13 Mar 2017

Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Kefentse Mzwinila has expressed concern about the bad state of the Maun Sports Complex.

He said the status and condition of the facility was worrisome and urged the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) who is the custodian of the facility to compile a comprehensive inventory report stating the position and the requirements needed to ensure the facility was in good shape so that they submitted to the relevant authorities for financing.

“The condition of the facility is not good in two areas which are the appearance of the stadium and secondly the worn out courts, pitches and the field track. Something has to be done. We cannot continue using a facility in such state,” he added after touring the facility.

It was reported that since the handing over of the facility to BNSC, it has never undergone major maintenance due to financial constraints.

Mzwinila said the status of the facility would affect sports development in the region adding that it seemed the stadium was not used and yet he had been informed that it was used frequently.

“The usage of the facility is quite encouraging as it shows that people have the love for sports and that they regard the complex as the best facility in the northern part hence the need to keep it in good condition.”

He said minor works such as maintaining the physical beauty of the facility could be done noting that the issue of uncleanliness had to be addressed to make the facility more attractive.

He also expressed concern about the stadium signage which was reported to have fallen for a year now. The assistant minister emphasised that every place needed a signage for identification.

He said it was unattractive to find the old, worn out signage board down by the gate and advised relevant authorities to act.

Regarding broken gates around the stadium, Mzwinila urged BNSC to share maintenance costs with the users going forward.

He explained that the mandate of his ministry was to develop sport adding that they could not achieve that in a bad facility. He appreciated that some maintenance required a serious budget but emphasised the need to at least attend minor maintenance which needed less budget.

Regarding the equipment, the assistant minister said they were not bad as the facility. Earlier on, sports development officer, Kealeboga Kiki told the assistant minister and his entourage that the facility was mostly used by schools, local teams including Sankoyo

Bush Bucks which was the only team from the North West in the BTC Premiership. He also stated that inter schools competitions, and development teams under Re Ba Bona Ha programme were also using the facility. He further stated that the facility was not in good shape due to financial constraints but noted that a private company had been engaged to de-bush the facility.

Kiki noted that the lights, half of the ablution blocks and the drainage were not functioning. He explained that the drainage was blocked by the powder which was used to protect the turf.

Furthermore, he revealed that the drainage had never been unblocked since the handing over of the stadium to the custodian. He also pointed out that the running track needed service. ENDS