Having made tremendous contributions in sport over the years, it’s no surprise that University of the Western Cape (UWC) Director of Sport Mandla Gagayi has been selected to serve on national and regional bodies.
Recently, Gagayi was appointed to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (SASCOC) Policy Development Commission. This follows his selection to serve on the Confederation of University and Colleges Sports Association's (CUCSA) Dispute Resolution Committee a few weeks ago.
He is honoured by the selection: “Personally, this means that my peers acknowledge my efforts, and there is no better compliment than the one from peers. For UWC, this means that UWC’s role in promoting ethical leadership is recognised and appreciated.”
For both appointments, he was nominated by the University Sport South Africa’s (USSA) national executive committee, based on his extensive experience serving on several structures within the organisation. The Policy Development Commission is the first of its kind, with a mandate to provide guidelines and recommendations to the SASCOC Board on all matters relating to policy development.
“I will be part of a commission that consists of men and women from different national sports federations. We will be considering policy proposals and changes to current policies, while also considering new policies in line with SASCOC’s strategy,” Gagayi explained.
Regarding the CUCSA appointment, Gagayi said it was informed by his experience as former convenor of the Dispute Resolution Committee for USSA, and as current convenor of the Statutory Supervision Committee.
“The USSA NEC nominated me to serve because of the confidence they have in me with regards to dealing with the interpretation of statutes as well as the promotion of social justice,” Gagayi noted.
Professor Pamela Dube, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development and Support, said the University is more than delighted to have one of their own serve on two of the most prestigious sporting federations - not only in the country, but internationally as well.
“Yet again, it proves that as one of the leading institutions in sport in this country, we continue not only in producing good athletes but good servants in sport,” she said. “We are sure of and believe in Mr Gagayi’s abilities, and trust that this appointment will definitely put the university's name on the map. Rest assured, he will serve both the positions of SASCOC and CUCSA with the highest distinction.”
