BNOC strikes out Gymnastics membership
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday December 18, 2015 12:21
The decision was taken after investigation revealed the non-existent of the federation.
The BNOC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho told Mmegi Sport yesterday they could have long terminated the membership in May but were advised by the general membership to investigate more before implementing the decision.
He said the investigations revealed that the federation did not exist and did not have a committee or activities.
Serufho said BGF always caused confusion because it was appearing in BNOC register, but never pitched for meetings.
“That caused confusion because in some instances we failed to form a quorum,” he said. “We had to do something about that and our members agreed with us.”
Serufho said other codes such as rowing and triathlon, which were formed during the Africa Youth Games, still existed. He said it was the brainchild of the BNOC for the codes to be established because they were part of the programme of the games and it was only proper for Batswana to take part in them. He said BNOC was assisting the codes through getting assistance from the International Olympic solidarity. He said if the codes were interested in getting funding from government, they should affiliate with Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC).
Meanwhile, BNSC chairperson, Solly Reikeletseng has cautioned BNSC affiliates to abide by the rules in order to avoid being de-registered.
Despite that, Reikeletseng said affiliates were struck off the register if they failed to abide by the requirements of the Registrar of Societies. He said for a code to be registered at the Registrar of Societies, it should have 10 or more clubs. He said affiliates were expected to have activities and to submit their returns to the Registrar of Societies to avoid penalties. He said affiliates could be struck off the roll if they put the name of sport in disrepute.
Reikeletseng said before an affiliate could be struck off, the BNSC offered assistance, which could include forming a committee to focus on solving the problem of the code.
He said the code could then apply for membership at the BNSC and then receive provincial membership. The application would be forwarded to BNSC general meeting where the applicant has to make a presentation. He said the code took a year without receiving BNSC grant.
“During that period, we will be assessing your activities to make sure that the code is serious,” he said.
The BNSC would like to have more affiliates as a part of sport development. When asked about facilities, Reikeletseng said Botswana had facilities to cover most sporting codes.
Meanwhile, Reikeletseng explained that some codes were not part of the just ended Botswana Games that were held in Francistown. He said that was due to lack of facilities in the city.