JOHANNESBURG – Ace Ncobo yesterday refused to acknowledge Tuesday’s postponement of the South African Football Association elections as a victory, saying he had set a deadline to oust Safa president Danny Jordaan by May 19.
By delaying the elective congress that was set for this Saturday in Joburg, where Jordaan would have been voted in for a second term, Safa have quite astonishingly admitted to disregarding their own electoral code.
Ncobo had been persistent in his stance that Safa were in “gross violation” of the process of electing a new president by sidelining potential candidates, bringing forward the date of the elections from September to March, when a decision during an extraordinary congress in December last year was made, and by the use of “disgraced” audit firm KPGM, who terminated their contract with Safa a year early.
Even after the withdrawal of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as the electoral committee appointed to oversee the elections this month, Safa moved swiftly by selecting substitutes instead of rescheduling.
“It’s not a win at all for me or anyone. As long as they (Safa) still speak of a postponement, then we are still at war,” said Ncobo, a presidential nominee.
“They have violated their own process. It’s not a minor thing that they have committed here. If there is any vindication, it is that Safa admitted that they have bungled the organisation of this congress (with the announcement of the postponement).
Why continue with something that is bungled? Danny wants to cling to nominations so that he is the only candidate. That is why they are speaking of a later date instead of a cancellation.”
Safa said a new date for the elections would be made public “soon” - not in six months as per the rulebook - if the process were to start from scratch.
But Ncobo, who received a single nomination for the presidency, while incumbent Jordaan was said by KPMG to have garnered 52, was having none of it yesterday.
“I can tell you that they are looking at May 19 as the new date for the elections,” the former PSL referee said.
“They are clearly defiant. That is in six weeks, not six months. They are refusing to be guided by their own constitution, and I have also offered to guide. But I will also not rest until Danny is out of Safa House by May 19.”
Jordaan has remained mum throughout this entire saga, but he did sign an agreement to fix the “errors” of the process last week following Fifa’s intervention via envoy Phillip Chiyangwa, the Cosafa and Zimbabwe FA president.
Ncobo said the deal he and Jordaan shook hands on was not honoured.
“Safa misrepresented the clause in our agreement. If the congress is organised in violation I had said you would not see me there (a Safa statement said Ncobo had withdrawn from the elections). If I have appetite to stand as vice-president, I can, but I feel there are people who are more suitable.”
He also disclosed that he was offered the job of Safa CEO, a position currently held by Dennis Mumble.
“I was secretly offered the role of CEO because Mumble’s contract comes to an end on March 31,” Ncobo said.
“I refused it and we, not necessarily me, are going to interdict the reappointment of Mumble because there are people in the national executive committee who don’t want to see him rehired.”