Sports minister Agnes Tjongarero yesterday unveiled new board members of the Namibia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (NPBWC), which for the first time will be headed by a lady.

Magreth Mengo as chairperson will head the new five-member board, with the other additional members being doctor Sebastian Shituleni, lawyer Veruschka De La Harpe and financial expert Irene Shebo as well as retired veteran boxer Jason Naule. Their term of office will be for three years.

Announcing their appointment yesterday, Tjongarero called on the new board members to prioritise the amendment of the current Boxing Act of 1980. This is outdated and currently prohibits women from partaking in boxing.

“Boxing cannot wait for us to put our house in order, so we should also move. New board members should look into coming up with a new Act, the current Act is ancient and does not correspond with the current times that we are in,” she said.

Cautioning the new members against infightings, the minister said: “I think you should stay in your lane, know your boundaries because once you go out of your way, it creates unnecessary problems. You should refrain from all these infightings within the fraternity.”

Reacting to her appointment, Mengo thanked the minister for entrusting her and team with the task of leading local boxing, saying going forward, their job is to make sure the boxing body is run transparently and inclusively.

“Thanks minister for entrusting us to serve on this board, we will work hard to ensure our mandate is met and we will serve with the total commandment. We are going to work with every single promoter to ensure there is transparency and accountability,” she said 

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na