KwaZulu-Natal Premier S'bu Ndebele has proposed that the Comrades Marathon be held on the first Saturday in June each year to avoid a clash with Youth Day events which commemorate the student uprising of June 16 1976.
KwaZulu-Natal Sports and Recreation MEC Amichand Rajbansi, who has been asked by Ndebele to convey the proposed date to the Comrades Marathon Association, revealed this in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Tuesday.
The proposed change comes amid complaints at the weekend from the African National Congress Youth League that the marathon detracted from the June 16 commemoration.
The staging of the race on June 16 came under fire from Youth League leader Fikile Mbalula during a Youth Day rally in Durban, and from his KwaZulu-Natal counterpart, Nhlakanipho Ntombela, who is also chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Commission.
Ntombela urged Ndebele to intervene in the matter, saying the youth in the province did not want Youth Day events to compete with the Comrades Marathon.
Rajbansi said on Tuesday that discussions about an alternative date had started with the association six months ago.
"The youth parliament in Greytown also expressed the view (that an alternative date was required). We have the support of Athletics South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal Athletics on the need to change the date," he said, adding that the association was also "quite amenable" to the idea.
Rajbansi said Ndebele had important duties to perform at the marathon, while also being required to officiate at Youth Day functions.
"I spoke to the chairperson of the Comrades Marathon Association, Dave Dixon, on Saturday at the awards event (after the marathon) and he indicated that he would start an urgent consultation process with the sponsors and the electronic media.
"Athletics South Africa wants urgent consultation with the premier on this. The premier has suggested the first Saturday of June for the event," said Rajbansi, who has been tasked by the government to conduct talks on the issue.
Rajbansi said he hoped that the association would reach consensus on the matter urgently.
This week the association said it would hold meetings with key stakeholders, including politicians, to find a suitable alternative date for the world-renowned race.
The association's manager, Gary Boshoff, said: "We are sensitive to this because June 16 is an important day. We will discuss this with the premier and look at it with a view to coming up with a date suitable to everyone, including Athletics South Africa, Athletics KwaZulu-Natal and the business community."