Softball's New Mouthpiece Quits
Correspondent | Monday May 10, 2021 15:41
Jonas was voted into the position during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held last month. He had accepted the nomination despite being the PRO for Botswana Integrated Sport Association (BISA). According to a statement from BSA, it was unethical for him to hold the same position in two organisations.
“In accordance with article 12.3 (iii) of the BSA constitution, the President would call a special general meeting for bye elections. In the meantime, the committee is looking into the possibility of finding a suitable candidate to perform the duties that fall under the portfolio in question, while waiting for the bye elections,” the statement reads in part.Speaking to Sport Monitor, Jonas said people should not worry about what happened. He explained that his resignation is an issue of proper governance and ethical conduct. For his part, BSA president, Katlholo Mosimanegape said Jonas informed him two days after elections that he has reflected on his nomination. “Having reflected, ethically he found it to be wrong to be holding the same position in two National Sport Associations (NSAs) that fall under the same mother body, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC). I did not know that he was the PRO for BISA when he accepted the nomination,” he said.
Mosimanegape said he then asked Jonas whether he was not aware of what he was doing, but the explanation was that he thought it was not wrong, because BSA and BISA are two different associations.
“I then advised him that since that was his position, he should forgo one position not necessarily softball. But it came from him that he has been with BISA for a longer period and he could not dump it for softball. I took that formally to the executive committee and we agreed to let him go, although it was unfortunate that it happened a few days after our AGM,” he said.
Mosimanegape also said it is expensive to call another meeting for a single nomination.
He said for now they have to move on and someone should take over the responsibilities of a PRO.
He explained that since these are first days of the three-year term, the constitution does not allow anybody to be co-opted. He said the appointment could only be done towards the end of the term. He added that the situation could also be an Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) resolution.
“We cannot afford to spend funds on setting up a virtual meeting just for a single nomination. Technology is expensive. For now we should wait for OGM towards the end of the year. During the AGM, there were two candidates, but there is no automatic takeover right now. Unless if he withdrew on the floor during the elections,” Mosimanegape said.