'We can still save the organisation' - Marolen outlines plans to win CGA Presidency

The first order of business for Brenda Marolen should she win the race to become the next president of Central Gauteng Athletics is to put the incoming board through a vigorous three month programme aimed at formulating a plan of action for the embattled federation. This intensive three to six week governance and project management programme which will start with an induction workshop for new board members immediately after the elections on 24 January, would be Marolen's first major step towards restoring to it’s former glory what was once South Africa’s best performing provincial athletics body.

Marolen believes she is the right person to steer the CGA ship out of troubled waters. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"The first thing I would do is to call for a workshop to induct the board," she told #TheTopRunner. "This workshop would include the council who would then say to us, we elected you this what we expect. But it would also be to educate the council itself about CGA, its constitution and its programmes. Then we get a programme of action together which we can fine tune a we go along until we have a well oiled machine. I hope all candidates have time to give to CGA for at least 3-6 weeks while we put this vehicle together. Four years is not a long time so we must hit the ground running."

The 57-year-old who is also a Comrades Marathon Board Member, sees a process of inducting new board members as a necessary step. Marolen argues that the ruins left by the dissolution of the previous board before its tenure was up, forces the new office bearers to embark on a process of rebuilding the trust between themselves and the clubs to whom they are accountable to begin with. 

Marolen has been serving on CGA's Athlete's Commission. Here she is pictured with SA 10km champion Chris Mhlanga at the ASA 10km Championships in Bloemfontein where she she travelled with Cindy Nkomo (left) as part of the CGA Administrative team. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"A lot of good is happening at CGA from an athletes performance point of view. But athletes feel let down by what happens in the boardroom. For example last year was the first time we as council got an email from the General Manager (Mandla Radebe) saying he can’t continue like this. So there were a few issues which led to the board being disbanded in August, and this happened even after the former board was given 6 months to go and consider themselves but that six months did more harm than good," said the founder of Urithi Athletics Club who was a member of the CGA Council that gave the dysfunctional board their marching orders.

Marolen, who is attempting to take Central Gauteng's highest athletics seat for the first time, is up against a number of former board members including former CGA Acting President and Deputy President Karabo Mabilo as well as Thokozani Mazibuko who has emerged as a central figure behind the successful, albeit highly contested organisation of the Soweto Marathon over the last two years. Marolen could emerge as a safer bet for many voters because she is not tainted by the politics of the Soweto Marathon, nor was she part of the dysfunctional board that crippled CGA and threatened to destroy the federation altogether. 

Marolen (left) pictured here at the CGA Awards in December 2025. Photo Credit: CGA Media.

Ultimately the success of any CGA Board will come down to how well they are able to serve running clubs by implementing in the real world what is down on paper. For this, money is required. Having lost key sponsors such as MTN in the recent past, the new board shall have to convince the market that their days of endless political infighting are behind them leaving them ready to deliver value to prospective commercial partners.

"In December CGA posted R2 million in profit. But during the course of the year we don’t have money for athletes travel to cross country and track and field. Why boast of a profit when certain programmes are not implemented properly?" she questioned. "You need to give assurance that you will be accountable. That goes hand in hand with management controls and procedures. Once you have those there’s no need for people to deviate. Then you can report in an accountable way to investors. Then sponsors are going to come in. A lot of good can still happen. We can still save the organisation. It just needs a lot of people who are passionate."