New ASA board has a lot to do, says Sascoc president Hendricks

Athletics South Africa (ASA) needs to find unity as an organisation, according to SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Barry Hendricks, following the quadrennial ASA elections held in Kempton Park on Saturday.

James Moloi retained his position as ASA president for the next four years, with John Mathane being elected as vice-president on the new board.

Long-distance runner Kesa Molotsane (athletes), Jakes Jacobs (cross country), Enoch Skosana (road running) and Jean Verster (track and field) were elected as chairpersons of the board’s four committees, while Esther Malema, Johanita Bester, Mandla Ngomezulu and Adelina Seipati were elected as additional members.

Controversy in the build-up

Ahead of the elections, there was controversy after Central Gauteng Athletics withdrew all its nominations, with due processes having apparently not been followed in submitting them.

In addition, Sello Mokoena took KwaZulu-Natal Athletics to court after he was left off the provincial body’s list of nominees. Mokoena won his case but did not find a place on the national federation’s executive committee.

While a member of the Athletics Free State board also claimed their nominations had not been submitted following due processes, that complaint was dismissed by ASA and the AFS nominations were accepted.

Hendricks told the new ASA board these sorts of conflicts needed to be resolved, in order to improve the federation’s public image and attract much needed corporate support.

“You need to create an environment and atmosphere of trust that sponsors and businesses out there want to see… and to the board, your role is to look at what your vision is for the next four years,” Hendricks said.

“What targets are you going to set, what challenges are you going to overcome, and what weaknesses can you get rid of? Because that is what’s going to determine whether you’re going to be successful.”

More tracks and permanent staff

Hendricks also told the executive they needed to ensure there were more certified tracks in the country, in order to host more international events. And they needed to appoint full-time staff in crucial positions at the ASA head office in Houghton, with ASA acting CEO Terrence Magogodela having held the position in an acting role for more than four years.

“This is the time to elevate the organisation to a more professional level,” Hendricks said.

“A permanent CEO is a serious criteria for you now, in order to bring firm stability to your office as well as your administration and operations.”

Moloi said he and his new board would aim to take further steps forward over the next four years.

“We will go out of our way to try get more sponsors so our athletes can get more incentives going forward,” Moloi said.

“We are also going to unite the board, which is going to be very solid because most of these people (who have been elected) are well experienced.”