Saaiman appointed new SA Golf Association president
SA Golf Association appoint Saaiman as president
JOHANNESBURG, April 20 (ANA) – Ekurhuleni’s Martin Saaiman has been appointed as president of the South African Golf Association (Saga) following the organisation’s annual general meeting held at the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch on Sunday.
Saaiman, who has almost 30 years of experience in golf administration, will be joined by Senior vice president Henk Smith from Western Province and junior vice president Deon Nel from Eastern Province as Saga office bearers for the next 24 months.
Together with Womens Golf South Africa, the Saga is a shareholder of GolfRSA and is responsible for administering, operating and providing services to amateur golf in South Africa.
Saaiman has served in golf administration since 1992, including 12 years as president of the Ekurhuleni Golf Union. He also served as chairman of the Championship and Tournaments Committee in the Saga National Executive Committee (NEC). In 2013 he was elected as a national selector and he also serves on Saga’s finance committee.
His move into the role will be relatively seamless as the 59-year-old has filled the position of acting president for the last seven months, following incumbent Naadir Agherdien’s decision to step down due to health reasons.
“It has been a great honour for me to serve amateur golf for so many years and I look forward to the opportunity to build on the great work of my predecessors through the South African Golf Association and GolfRSA,” said Saaiman, who recently retired as human resources manager for the South African Police Services.
In terms of his tenure as president, Saaiman intends to focus on improving communication with stakeholders in the sport, streamlining the organisation and finding ways to keep the elite athletes competitive on the amateur circuit.
“Our strategy will be to look at new streams of income and to bring more golfers into game. I relish the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution in the development and longevity of golf in South Africa. I look forward to walking this road with Henk and Deon, who share my vision for the strategic development of the association, and GolfRSA.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman