Political hand influenced AFCON bid?
Mqondisi Dube | Monday April 7, 2025 09:26
Sources close to the process, which is now a subject of investigation by Parliament, said there was advise from technocrats against going ahead with the bid after Namibia pulled out at the last minute. Instead, bidding for the 2029 edition was seen as a more realistic target. Botswana and Namibia had agreed to launch a joint bid for the 2027 tournament, but the neighbouring country opted out citing other pressing commitments. It emerged this week, through Namibia's executive director of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts, and culture, Erastus Haitengela, who told a press briefing in his country that a 'dramatic' rise in costs forced a re-think. Namibia told Botswana it was withdrawing from the joint bid due to a drought, which required substantial financial commitments. But Haitengela said the budget adjustment, which rose from an initial N$31.5 million (approx. P23.5million) to N$116 million (approx. P86million) was too drastic and necessitated Windhoek's change of heart. Botswana was to bear 60% of the budget, with Namibia taking care of the remaining 40%. Further, the two countries were due to take care of facilities upgrades in their countries, with the combined budget estimated at more than P20 billion. Despite Namibia withdrawing late in the bidding process, Botswana opted to proceed with the project.
Sources within the bid committee indicate that there was no way the project could be abandoned at the last minute as it was seen as a timely boost for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). 'This was seen as a legacy project for the BDP. It was going to boost their profile, with Botswana hosting the AFCON,' a source said. It is said that despite advice from technocrats on the possibility of bidding for the 2029 AFCON tournament, this was turned down as it would have come after former president Mokgweetsi Masisi's two-year term in 2028, had the BDP won the 2024 elections. 'The bid committee could only advise but it was up to government to take that advice. Even if we say the bid committee had advised that they continue with the process after Namibia dropped out, it was now up to the government to make a final determination after conducting due diligence, particularly on the finances,' the source said. The Former Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, is on record saying the benefits far outweighed the costs, as hosting the AFCON finals would have fast-tracked infrastructure development and created much-needed jobs. Botswana's Parliament recently agreed to investigate the process, chiefly due to the P61 million spent on the bid book. South African company architects, Ruben Reddy compiled the 569-page, three volume document which was produced in haste due to tight CAF deadlines. 'There were debates on utilising the services of an external consultant or to proceed without. There were others who felt that processes like facilities audit could be conducted by a local team. But due to time constraints, some felt an experienced consultant was required,' the source added.
In hindsight, it is reported that some members felt that there were some detail, which could have been omitted from the bid book, although there would still have come at a later stage had the bid been successful. 'The stadia graphics come at a huge cost and if you look at the winning bid from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, probably there was not much detail. Botswana went all out. There were a lot of specifics in the bid book,' the source said. Responding to concerns raised by Namibia over the 'dramatic' changes in the budget, lead consultant, Ruben Reddy, said there were two figures representing different stages of the bid process. 'The two figures they refer to are for two different undertakings and two distinct appointments which we competitively tendered for and submitted to the bid committee. The first was to undertake a facilities audit and the second was to prepare and deliver a competitive bid book and prepare presentations to the evaluation team,' he told MmegiSport yesterday. Reddy said they have not received any notification for the intention to investigate the bid. Former bid committee chairperson, Ashford Mamelodi, said he could not comment on the matter as it was now under investigation. 'I am uncomfortable with making it seem like we are creating a parallel investigation to that of Parliament. I am inclined to allow the Parliamentary Committee and/or Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime to do its work and only after they conclude, should we really delve into this matter. This is out of respect to the parliamentary process,' Mamelodi said.
Rakgare, meanwhile, told Duma FM on Wednesday he was ready to face the inquiry, reiterating his innocence. In a brief interview, Rakgare said he could not comment as the matter was a subject of investigation.