A group of athletes from the Thohoyandou Athletics club are accusing two of the club's committee members, Mr Andrew Mavhona and Mr Sam Munyai, of not being able to account for R10,000 that was sponsored to the club by the Thavhani Mall to transport athletes to the Comrades Marathon this year.
The aggrieved athletes claim that their names were used to get the sponsorship, which did not assist them in any way. They claim that 33 athletes contributed R1,000 each for transportation, and the money was meant to hire a 45-seater bus to transport the athletes to the race. This was a last-minute arrangement by the club after the Vhembe District Municipality, who used to transport them, had withdrawn its support. The bus company charged the team R35,000 and the athletes say that their contributions nearly made up for this amount that was charged by the bus company.
"We were very excited to learn that Thavhani Mall had come onboard and sponsored us, and we had hoped the other money would pay for our accommodation. But that was not to be, as we had to fork out more money from our own pockets. We were not even told how the money was spent and we feel that these committee members owe us an explanation," said a source, who did not want to be identified.
Among the unhappy runners is 56-year-old veteran athlete Ms Fulufhedzani Masindi. "These guys are killing athletics in Vhembe. We want to know what happened to the R10,000 but each time we call for a meeting, they fail to show up," she said.
Andrew Mavhona, who is the chairperson of the Thohoyandou Athletics Club, denied the claims and referred to them as a smear campaign against them. "Yes, we can confirm that we received the R10,000 from Thavhani Mall, which we used for its intended purpose. We had 25 athletes who paid an amount of R25,000 and we were short of R10,000 to pay for the bus, which cost R35,000. No money was misused, and we have proof of that," he said.
Sam Munyai, who is the club secretary, reiterated Mavhona's sentiments, saying no money was misused. "The money never went into our pockets but straight into the bus company's account. The only money that we used was R1,000 that was paid by two runners we picked up from Durban, and it was disclosed to all the athletes. Jealousy is at play here, but this will not stop us from serving the athletes," he said.