Karate mulls funeral scheme
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday November 4, 2015 15:54
The proposal is the brainchild of former BOKA president, Tshepo Bathai, but did not see the light of the day due to the internal bickering that had engulfed the association during his tenure.
BOKA president, David Mathe said he felt the proposal was brilliant and could work. He told Mmegi Sport yesterday the proposal had not been concluded and added that it was not discarded. He said BOKA was working on the idea particularly its modalities.
Mathe said they have to agree if it would only be targeted at national team members or all BOKA members. He said national team members were already covered under the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC). Mathe said it would be impossible to exclude members of the association in the envisaged funeral scheme.
He said: “We cannot have a scheme that exclude other members. When the proposal was brought up, it suggested that it should only cover national team members. That is why it is taking long for it to be concluded. We should cater for active karatekas because if anything happens to them it is our responsibility.”
He said some of the modalities to be considered include how premiums would be paid; usually a member pays a certain percentage and the rest is paid by the organisation. Normally, there is a special rate given to group membership.
The premium is low when the scheme is for a group and that would enable more members to benefit. The BOKA president said before they agree on the scheme, they should engage an expert on funeral schemes to guide the association. He said athletes should have a peace of mind when they embark on activities knowing that they are protected under the scheme. Mathe said after the committee has agreed on everything, members would be brought on board and informed on the developments.