05 Mar 2013

Preparations for the 4th Botswana Games scheduled for Francistown are under way with the main organiser, Botswana National Sport Council (BNSC) having finished consultations with concerned stakeholders.      

BNSC chief executive officer (CEO) Mr Percy Raditladi said in an interview that preparations were at an advanced stage. He said they had already met with the Francistown local authorities, which included the council management, the District Commissioner (DC) and the Urban Development Committee (UDC).            

Mr Raditladi explained that they met twice in January, and also last month, and received positive feedback from the stakeholders.

He added that the parties agreed to consult further with other local stakeholders so that they could be on the same platform regarding the final decision to host the games.              

The BNSC CEO however noted that there was concern from stakeholders that preparationa for the next games should have been set and discussed immediately after the 2011 games, so that the next host got enough time to prepare.               

In addition, he noted that as the organisers, they had already done their assessments for the different facilities available in the host city, which they will need to use.

He said most of the facilities were ready to accommodate the 4 000 expected participants and the different sporting codes, hence they were in no doubt the games would come to Francistown.

Furthermore, he said they had selected Masunga stadium to be used in addition to the other facilities as it is had basketball and tennis courts, which were up to standard.          

Mr Raditladi said they were expecting final feedback from the local authorities by the end of this month, and it would be after the final meeting that they would form an organising committee, which would be the main local organiser for the games scheduled towards the end of the year.            

Meanwhile, the principal district officer development at the DC’s office, Mr Boyce Mangole said he could comment on the readiness of the city to host the games because they were still taking their own inventory. ENDS