Codes slam 'toothless' athletes body
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday October 16, 2021 06:00
But the NSAs feel the commission is non-existent and they wonder where it does its advocacy for athletes. Botswana Karate Association president, Tshepho Bathai said he was not aware of the role of the commission. He said hence they decided to establish their own athletes’ commission. “Our commission deals with issues of careers, education programme, high performance, team selection, insurance schemes and anti-doping,” he said. For his part, the Botswana Volleyball Federation vice president, George Keotsene said he was not aware of the commission and there has never been an engagement with the federation. “The commission needs to change how it does business.
Athletes still need mentorship from their associations and clubs. Now they seem like a movement against authority,” he said. Botswana Athletics Association vice president, Oabona Theetso said the body was only limited to training of athletes but thin on the ground. “One would have expected to hear their voice during the Zibani Ngozi case and the situation with Onkabetso Nkobolo but sadly I do not remember seeing any notification to that effect,” he said.
Botswana Chess Federation secretary-general, Mokwaledi Tingwane said he only hears about the commission during Annual General Meetings. He said as a BNOC associate member, the situation is even worse. The commission is also accused of making the coaches job difficult, with much focus on how coaches handle athletes instead of athletes welfare. A member of the commission, Oteng Oteng said the commission serves as an advisory body and is focussed on athletes welfare, capacity building and making sure that athletes' voices are heard. “We have held workshops, webinars and forums through those NSAs and the last one we had was last week for athletes,” he said.
There is another body, the Association of Botswana Athletes formed in 2018, responsible for athletes' welfare. ABA chairperson, Tjiyapo Madeluka said initially the focus was on national team players but they have decided to include all players. He said players are always suspended when they raise their concerns. “ABA was formed by us players while the Athletes Commission is a structure within the BNOC. We are currently working on being recognised by the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC),” he said. BNSC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said the Athletes Commission is meant to give voice to athletes and ensure that they are involved at strategy, policy and decision-making levels.
When asked if BNSC recognises the Athletes Commission, Serufho said the BNSC Act does not provide for a representative of athletes on the board but going forward that is an area they want to give serious consideration. Serufho said he was not aware of the existence of ABA and their mandate. He said the only recognised entity is the Athletes Commission. The members of the Athletes Commission are Jury Manaka, Lechedzani Master Luza, Oteng, Monica Alfred, Samantha Gibson, Moses Jones, Tracy Chaba and Stanley Matutu.