19 Oct 2015

Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), chief executive officer, Falcon Sedimo says his organisation is concerned that sport does not attract sponsorships.

Sedimo was responding to a question from a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises, Gilbert Mangole who had wanted to know how the BNSC assists other sporting codes to lure sponsors.

He said codes have a tendency to wash their dirty linen in public, something which contributes to failure to secure potential sponsors.

“It takes two to tango, sport should appeal to the corporate world even if we have internal issues we have to deal with them internally, without bringing the name of those who support us into disrepute,” he said.

On other issues, Sedimo informed the committee that while the BNSC makes a lot of effort to achieve its mandate there were observable matters that made it difficult for them to fully achieve their mandate.

He said the annual grant from government has remained stagnant for more than five years, therefore making it difficult for BNSC to fully achieve its mandate such as funding national teams, grassroots development and elite league.

The chief executive officer said government has introduced the system of funding on quarterly basis, and that has proved to be a challenge because activities of sport are overlapping into other quarters of the year, thus making it difficult to manage according to expectations.

On sport facilities, Sedimo said government offered facilities to the BNSC in 2012 to manage them, adding this was done with the expectation that the facilities would be self-sustaining through income generation.

The facilities, he said, were not able to generate enough income to sustain themselves owing to the need to develop and promote sport for all. The commission was therefore challenged with maintenance costs every month.

In that regard, the parliamentary committee chairperson, Guma Moyo advised the BNSC to change their mindset and desist from only depending on government for funding.

Moyo said BNSC should use sport as a business sector, adding that they should work on their strategy and vision to ensure that revenue from sport facilities sustain their organisation.

Another committee member, Major General Pius Mokgware said rotation of leadership at BNSC was worrisome and hampers sport growth.

He said some sport administrators rotate in different sporting codes, and “if we continue to have the same people how can we grow and improve, year in and out. We see the same people in the BNSC committee, where are other administrators,” he said. Ends