NOTHING LEARNT: ASA FAILS TO FILE ANNUAL RETURNS AGAIN

Athletics South Africa (ASA), the national governing body for the sport, has once again exposed itself as a dysfunctional embarrassment.

According to Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) records the federation has failed to submit its annual return for 2025.

The CIPC record shows that the federation's 2025 annual return became non-compliant on 1 January 2026

Last year, the organisation was removed from the CIPC's register after years of failing to file annual returns. It was only after the deregistration process had run its course that outstanding annual returns for 2022, 2023 and 2024 were eventually submitted in March 2025.

Instead of marking the beginning of improved governance, the CIPC records suggest the federation has once again slipped into non-compliance.

Meet the Directors who let this happen.

• James Moloi (a central figure and president)

• Willie Jacobs

• William Mokatsanyane

• Shireen Lynne Noble

• Nontathu Ellen Gwadiso

• Raisibe Esther Malema

• Mlungisi Mziwoxolo

• Bamanye Mnyengeza

And the non-executive directors: Hendrick Lepena Mokganyetsi, Norma Nonkonyana, Sipho Enoch Skosana, Jan Daniel Verster, Seipati Adelina Ranthimo.

Despite multiple director changes, resignations, and new appointments in recent years including activity as recent as mid 2025, basic compliance remained beyond their grasp.

A pattern, not an accident

The CIPC history paints a troubling picture of an organisation that repeatedly ignores statutory deadlines.

Records show that annual returns have frequently been submitted years after they became due.

• Returns for 2011 to 2013 were only filed in 2014.

• Returns for 2014 to 2016 were filed in 2017.

• The 2017 and 2018 returns were only lodged in 2019,

• while returns for 2019 to 2021 were only submitted in 2022.

• Returns for 2022,2023 and 2024 were filed together in 2025 after they were exposed by media.

The compliance history also reveals repeated instances where CIPC placed the federation in the deregistration process because of outstanding annual returns before compliance was eventually restored

The accountability question

For a national sports federation, one that channels public and sponsor money, fields athletes on the Olympic pathway, and sits at the apex of the sport in this country to have allowed itself to reach a point of deregistration, even if it's once is a governance failure of the first order.

Last year, ASA told Parliament that the matter has been closed, but the very next annual return goes unfilled.

ASA was sent questions and afforded an opportunity to respond but as usual they did not respond.