Actual bid book cost was P43m – Rakgare
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday March 30, 2024 06:00
While there was a public outcry over the cost of the bid book at P61 million, Rakgare said the actual cost was P43 million, with the rest of the money going to government coffers as tax. He said the whole bidding process did not cost the country P72 million as per the reports, adding he will soon share the proper figures with the President and Cabinet. "The P61 million spent on the consultant to develop the Bid Book included a significant amount of tax. The actual cost was P43 million and the rest is tax that returned to government coffers," Rakgare said in an interview this week.
“I understand when people complain because there are other demanding things that we should do but sport is equally important. If we had won the bid, between now and 2027, Botswana was not going to be the same. Our people were going to make money and improve service delivery. The bid created hope for young players because at the moment, football in this country is a mess. Players are losing hope in football. I wanted to create a platform for them to be seen,” he added. Rakgare said it was a bold step to bid. “We did well according to the facilities inspection report; we were ranked number two with 65% behind Algeria. Those who were asking how we can bid with the kind of facilities we have, do not know that Qatar won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup without stadiums. That argument was baseless, ill-informed; people need to understand the processes of bidding and we had government support. The world has seen that we had interest. Unfortunately, Namibia pulled out at the last minute,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rakgare did not resist the temptation to take a dig at football authorities following recent leadership troubles, particularly at the Botswana Football League (BFL). Rakgare has been accused of meddling in football issues and reports are that he has a frosty relationship with the Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Maclean Letshwiti. However, he said that while they differ with Letshwiti, they talk and that it is normal to view things differently. “I will always say my views on football. Nobody in this country can say things are fine in our football. It is not my responsibility but the responsibility of the BFA national executive committee to fix things. The Botswana Premier League (BFL) is under the BFA, so the BFA should take control. You cannot have people doing anything they want with our football. It is wrong; the BFA should take charge. People must understand that government interference is where a minister would say to a president of the BFA on who to hire as a national team coach, who should be the technical sponsor, or dictate where the national team plays its matches,” he said.
Rakgare explained that what he is doing is expressing disapproval of what is happening in local football, which is a threat to progress. “Do you want to tell me that Nicholas Zakhem and Jagdish Shah are suffering? No, they are not. This thing is not affecting them at all. If people were genuine because they were saying they had the best interest of our football at heart, they would have resigned. When people do not want you, you go,” he lashed. Rakgare said it is not a secret that he is not happy about what is happening in football and he emphasised that he is not interfering. He said if football leadership is not happy, they can report him to FIFA. He said what he wants is for the BFA to account and he cannot allow lawlessness in football. Read Rakgare's full interview on Page ...