28 Jul 2014

The acting Minister of Youth Sport and Culture, Vincent Seretse re-appointed Solly Reikeletseng as the chairperson of Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) for a record fourth term during the council’s annual general meeting in Kanye on July 26.

Seretse said government would continue to invest in sports in recognition of the important role it played in the socio-economic development of the society.

He stated that government recently spent P38 million hosting the second edition of the Africa Youth Games over and above the annual subvention to the BNSC, which he described as a huge investment by any standards.

He thanked the private sector and individuals’ for their contribution towards the successful hosting of the games, adding sports throughout the world thrives on the support of the former.

However, Seretse explained that the nation’s sustained performance at regional and international level is dependent upon putting in place proper structures for developing sport.

Thus he implored BNSC to move swiftly to set targets for delivery in line with the strategic plan that has been developed. He raised a concern that BNSC has not come up with targets for monitoring progress made in implementing the 2028 strategy. 

He also called them to align their budget to the indicators set out in the plan.

“The need for efficient and effective management of resources especially as we recover from the economic downturn cannot be over-emphasised and I will be meeting regularly with the executive committee to monitor your performance in this regard,” he stressed.

The Minister has also highlighted that the long awaited Botswana National Sport Commission bill has passed through Parliament and that Regulations are underway.

Once gazetted, he said the Act will address among other things, duplication of roles among the sport bodies, alignment of financial year to that of government budgeting process, professionalisation of sport, anti-doping issues and the alignment of term of office for the board to the four year cycle for major sport competitions.

The move, he was optimistic, will go a long way in improving sport management in the country.

Seretse has also appealed to BNSC affiliates to draw AGM attention to critical policy issues and budget priorities rather than elections only. Meanwhile, Professor Martin Mokgwathi, Boitshoko Tsiane, Seabe Raditladi and Ookeditse Malesu were unopposed for the positions of vice chairperson, treasurer and member respectively. 

Seabe Raditladi represents the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MOESD) while Falcon Sedimo represents MYSC.

In his acceptance speech, Reikeletseng expressed delight for the minister’s confidence in him but voiced a concern that women were not represented in the board.

Reikeletseng has nonetheless vowed that his organisation will engage a chief executive officer within a period of two months with the view to drive the transition stage of its development.

He has furthermore urged BNSC affiliates to find sponsors for themselves in order to meet government half way. ENDS