Chess leadership faces revolt
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday October 7, 2023 06:00
Although the committee's term extends to 2025, mounting pressure from affiliates is pushing for an early exit. Notably, three committee members, Moses Khutsafalo (vice president-technical), Jeremiah Dikgang (vice president-administration), and Dave Motshabi (public relations officer), have already resigned. The federation used to have one of the biggest tournaments in the region, the Botswana Open, which used to attract top-rated players from countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Botswana Open was normally held over the Independence holidays. There has been a decline in tournaments that BCF organised this year, while in addition, there is no league. Phemelo Kheto of Poisonous Snakes Chess Club blasted the committee for failing the sport. “First, they could not hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2022.
The next thing they suspended each other until the two vice presidents resigned together with the PRO. In essence, the executive does not have enough members to exist but they are staying in the office. There are no sponsors, they just depend on the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) grant. The senior women's team with all its experience, was sidelined and silently frustrated until they quit,” he lashed out. Kheto said the straw that broke the camel's back was the selection of the Olympiad team, with the executive committee going against the agreed criteria, but instead, they were influenced by a certain parent.
“The BCF president does not care about the state of chess in the country. He just wants to stay in the office for the long of it,” he said. Pako Moloi of Botho University said they were hopeful that the committee would put in all the necessary work to propel the BCF to the next level. “They were energetic and robust during campaigns.
They pulled the wool over the eyes of many as they brought false promises. Let me highlight that Jady Tatolo was contesting to lead chess. Together with her team, they were not voted, as she was undermined for being a woman. The affiliates assumed she could not make a good president but we can call to see if we went wrong there,” Moloi said.
He accused the committee of being complacent and unforthcoming. “Our players are always travelling to neighbouring countries in search of sponsored FIDE-rated tournaments. There are no sponsors. The sponsors that were there have disappeared. No company is willing to work with the current committee because most of them are not competent,” he said.
For her part, WIM Kgalalelo Botlhole said she shares the same sentiments with Kheto. “He summed it up quite well. The current committee members even participate in tournaments outside the country while they fail to hold events in Botswana,” she said. Thompson Modisane (technical director) played in a tournament in South Africa over the weekend," she added. When asked about her participation in the national team, Botlhole explained that she has not quit. “The team is selected every year.
I decided not to participate in the selection tournament so the new team was selected from the said event. I did not participate due to unfairness issues regarding the addition of a player who had not taken part in the first qualifiers,” Botlhole said. Speaking to Mmegi Sport regarding his resignation, Dikgang admitted that as the executive committee, they have failed the chess community. “We have failed the chess community; we did not offer people what they expected and we did not deliver what chess normally offers,” he said. Dikgang said there should be no excuse but to admit that they have failed to deliver and that chess deserves better.
“I am a life coach, a motivational speaker and a teacher. Before being elected into office, I did not have a lot of responsibilities but now I am getting a lot of invites. I have a lot of responsibilities and in some instances, I failed to attend BCF executive committee meetings. I felt BCF deserved more than what I was offering.
I felt it was fair to hand over to someone else,” he said. Dikgang said his location, being Francistown also made it difficult for him to carry out his duties. BCF president, Mooketsi Segaise confirmed receiving Dikgang’s resignation. “You know, you would always want to keep your team but if various reasons cannot be attained then there is nothing much one can do but just accept. It is not easy volunteering one’s services and making sacrifices at the expense of your bread and butter matters,” Segaise said.
He said the only way forward is to co-opt three individuals into the executive committee. Responding to concerns about the way chess is run, Segaise said there is a lot his committee has done. "The position I hold does not allow me to take issues personally. I did not want to engage myself in this, but tell me something here, where was Metropolitan when we assumed office? Where was Botho University? Did we not manage to retain Botash? Had you ever heard of M.Suresh Company Botswana Year Opener? Had you ever heard of High Commission of India Youth Event and the scholarship opportunities brought about by same? Did any of my predecessors ever have to operate under such a hostile environment, both financially and or otherwise?" he asked rhetorically.
"When you want to constructively critic someone you need to consider all the circumstances and ask yourself this, ceteris paribus (all things being equal) would things have been this or that way," he added.