Vote of Confidence for Mamelodi: Good or Bad move?

Thuso Palai | Wednesday June 24, 2015 15:17

The Assembly made the major decision to retain BPL CEO Bennet Mamelodi and offer him a new contract. This is a great show of confidence on someone who has at times been in the firing line. Negotiations for a new contract are underway. Good or Bad more to retain him? The jury is out.

The two issues that were the major talking points were the BPL Financials and the position of CEO. Despite some murmurs here and there of discontent Mamelodi was given the green light to continue in the position. This was a great show of confidence on Mamelodi who has a love-hate relationship with many in the football circles. Some have been calling for his head, saying the rot at the BPL has increased since taking over, while some have been singing his praises, saying he has done a lot to improve the BPL and its operations. The reasons advanced for both standpoints do make sense to some extent.

Firstly, those who are for him credit him for his efforts to professionalise the operations of the BPL office and the clubs. He has tried; in some areas in vain. On the whole, and despite his shortcomings, he has done relatively well. His business mindedness has resulted in the League being more commercial and the profile of the League enhanced. He has secured bit-part sponsorships here and there for the BPL, like the under-utilised deal with the Peermont Global. This was a noble initiative that seems to have not been a favourite with many clubs. Despite the negativity that has at times gripped the BPL, there has not been many postponements of games like in seasons past and the League ended at a reasonable time. We have had it worse in the past. 

Then there are those who have qualms about Mamelodi and the way that he goes about his business. One sticky issue that came up at the weekend but was said in hushed tones was the high entertainment and massive phone bills for the CEO’s office. One delegate was heard saying, ‘ke yone tshenyo e ke buang ka yone e’. Well, I take it when someone says something behind closed doors, when it should be said out in the open, then it probably means it is not that important. And Yes, there will always be those hush-hush murmurs of Corruption from some quarters. But if not proven, they will forever remain that, just murmurs.  There has also been cases of administration lapses which resulted in some protests and for a few weeks the name of the BPL being dragged in the mud.

Despite my misgivings about some matters, I personally feel that he should continue. For me, he has had more of a positive impact than a negative impact. Until and unless someone proves something untoward, I refuse to buy into conspiracy theories. We cannot be relying on suspicions and unproven theories all the time. Yes, at times I have a hunch, but a hunch is just that, a hunch. Despite my not agreeing with some decisions he has made since coming into office, I have appreciated the reasoning behind those decisions and have given him the benefit of the doubt. We cannot all agree on everything and if we were to fire everyone whose decisions we don’t like, then we would have a new CEO every month.

Notwithstanding that, Mamelodi still has some work to win back confidence from some quarters. He will have to redeem himself and regain trust. He can do that by ensuring that he avoids the silly blunders that once in a while bedevil his office. So for me; a somewhat Good move to retain him, but with some reservations.