Open letter to Chiefs� Letshwiti

Dennis Keagile | Friday August 22, 2014 12:31

Rre Letshwiti it is a year now since Mochudi Centre Chiefs has embarked on a new dispensation following the coming on board of property magnate and investor, Said Jamal.

Some, with much fanfare and others with reservation, greeted his association. Not that they did not want the new dispensation, but because some felt you were not transparent enough on the nitty-gritties of the whole thing. I will take it that that chapter has passed.

However, since last year many within the football community are yet to know what your vision and mission of this new dispensation are.  There is hope for the best. At the same time we are left guessing the next course of action.

I have said in the past that share your blueprint so that people can dream with you and follow you. Regrettably you have been too quiet Rre Letshwiti.

Does this mean that you are not sure of the marriage or is there some work lagging behind to finalise the deal? 

You know Chiefs has a bad history of starting something good, but never seeing it to the end. In 1999 when you came on board with the likes of Kgafela Kgafela you made us dream, only for the unthinkable to happen. You abandoned ship while midstream. The transformation was stillborn.

I think you are aware that the formation of Chiefs in 1972 was to bring a difference to Botswana football not only in the way of team play, but also of equally in the way the club is managed.

You will recall attempts by some to have the name Mochudi removed with the hope that the team appeals more to the larger community, even nationally. This was deemed an act of cowardice. This is a dream that for many years many have tried to pursue, but without much success.

You will also agree that at its formation Chiefs was labelled a nuisance to the status quo. I do not want to open old wounds or step on anyone’s toes, but just to capture some of the historic moments of the club you ought to have an all-inclusive approach.

Some people have too many historical scars about the club and you ought to cater for them one way or another.

Chiefs has ridden many storms, including a bogus sale in the past. Ever since then Chiefs has become one of the few things that tend to bind the community of Kgatleng together, although should not be limited to that. It has become specifically part and parcel of the community of Mochudi and as such gets the support of the village.

But Rre Letshwiti, you and Jamali ought to come out into the open and share with supporters your grand plan for the club, both the short term and long term. At the moment many are left guessing.

In this era of information technology, communication should be easy.

Another concern Rre Letshwiti is the constant firing and changing of your secretariat.  After advice from FIFA development officer, Ashford Mamelodi, sometime last year I was of the view that by now Chiefs would be somewhere in terms of having a solid structure. Instead we are still operating the old fashioned way. Yes results could be yielded, but not professionally.

Why is it so difficult to have office bearers? Please let the club have full time office bearers who can manage the day-to-day affairs of the club. You and the other board members ought to be focusing on the strategic direction of the club and its growth.

The other calling is the club’s involvement within the Kgatleng regional structures.  As a Premier League side you need not lose sight of this role.

Perhaps you ought to have a management structure and a board, all made up of different people. 

The people in the board should not to be the same people in the management. Simply restructure to have a structure made up of chairperson, technical manager and such other positions that could be deemed necessary.

The clock is ticking, Rre Letshwiti and it is time you come out in the open. Your silence is concerning. I am quite certain a majority of not only Chiefs supporters but the football community, would like to know about the transformation that you plan to bring to Botswana football.

You should not think that you are accountable to Chiefs supporters only, but also the football community at large. I am sure Tebogo Sebego and Keith Masters at the Botswana Football Association including the Premier League are eagerly waiting to hear about the grand plan.

Power is addictive and sometimes it is not easy to let go of.