By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Instead of giving straight answers while appearing before parliament’s portfolio committee on sport, arts and culture on Friday, Boxing South Africa (BSA) board chairperson Luthando Jack blamed faceless people he believes still hanker after apartheid as behind criticism of the regulatory body.
Instead of acknowledging his board’s blunders, which resulted in BSA getting bad publicity, Jack put the blame squarely on what he called are anti-transformation forces.
“The second issue about some licensees threatening to affiliate with foreign boxing commissions. They are not many, it’s one licensee who has made that threat in the media,” Jack said.
Interestingly, there’s more than one person who threated to affiliate with foreign boxing commissions.
As of now, Colin Nathan is licensed with the Japanese Boxing Commission and veteran Cape Town-based boxing trainer Emil Brice is licensed in Nigeria.
“That licensee has basically been part of those people who have needlessly been assaulting this organisation and calling people to resign from the structures of Boxing South Africa,” Jack remarked.
“And that licensee is actually part of what acting CEO characterised as a small grouping of people largely outside our licensees who are anti-change, anti-transformation, but also who do not believe in a non-racial sport. And in our view, suffer from the pre-1994 world of sport in South Africa. So, we really don’t take those characters seriously because, in any case, there will always be anti-transformation forces in our country.”
Jack highlighted the ‘use’ of the media by their critics, who continue to criticise his board.
“And they will use sections, because again, let’s not generalise and say all kinds of media. It’s sections of the media, three media houses. So, it’s not true that overall media, it’s three media houses that have been used by those who suffer from apartheid hang over, who do not want to see transformation happening in this country and who do not want to see boxing occupying its place as a non-racial sport that is at the centre of rekindling the national vision, placing at the centre social cohesion which is why the focus is not on how do we build on the successes that we have achieved over the past three years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jack also revealed that the agreement they signed with former BSA CEO Moffat Qithi doesn’t allow him to reveal its contents.
BSA threw in the towel and decided to negotiate a settlement with Qithi after he clobbered them in all legal platforms including the Constitutional Court.
“Contents of the agreement with the former CEO, we signed a non-disclosure agreement. All parties signed. There’s no matter in court,” he said.
