Meeting to resolve ongoing promoters leadership impasse

THE raging row between Eastern Cape boxing promoters is set to be resolved this weekend.

This when a top delegation of Boxing SA officials, including the chief executive Tsholofelo Lejaka and board chairman Peter Ngatane, come down to hold meetings with two warring groups.

The tension stems from two groups of promoters each proclaiming to be the legitimate executive of the Eastern Cape Boxing Promoters Association (ECBPA).

One group, led by Ayanda Matiti as chairman with Phathekile Sinyabi as the secretary, is currently in office as an executive. It was elected in 2016.

But some members are challenging its legitimacy on claims that its term of office has expired.

The group led by Thando Zonke as chairman and Bongani Zulu as secretary elected its own executive about three weeks ago, claiming that the rival group is dysfunctional.

BSA has now intervened, with Ngatane and Lejaka both confirming that they would be in East London today and tomorrow.

Ngatane had scheduled to come to East London two weeks ago to resolve the debacle.

However, a family bereavement put paid to the plans, forcing him to postpone it for this weekend.

Lejaka added that the visit was part of the roadshows the regulatory body agreed to embark on throughout the country to highlight changes and remind licensees about regulations that need to be adhered to.

The roadshows will focus among other issues, licensing.

“We have roadshow engagements with licensees, and this weekend we are meeting with promoters in the Eastern Cape,” said Lejaka.

However, according to the correspondence to both groups seen by Daily Dispatch, the meeting will not be only about roadshows, which are scheduled by the regulatory board as part of its consultative forum with licensees around the country.

The BSA delegation will first meet with the Matiti-led group at a beachfront hotel this morning.

Then it will meet with the structure led by Zonke at the same venue tomorrow.

After meeting with disgruntled members, BSA will invite all promoters to another meeting on the same day.

The visit will be in response to the letter the Zonke-led group wrote informing the regulatory body of the shenanigans between promoters in the province.

While Lejaka insisted that the visit by BSA was part of the roadshows, the memo to both groups indicates that the meetings would be held to try to resolve the impasse.

“Within the context of unity and cohesion of all promoters in the province, the board will meet with both the disgruntled group and the leadership that was elected in 2016,” the memo reads.

The two parties have been waging a war of words, including social media and national radio stations.

Ngatane had pleaded with them not to exercebate the sags by continuing to hold meetings until they had met with BSA. on,