Defeated ASA rivals refocus on KZN Athletics presidency battle

Two of the rivals for the position of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) president will not have long to recover from their defeat in the race for the top position at Athletics South Africa (ASA), as they refocus their attention on the battle to lead their regional federation.

Current KZNA president Steve Mkasi and former president Sello Mokoena lost out to the re-elected James Moloi at the national federation’s quadrennial general meeting in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday.

Mkasi and Mokoena will next square off for the KZNA presidency at the body’s quarterly general meeting on June 14, alongside Chris White, Romeo Hulane and Mandla Mngomezulu.

The build-up to the national federation’s elections was particularly dramatic for Mokoena, who needed a last-minute court order to have his name included on the ballot. He had accused the national and regional federations of blocking him from competing despite being nominated by clubs.

“From the court order on Thursday, to putting my name on the ballot Friday, then all of a sudden at short notice going to Joburg – it really was dramatic,” Mokoena told Independent Media Sport.

He is refusing to dwell on that, however, and has congratulated the weekend’s winners.

“The emphasis for me has always been on KZN, not ASA, because it’s one’s track record at provincial level that must catapult them to a higher level. Our province, in terms of athletics, is not in a good space, so there’s no point in all of us rushing to Athletics South Africa while we haven’t done good work in KZN," Mokoena said.

“We must all rally behind those who won, try hard to support them to make sure that they succeed. If they succeed, then the organisation itself succeeds.

“ASA has serious problems that require people who can hit the ground running. It requires people who know what they are doing and people who have experience both at provincial and national level.

"That’s the message I’m getting for KZNA. People are looking for individuals who can hit the ground running so that we can turn things around.”

Mokoena was elected KZNA president in 2012 and served for seven years before stepping down in 2019. He was later succeeded by Mkasi. The current KZNA boss is advocating for change at the national body, while remaining confident of retaining the top post in the province.

“Whilst the constitution of ASA provides that at least three of the board members must be females, it is still a worrying trend that only one female made it to the commission chairpersons’ roles,” he said.

“I think, as council, we need to play our role in developing female leaders at provincial and commission levels to a degree that they are ready to plug into vacancies on the ASA board."

Turning to next week’s crucial polls, Mkasi said the weekend’s result had not dented his belief that he would win re-election.

“The dynamics are not the same. The ASA elections are more about a group of provinces that have more voting power colluding to include or exclude members of other provinces perceived as more of a threat than provincial elections are,” Mkasi said.

“We need electoral reform at ASA.

"Thirty-three board and commission members cannot vote for themselves to remain in office perpetually. Without being ageist, we need to consider an age of retirement and have certain members serve as a sounding board to a newer generation of leaders.”

He also believes that his administration’s track record over the past four years speaks for itself.

“If you consider the work we have done over the last four years, you can see we have moved KZNA forward in leaps and bounds,” Mkasi said.