxing in the country will plunge in turmoil because of the unavailability of the board owing to the death of its East London member Nontsasa Lebaka recently.
The death of Lebaka has effectively rendered the board unavailable as it has no quorum to function as a legitimate entity as per the Boxing Act which stipulates that the board must consist of no less than four or more than seven members.
Only three members are left now on the board, namely chairperson Ntambi Ravele, Peter Ngatane and Mandla Ntlanganiso.
This means Mtya, who has just assumed the acting job of the chief executive position following the suspension of Moffat Qithi for not disclosing a criminal case against him when he was hired, is now single-handedly running boxing in the country.
Mtya is acting in the position following his stint in 2009 when he filled the void following the resignation of Bongani Khumalo.
However, there have been fears in boxing circles that Mtya would run boxing to the ground especially as he was suspended on the position in his first acting stint following allegations of corruption involving the boxer’s taxes.
He was, however, reinstated when he gave the board a deadline to furnish him with charges.
The board failed to meet the deadline and Mtya was reinstated.
Although he has acted on the position before, it is the first time that he will carry the baton without having to account to the board.
But the Mount Coke-born administrator dismissed suggestions that boxing in the country was in turmoil.
“Yes it is the first time when I have to run boxing single-handedly but if I could act on the chief executive position before with overwhelming success there is nothing preventing me from doing so again,” said Mtya.
Mtya said that when he previously acted in the position BSA obtained an unqualified audit report and managed to wipe out a R6-million debt.
“During that time I had a board which was hell bent on destabilising everything I was trying to do but I persevered and turned things around. ... This time I have inherited a board whose main objective was to improve the standard of boxing without spending energy on personal battles such as fighting in Parliament.”
He is referring to the physical confrontation between board members Mxolisi Tsika and Ngatane in Parliament. Asked if he would manage to attract a sponsor as the BSA is in dire financial straits relying on government grants to survive, Mtya said he has already convinced government in various provinces to fund boxing tournaments in the country.
“Boxing is governed by the Act of Parliament, hence the government has played a big role in helping the sport to keep running,” he said.
He alleged that businesses were reluctant to invest in boxing after its administration was taken over by black people.
“The reality is that businesses are still controlled by white people and when white administrators such as Stan Christodoulou left boxing, whites refused to invest in sport led by blacks.”
*Meanwhile, Mtya has announced that the memorial service for Lebaka will be held at the Kempton Park Civic Centre in Gauteng this afternoon.
Mtya added that Lebaka will be buried in Colosa, Idutywa on November 23.