Hesron Kapanga

Namibian boxing promoters and trainers are calling on the Namibia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (NPBWCB) to reconsider its planned stakeholders workshop for the draft boxing Act.

The workshop, however, kicked off yesterday, and will run till 20 July to discuss the new draft for the boxing Act. The aim is to provide those a framework governing boxing.

Currently, the NPBWCB operates under the Boxing and Wrestling Control Act, which was enacted in 1980 when Namibia (then South West Africa) was still under South African rule. The Act was signed on 2 July 1980 by the then administrator-general of South West Africa, Gerrit Viljoen.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, MTC Nestor Sunshine Tobias Boxing and Fitness Academy founder Nestor Tobias and Kinda Nangolo, the founder of Kinda Promotions, expressed their appreciation for the workshop, but disagreed with the timing, saying it is short notice, and may not serve its intended purpose. The event is scheduled for 18h00 to 20h00 over the three days, starting Tuesday evening, and will be held in three towns.

“This is a great initiative by the board, but we feel that the short notice and limited duration of the workshop, only two hours, may not be sufficient to adequately address the draft boxing Act,” Tobias said.

He added that this is not the first time the board has communicated with stakeholders at short notice.

“The last time the board introduced a new payment method for boxers, stakeholders were only informed of the changes after the fights had taken place, which is unacceptable. “We do not see the need to be invited to separate workshops as stakeholders since we will all be discussing the same draft Act,” Tobias said.

Nangolo expressed frustration, saying the current board lacks knowledge of boxing and must improve on their communication with stakeholders.

“We have been involved in sports for our entire lives. How do you expect someone to prepare for an event scheduled for 16 July when they are only told about it on 09 July? I’m unhappy with how the board is treating us. We are united, and now they want to divide us by hosting separate workshops. We should all come together so we can address everything at once in one place,” he said.

He also stated that there are educated former boxers who could provide advice to the board in the best interest of the sport.

On her part, NPBWCB board chairperson Magreth Mengo told Nampa on Monday that the workshop was communicated 14 days earlier, and the board’s decision to host the workshop for two hours at the different towns is to ensure focused and productive discussions.

“Our stakeholders have been aware of these workshops since February this year, with final dates communicated at least 14 days in advance. These workshops are part of our engagements, and not the final ones,” she said.

Mengo added that the decision to hold separate stakeholder, meetings is based on an engagement held with stakeholders earlier this year.

“During the engagement with stakeholders, we recognised the need for a platform where stakeholders can freely discuss the Act, policies, rules and regulations, and specific challenges faced by each stakeholder group,” he said.