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Ensuring stability and staff consolidation, as well as securing more sponsorship and funding for national sport federations and athletes are just some of the tasks that lie ahead for newly appointed SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) CEO Nozipho Jafta.
Jafta’s appointment brings to eight the number of women who sit on the 12-member Sascoc board. This has already surpassed the minimum 50% representation on the board as per the amended Sascoc constitution.
She joins Lwandile Simelane and Debbie Alexander, who are the first and second vice-presidents, respectively, as well as Kim Pople, Moekie Grobelaar and Ilhaam Groenewald, who were voted in during the Sascoc general election a year ago.
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Ayanda Ngubo‚ an attorney‚ and Mapule Mokoena‚ a chartered accountant‚ also serve in the executive, having been incorporated in December last year as per the requirement of the Zulman commission of inquiry into corporate governance issues at Sascoc in 2018, which required that the sports umbrella body have independent members with legal and financial expertise.
Sascoc president Barry Hendricks told City Press this week that Jafta’s expertise and vast experience in both the public and private sectors were exactly what the organisation needed to rebuild its battered image.
Hendricks said:
“We need to appoint people to stabilise [the organisation] in terms of finance and human resources, and then we need to work on bringing in more business, more sponsors and more funding for our federations and for our athletes.”
Jafta replaced Ravi Govender, who had held the position in an acting capacity after former incumbent Tubby Reddy was dismissed in 2018 following a protracted case that included charges of corruption and sexual harassment.
She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, events and sports sponsorships, as well as communication at senior and executive level.
“She managed the SAA sponsorship of both the Olympics and Paralympics in 2004 and in 2008, and she was involved in the Beijing Olympics with McDonald’s, which is the global sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics. So she is no stranger in our environment...
“Sascoc also operates with many commissions in terms of marketing commissions, safeguarding commissions, education and culture commissions.
“She will be working with all of our commissions and with our staff to ensure that the organisation’s programmes can start running more smoothly. Because a lot of instability came with having an acting CEO, and with loss of staff, it is imperative that we start stabilising and growing the organisation, and growing the expertise within the organisation as well.”
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Hendricks highlighted the importance of having Jafta “grow sponsorship for women’s sport in the country”.
“An investment in women is something that needs to be done. It is a dynamic that we always have to consider as a sport organisation, and we have to make sure that we bring in young girls and maintain the women who are in sport. The CEO is a board member by virtue of her position, meaning the organisation will now have eight women on its board.
He said:
“With the 2023 Netball World Cup being held in Cape Town, that is going to create a huge platform of interest in women’s sport and for girls in sport. Even with Banyana Banyana doing so well, that also encourages girls and women to participate in sport.”
Jafta is set to take up her position next month. She is currently the stakeholder relations executive for Autopax, a subsidiary of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA. Prior to that, she was acting CEO of the organisation.
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