Cycling South Africa takes great pleasure in welcoming Youth, Development & Transformation Commission Chair Bonga Ngqobane as he speaks about his plans and hopes for the future of South African cycling.
For Ngqobane, serving in such a position has always been one of his dreams, especially having been passionate about cycling development and transformation in both rural and urban areas across South Africa for many years.
Born and bred in a small village called iNqadu in the Eastern Cape, Ngqobane was raised by his grandmother, and often caught lifts to school with his older brother who owned a bicycle. In 2005, Ngqobane joined Velokhaya Cycling Academy as an U/16 rider. He rode with the academy all the way until U/23 as a semi-pro rider. He left the academy in 2011 and soon found himself joining the YEP CLAN in the township with the idea of helping young children with sourcing sponsors, training of cyclists and transportation to events.
Cycling South Africa takes great pleasure in welcoming Youth, Development & Transformation Commission Chair Bonga Ngqobane
The BONGA.ORG CYCLING ACADEMY began in late 2014 when Ngqobane saw a gap and felt the need to begin something new. “It was the idea of changing lives through sports and education and promoting schools cycling in the townships,” he said.
“An Inter-Schools Cycling League was then born as a programme to fast-track true transformation and development of cycling in historically disadvantaged communities.
His vision for cycling in South Africa is to see equality in numbers in all events across all disciplines. He also hopes to encourage more historically disadvantaged communities to participate in the sport in order to produce riders that perhaps one day win medals in the Olympic Games.
He said: “It is my dream to see cycling transformation and development taking off and I am here to make sure it does. I urge all parties, individuals and boards involved in cycling to please work hand in glove with me in changing the circumstances that we have faced over the years. I have a lot of commitment to my position and it is my dream that when I walk out of this position, we would have seen true change.”
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