Bid committee closes shop
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday October 21, 2023 06:00
Bid committee chairperson, Ashford Mamelodi indicated last month that their tour of duty will end on September 30, three days after CAF decided on the winning bid.
“We will, however, extend by a few days if need be,” he said at the time the committee was preparing to leave for Cairo where the bid announcement was made.
This week, Mamelodi said the committee had officially disbanded. “Yes, Bidco has officially disbanded, although we are committed to completing the (financial) report before we go our different ways,” Mamelodi said. “We are convening this weekend for that purpose. We would then submit to designers and printers upon receipt of the audit report.
Once we have received the final report, it will be submitted to the Honourable Minister Rakgare,” he added. During a press briefing held before CAF’s announcement, Mamelodi said a financial audit detailing how the funds had been used, would be made public. The most expensive exercise the committee undertook was the production of the bid book, which cost P61 million. South African consultants, Ruben Reddy Architects were tasked with compiling the 569-page document.
The same company also carried out a facilities audit in both Botswana and Namibia, which cost the two countries over P2 million. The bid committee also undertook trips within the continent in a bid to convince CAF executive members to vote in favour of Botswana. Initially, Namibia was part of a joint bid known as BoNa, an acronym drawn from the countries’ first two letters. But the western neighbour pulled out indicating it was re-prioritising financial resources due to a looming drought. Botswana decided to press ahead with a solo effort that ended in heartbreak on September 27 when CAF announced the East African bid as the winner.
The BoNa bid has not been officially closed and Mamelodi said officials from the two countries have to meet to reconcile books. “We will endeavour to also finalise the BoNa report, but we would have to convene a meeting with colleagues in Namibia to finalise and also submit,” Mamelodi said. He did not give a time from as to when the public should expect the audit report, which will give a detailed report of how funds were used. “The financial audit will depend on how soon the auditors have finished.
Please remember that final reports will depend on the finalisation of the audit as it is a part of the final report,” he said. In its bid book, Botswana had promised to build three new facilities in Gabane, Maun, and Kasane, while upgrading three existing stadia, the National Stadium, Lobatse Sports Complex, and Obed Itani Chilume Stadium.
The bid reportedly fell short as assessors felt there was limited time to construct new facilities from scratch, while there were also concerns about the absence of a five-star hotel in Gaborone.