Nervous BBA's Bumpy Road To Compliance
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday July 27, 2020 16:22
BBA has been on the wrong side of the Registrar of Societies for some time after failing to meet certain requirements needed to ensure full compliance.
It has been three years since the association was compliant with the Registrar.
Speaking to The Monitor Sport, BBA public relations officer, Modisaotsile Badubi said the Registrar has turned down the association on numerous occasions due to certain loopholes.
“We only realised that the association did not submit the returns when we pushed for a constitution amendment. It emerged that BBA last submitted returns in 2017, even before that there are a number of years where the association did not submit its returns,” Badubi said.
“It has been a very trying process, tracking down the paperwork from years back. Some of the former committee members are not involved with the sport anymore, which made it difficult for us. In the last update we got last week, the Registrar is still processing our submission, so we remain hopeful.”
Badubi said the committee, which was voted into office in February, has drafted a number of changes to the constitution that was last amended in 1999.
These include extension of the committee’s tenure from three to four years while they have reduced the number of executive committee members from nine to seven.
“We had to align with the new Sport Commission Act hence these changes. There is also the issue of membership, in the new constitution. We only allow club membership not individual membership. So it is the club that has the power in our meetings, not individuals as in the past. All these changes were made to be in line with BNSC (Botswana National Sport Commission) Act and the BWF (Badminton World Federation),” he said.
Meanwhile, BBA is drafting a new sporting calendar as they eye a return to the courts in August.
“We were disturbed by COVID-19. BNSC had allowed us to return to training, but were not clear on the competitions. After the last directive, our technical team has been working hard finalising our calendar and ensuring that we meet all the requirements as per the government COVID-19 regulations. By next month, we will have a clear plan on our competitions,” Badubi said.
Over the weekend, in a virtual BWF virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM), umpire, Gagothata ‘Mbi’ Modigela became the first local BWF accredited line judge.
Modigela joins a pool of more than 100 BWF line judges who are bidding to officiate at the 2021 Olympic Games.