Two to slug it out for BRU presidency
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday February 17, 2016 14:49
Clubs are eagerly awaiting the contest after incumbent, Elijah Jones opted not to seek another term.
Botho Riders’ chairperson, Simon Kanaimba said his club wants to see new leadership taking over at BRU. He said Gilbert has a good track record which speaks volumes about his achievements over the years. He said being the vice president of African Rugby (CAR) also shows the kind of a leader he is. Kanaimba said that would make it easy for him to address BRU issues with CAR.
“He is yet to meet our club and sell us his plans. We have already met the other candidate, Munya Mhonda. We were impressed by some of the things he said,” Kanaimba said.
He added that people must be aware that when they vote people into office, they would be there for four years. He warned that elections should not be about friendship, but about the quality of the candidate.
BDF Cheetahs chairperson, Modesto Madzambi told Mmegi Sport that Gilbert deserves to be given another chance to lead the BRU. He said during his tenure, rugby did well.
One rugby official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Cheetahs and Rhinos have been at the helm of the development of rugby in the country.
He said on the other hand, Riders have influence due to the Botho University student population. He said Gaborone Hogs should not be overlooked as they have the resources.
“We just came from a leadership that was in the hands of Hogs and we are at crossroads because of that. We have more than 100 government schools playing rugby and only a few English medium schools. Government schools have been ignored and that should change,” he said.
Regarding rugby sponsorship, he said the sport needs someone who has had an interaction with the sport before. He said companies are falling over each other to sponsor Hogs because they have a relationship with the club.
The official said in 2010 when Bob Lekan took over the presidency, Hogs threatened to pull out of the league and went to the extent of removing their players from the national team.
“They changed their minds when Lekan became a member of Hogs. Now we see Dave Gilbert saying he wants to save rugby. Our sport does not need saving, it needs new ways of doing things,” he said.