Athletics' woes persist as meeting adjourned

Calistus Kolantsho | Monday June 2, 2025 09:57

The meeting is expected to be held within 21 days. The BAA vice president-administration, Oabona Theetso said the meeting was discontinued following advice from their legal advisor, Tiroyaone Sedimo. 'The advisor said the meeting could not continue when the constitution that was used to guide the meeting was being questioned. If the meeting had continued, everything discussed would have been nullified hence the need to adjourn and seek clarity,' he said. No new date has been set for the meeting. The meeting came against a backdrop of tensions between the BAA and its affiliates amidst calls for a vote of no confidence on the committee.

In February, the Francistown Athletics Club wrote a letter to the BAA that was signed by 16 affiliates, where they expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the BAA committee was operating. “The BAA constitution was approved and validated by the Registrar of Societies before approval by the general assembly. Amendments to the constitution shall be approved if they have support of the two-thirds majority of the voting members present at the general assembly. The new constitution bears the stamp from the Department of Civil and National Registration Societies dated December 4, 2024. All this was done without the approval of the General Assembly,” the letter reads. The club demanded that the constitution should be recalled from the Registrar of Societies and lawful procedure should be followed with immediate effect. The letter went on to caution the BAA board not to operate with a constitution that has not been approved by the affiliates, and that they should resort back to the 2016 constitution, which is the only one that the affiliates deem legally in place.

“As affiliates, we also notice with disappointment that there are still some decisions made, actions taken outside some of the resolutions that were made in the November 2024 Special General Assembly. One of those is the selection of national teams, managers, and coaches,' the affiliates stated. Responding to the affiliates last month, the BAA general manager, Pinkie Wilson said there were some errors in the affiliates' letter, such as that the recent assembly of affiliates did not meet the quorum required for decision-making. She said the two-thirds majority required to form a quorum has not been met because some signatories to the letter were not members in good standing.

“Additionally, we have not been furnished with resolutions appointing the signatories to sign the letter,” Wilson said. She explained that the altering of the constitution is one that was authorised by affiliates during a Special General Meeting held on December 17, 2022, and January 28, 2023. She said a briefing was given at the AGM of March 1, 2024. Wilson said a committee was appointed to make changes to the constitution. “The decision to promulgate the committee was made with the understanding that it will serve the best interests of our association and the sport of athletics as a whole. We firmly believe that the constitution will provide a solid foundation for our collective efforts and will address many concerns raised by affiliates,” she said.