Changes in Judo Board
MBABANE – The Eswatini Judo Federation (EJF) had its special general meeting this past Thursday when new executive members came on board.
The meeting was held at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Offices. Part of the agenda was the appointments of new members for the Eswatini Judo Federation (EJF).
The meeting was opened by the President of the federation, Thobile Magagula, at 6pm. Among others, she was joined by Secretary General Tertius Esterhuysen, Sports Director Mashumi Sihlongonyane and Lucky Metfula representing Khanyisile. Others were Ben Magagula from Trinity as well as Dumsile Mabila from Larn. Leigh Thring and Alicia Thring represented Montesori.
It was in agreement by the Board that the federation will open a bank account with the First National Bank (FNB). Two signatories will be required for withdrawals of funds to safeguard all transactions for the account. The bank account has to be opened not later than this coming Friday. A resolution will be drawn up by the secretary general for the opening of the bank account. It was also mentioned that Ayanda Dlamini would work closely with Cindy Shabangu and Leigh Thring to raise funds for the federation.
The changes to the constitution regarding dates of the financial year beginning from April 1, 2023 were unanimously accepted. The annual general meeting is to be held within three months of the closure of the financial year. The EJF’s new appointee, Ayanda, is the new Treasurer. The latter replaced Debra Caldwell, who resigned after many years of humble service to the Judo
Federation. Shabangu was appointed as Resource Mobilisation/ Advocacy and Thring got the nod as Second Secretary General.
“These three members were unanmously accepted by the Board and the aim for them is to work hand in hand to change the trend of practising Judo at no cost. In the recent years, funding for the federation was non-existent. This led to the closure of practice at Siyakhula, a development school that was practising Judo without having to pay for many years,” shared the federation.
In efforts of bridging such gaps, it was suggested that federation fees should be paid to the International
Judo Federation (IFJ) bodies as it would benefit the EJF. However, the EFJ president informed the members that international fees were no longer applicable for Judo. Some of the possible solutions discussed were that each Judo club should pay an amount of E250 as a registration fee to the federation. The clubs agreed to the motion as long as a bank account was fully operational.
The federation, on the other hand, is positive about the upcoming review meeting. They believe that their house is in order and that they comply to all Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council (ESRC) requirements.