Motlogelwa denies resignation reports

Chakalisa Dube | Monday February 7, 2022 14:00

NOT GOING ANYWHERE: Botswana Football Association vice president (Finance and administration), Marshlow Motlogelwa says reports that he is set to resign are not true. PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO

The mis-allocated funds, which were meant for FIFA sanctioned projects amount to P6 million. The money was diverted to fund internal operations of the association.

Sources this week said if Motlogelwa does not resign, the BFA NEC will move a motion to suspend him at an emergency meeting that will be called anytime from next week when BFA president Maclean Letshwiti returns from the AFCON tournament in Cameroon. Motlogelwa’s role as the supervisor of BFA finances is not constitutional but he was given the task to oversee the association’s finances by virtue of his financial background. He is a qualified chartered account. “There has been so much speculation about me resigning or being suspended. I have no reason to resign.

I have done nothing wrong. The relationship between me and the president is normal, and we continue to engage cordially on matters relating to the running of the association,” said Motlogelwa. Late last year, the BFA suspended its chief executive officer (CEO) Goabaone Taylor in relation to the mis-allocation of the FIFA funds.

But there is swelling opinion within the NEC that if at all the CEO erred, she did not act alone or there was a bit of negligence on the part of Motlogelwa as the default overseer of BFA funds. In fact, Motlogelwa escaped suspension by a whisker in January this year when the BFL chairperson, Nicholas Zakhem proposed that he be suspended in relation to the mis-allocation of the funds during a BFA NEC meeting. Zakhem is said to be still adamant that Motlogelwa should step down or be suspended.

According to the minutes of the January meeting, Zakhem maintained that Motlogelwa might have been grossly negligent because he could have detected the mis-allocation of funds by the CEO. Zakhem added that if proper governance procedures were followed, then Taylor could not have acted alone without Motlogelwa noticing some of the irregularities.

He added that Motlogelwa was also conflicted in the matter hence should step down or be suspended to pave way for investigations. According to the minutes of the January meeting, Motlogelwa was saved by another VP, Masego Ntshingane who said that the former’s suspension would further hurt the image of the association. Motlogelwa also argued that he was not part of the agenda of the meeting.