The interim executive in charge of local amateur boxing is facing an administrative nightmare as it tries to complete run-of-the-mill tasks like organising trials next month to determine an Olympic squad.
The problem is obtaining financial records and equipment from the past board that resigned in disgrace early this year.
Interim SA National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) president Siya Mkwalo said the federation's bank account had just been resuscitated and that would allow them to analyse spending over the past few years, including R10m given by government.
All they have are the audited financial statements for 2018/19, which the outgoing executive handed to the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) when they resigned en masse, without offering reasons, in early March.
"We have written three letters to them requesting them to hand over everything that's accumulated over the period to us," Mkwalo told the Sunday Times.
Cash-strapped Sanabo has no office
"We've offered to arrange a courier service to collect those items [records as well as office and competition equipment] and up to now we are not getting co-operation."
The former president, Andile Mofu, didn't respond to requests for comment, sent via WhatsApp and SMS.
The cash-strapped Sanabo doesn't have an office, meaning the equipment is most likely sitting at private premises. "Not having an office is another hindrance," added Mkwalo.
The previous Sanabo board had failed to secure funding to send a team to the African Olympic qualifying tournament this year.
At the time a government official said Sanabo had applied for the funding after the entry deadline for the tournament.
Missing that event meant SA's last shot to get boxers to the Tokyo Games was at a world qualifying tournament, which is tougher than Africa's.
Mkwalo said not having all the financial records also affected Sanabo's ability to apply for funding. "We have to produce things as if we're a new organisation," he said. Even the 2018/19 financials show the auditor stating that source documents were not made available.
Of government's R10m given to Sanabo to uplift the sport in 2017, there was just R3,000 left. "Now that we're able to access the [Sanabo bank] account we can check how the transactions have been happening. We haven't done the analysis yet."
Some of that money went to a one-off tournament that some observers said was run frugally.
The interim Sanabo board has been given R1.2m by government to get them through this period, though that money had to be channelled through a third-party federation because of Sanabo's non-compliance issues.
The lack of boxing records had made it difficult to invite boxers to the trials, set to run from December 12-16. Those eligible are winners and runners-up from the national elite and youth championships in the past year or two. Provinces can enter up to three wild cards too.
A new venue has yet to be decided after the Western Cape withdrew as host.
Sanabo's woes have been clearly visible in the competition arena.
Not throwing in the towel
Amateur boxing was once SA's richest source of Olympic silverware, delivering 19 medals before SA's isolation after Rome 1960, but since readmission there's been nothing. Even so, boxing still ranks second on SA's all-time list of Olympic golds, with six, alongside swimming. Athletics has nine.
SA boxers have won just three fights at the Olympics this millennium.
Boxing's decline at the Commonwealth is also clear. At the three Games from 1998 to 2006, SA boxers won six medals, including one gold, but at the next three, from 2010 to 2018, they landed just one medal.
Mkwalo is not throwing in the towel, however. "We are moving forward. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
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