The canvassing behind the scenes at the national boxing awards by provincial sports MEC Pemmy Majodina has resulted to the province being appointed as the next venue for the awards.
Majodina was in Durban at the weekend where national boxing awards made a welcome return after a six-year absence.
The awards were dominated by Eastern Cape boxers with almost all the 16 categories featuring a boxing personality from the province.
This gave Majodina a chance to play her cards right by convincing Boxing SA bosses Tsholofelo Lejaka and his chairwoman Ntambi Ravele to use the Eastern Cape as the next hosts for 2018.
“Yes I spoke to Mr Lejaka and Ravele about hosting the next awards and they were both in agreement only if the request was granted at the government level,” Majodina confirmed.
The flamboyant MEC then held talks with Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula whose department was one of the funders for the event.
“Mbaks had no problem when I made the proposal to him and I then asked him to make the announcement there,” Majodina confirmed.
While Majodina’s sterling job to bring the awards to the province for the first time since their inception is expected to be widely commended, East London, which is predominantly a boxing hotbed of the province, will lose out due to the absence of an adequate venue.
The Buffalo City region has no accommodating venue besides the ICC which is said to be very expensive.
Majodina said Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth will therefore play as hosts due to the understanding the venue already enjoys with the provincial department.
The Boardwalk Casino is a regular hosts for the EC Sports Awards and the agreement will be extended to include hosting the boxing awards.
Majodina admitted that East London would have been a perfect host city due to the huge popularity of the sport in the area.
“But what can we do if we do not have an appropriate venue? After all the EC includes Port Elizabeth so taking the awards there is part of our mandate as government to spread sporting events across the province.”
However, while hosting the awards in East London would have almost assured the involvement of Buffalo City Municipality no assurance that the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro would be willing to come on board.
But Majodina insisted that the department has cordial relations with the NMM at the government level.
“We are hoping NMM will come on board but even if they do not we will forge ahead as the department to ensure that the event is a rousing success.”
At the Durban awards, BSA, Mbalula’s office, Ethekwini Municipality, the KZN provincial department of sports and the SABC shared the costs which included travelling and accommodating the nominees as well as VIPs.
There were also financial rewards for some of the winners.
Majodina said she would make sure that all the costs for hosting the awards are catered for in her budget allocation for this financial year.
She wants preparations to start as early as April to ensure smooth organisation.