Boxing SA has been meeting with promoters to discuss financial increases promised by sports minister Gayton McKenzie at the boxing indaba in East London in February.
McKenzie promised sweeping changes in the financial standing of licensees, including ring officials, by committing his department to subsidising boxers’ purses in a bid to curb underpayments. Amid raucous applause at the time, McKenzie said he was appalled by the meagre purses of boxers as some promoters were still paying them R1,000 per round.
“I want to challenge promoters to meet the department’s subsidy amount in every bout to bring up boxers’ purses,” he said.
The ring officials were also promised an increase to boost their meagre pay despite handling an average of seven bouts per tournament. McKenzie has already delivered on his promise to provide the officials with new uniforms, but the financial aspect is yet to be fulfilled.
BSA’s newly-appointed CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka said the structure had already laid out plans to implement the financial aspects.
“We have done the figure crunching and we know to what extent we can apply the scenario,” he said. “We will be meeting the promoters so they can start budgeting for their tournaments differently.”
He said BSA was waiting for the department to release the budget for the programmes McKenzie had promised, including the increases. One of the programmes is the Steve Tshwete Boxing Series, which is set to feature 72 boxers from South Africa’s nine provinces and is scheduled to be inaugurated at East London’s Orient Theatre before the end of the year.
McKenzie said the series, set to be staged in all active boxing provinces, would revolutionise boxing in the country. Lejaka said promoters would be required to bid for the tournaments, though the level of bouts expected to be featured was yet to be confirmed.
“This is another aspect which will be determined by the budget the department decides on and we expect that to be finalised this month,” the BSA boss said.
Lejaka lamented BSA’s dire financial state, which had been attributed to reckless spending by the previous administration, leading to a government bailout to ensure the continuation of some of the programmes, including payment of salaries.
“There was a culture of prudent spending without following due processes. There was a slight improvement in this regard, but it has regressed, and there is now a big financial deficit which we should work to turn around.”
Besides the reckless spending which McKenzie promised would be investigated, BSA also cited the debt owed by promoters as well as the multimillion-rand settlement with former CEO Moffat Qithi as contributing factors.
Lejaka has also allayed fears that he might jump ship again, as he did five years ago when he left the position to join the government. Lejaka was speaking soon after he was unveiled as the top BSA official in mid-June after months of acting in the position since he was deployed by McKenzie to hold the fort amid an administrative crisis at the regulatory body.
Since his return, he has managed to facilitate reconciliation between BSA and the National Professional Boxing Promoters Association (NPBPA), which had taken the body and McKenzie’s predecessor, Zizi Kodwa, to court over his appointment of the board. The association has since dropped the case with all parties smoking a peace pipe, though some areas of discontent are yet to be finalised.
One such sticking point is that in-debt promoters are yet to settle with BSA over levies from their tournaments, which led to the two parties being unable to find each other, though McKenzie reportedly sided with the promoters. Lejaka confirmed the issue remained unresolved but said it would take a clear direction after BSA had finalised the amendment of regulations. “The issue of debt by promoters remains and it is an elephant in the room,” he said.
You would have a certain promoter said to be owing a figure, even though a payment was made and proof sent, but somehow it gets lost amid the hiring and departure of our CFOs and makes it difficult to enforce proper collection mechanisms. This issue underlines our skewed finances, which must be attended to urgently.
— Tsholofelo Lejaka
Promoters have consistently argued the debt was unjustified as it emanated from the flawed sanctioning model BSA is employing, which is contrary to international practices.
“The process of fast-tracking the amendment of the regulations and introducing a new sanctioning model is our response.”
Lejaka said some of the dynamics of the debt were due to BSA’s flaws in the body’s finances, owing to the consistent hiring and departure of the body’s chief financial officers.
“The big issue of this debt is unreliability of the figures due to CFOs who come and go, and in between, the figures get confused. You would have a certain promoter said to be owing a figure, even though a payment was made and proof sent, but somehow it gets lost amid the hiring and departure of our CFOs and makes it difficult to enforce proper collection mechanisms. This issue underlines our skewed finances, which must be attended to urgently.”
Despite Lejaka’s admission, BSA still excluded promoters owing to the body from the purse bids for the vacant South African junior-welterweight title clash between East London’s Aphiwe Mboyiya and Sibusiso Zingange.
Lejaka, who abruptly left the body in 2020, promised to finish his five-year term to complete the 2025-2030 strategic plan, which was approved by the board, though his contract had a yearly performance appraisal. Though the CEO position is considered a hot seat with incumbents unable to cope, Lejaka is widely considered the perfect choice as he commands respect within the boxing fraternity and media.
Daily Dispatch
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