Evans and entire ASA board get the boot
CONTROVERSIAL James Evans was booted out as Athletics SA (ASA) president yesterday and soon afterwards lost a court bid in a last-gasp attempt to cling to power.
The ASA annual meeting, the federation’s highest authority, unanimously agreed to remove the entire board of the embattled organisation — not even the executive members present objected.
“The unity shown by ASA members has been unbelievable,” said Sello Mokoena, one of seven people appointed to an interim committee that will oversee ASA before elections are held within six months.
The other directors are president Jacob Zuma’s doctor, Harold Adams, Aleck Skhosana, Tebogo Masehla, Jakes Jacobs, Daan du Toit and Steven Khanyile.
Evans and his vice-president, Hendrick Ramaala, opted to skip the AGM, instead going to the South Gauteng High Court where their urgent application was dismissed by Judge Margaret Victor.
A defiant Evans said afterwards: “[I] didn’t lose the court bid. It is postponed to February. [We] can’t be voted out while we are in court.”
But the ASA constitution allows for AGMs to continue in the absence of the president and the vice-president; the board gets to nominate a chairman and yesterday they chose Geraldine Pillay.
The motion to remove the board — decided at a special general meeting attended by 15 of ASA’s 17 provincial members on Friday night — was then added to the AGM agenda and passed.
Evans, an advocate, said later he had heard there had been no vote at the AGM. “The fools hold a meeting while they have us in court and they still screw up.”
Delegates laughed off his claim.
Even later Evans added: “Don’t get excited about today. It will amount to nothing.”
Observers are expecting him to challenge the removal.
Evans and Ramaala had attempted to derail the vote of noconfidence on Thursday by suspending five provincial boards, including their most vociferous opponents.
But the five went to court on Friday and had the suspension overturned and declared “unlawful”, so Evans and Ramaala tried to have that set aside.
Lawyers for the five provincial executives told the Sunday Times Judge Victor had effectively blamed Evans for the legal battle, saying he had suspended the boards so soon before the AGM that he should have anticipated their only option would be to go to court.
The lawyers said a decision on the costs had been postponed to February next year. Evans faces being saddled with the full bill — the court ruled on Friday that Evans, and not ASA, must cough up.
Evans has faced a barrage of criticism during his tenure, from claims of arrogance and autocracy to allegations of dipping into ASA’s finances and chasing away potential sponsors.
In June, the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) suspended ASA, citing poor corporate governance.
The latest audited financial statements for 2012 had not been made available at yesterday’s AGM, said Mokoena.
Looking ahead, he said the interim committee must learn the full extent of ASA’s financial status and inform Sascoc and the IAAF, the world governing body of athletics, of the change in leadership.
Finding sponsors was also high on the agenda.