BNSC approves BAA secretariat request
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday July 8, 2016 14:42
BNSC chairperson, Solly Reikeletseng said they have approved the request.
“We have approved their request. We are now left with finding resources for the secretariat. The structure is already in place and the minister (of youth, sport and culture) has given us his blessing,” Reikeletseng said.
BAA vice president, Glody Dube told Mmegi Sport yesterday that the BNSC had long promised to hire a chief executive officer for the association. He said athletics has grown and it needs special attention. He said at the moment the office is run by volunteers who have jobs elsewhere.
“We cannot be expected to leave our jobs so that we attend BAA business. BNSC is expecting results, but at times it is difficult for us. We need people who can focus on athletics,” he said.
Meanwhile, BAA has received P1.1 million as a BNSC grant for the 2016-2017 financial year. Dube said the amount was less than what they had requested, although he did not have their exact budget figure.
He said the grant comes at a time when the association’s bank account is running empty. He said the money has long been exhausted. He said the grant normally lasts them six months and the rest of the year, they run the association from their own pockets.
“It is painful that the larger chunk of the BNSC funding is channelled towards football and volleyball. The two codes are not doing anything for the country. You cannot even compare them with athletics,” said Dube.
Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) has received P1.08 million out of the P6 million they requested.
BOKA public relations officer, Sensei Jerry Ditlhong said they have always asked for almost the same amount, but never get it. He said it is a trend now at the BNSC to give BOKA lesser than they request. Ditlhong said it is going to be difficult to carry out some of their planned tasks.
“We just have to focus on doing all the necessary things such as making sure we attend competitions and national team training,” he said.
Ditlhong said the government is always encouraging sporting codes to seek sponsorship from the private sector, but that is difficult. He said karate is one of the successful codes in the country, but continues to operate without a sponsor.
Botswana Wrestling Federation (BWF) is the most hit getting a paltry P150,000, a decline from the P250,000 the previous year. BWF president, Moagi Sharp is a disappointed man, saying he does not even know where to start with such an amount.
He said the grant would last a few months.
“We just arrived from Namibia that means the grant is almost finished. We recently drew the BWF strategic plan and we wanted to implement it this financial year. That will not be possible,” said Sharp.
He said some of the items in the plan were to have wrestling centres in various primary schools across the country. He said the centres were to have qualified coaches and wrestling equipment. Sharp said the plan is to continue with grassroots development, but that would be difficult due to shortage of funds.