BAA president refuses to bow to TK
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday May 24, 2019 12:04
On Wednesday, BAA had it with the minister over the failed World Relays trip.
Mooketsi boldly accused the minister of not telling the truth.
Khama and Mooketsi clashed during a press conference at the Ministry’s headquarters. The team failed to travel to Yokohama, Japan for the World Relays. Mooketsi said Khama was not telling the truth and therefore, BAA was not going to admit to any wrongdoing.
“(The) Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) deposited (money) into the BAA account late and there was nothing we could do,” he charged.
“We tried to get assistance from the Japanese Embassy, but we failed. Flight tickets were never bought and if you have them show them to us as evidence that indeed you wanted to assist us.”
He said it was not the first time that they failed to attend an international competition due to lack of support from the BNSC. He said so far the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has fined them P120, 000 for failing to attend a competition and they are expecting the same to happen again.
However, Khama said after the team failed to make it to Japan, the Ministry gave BAA an opportunity to explain what had transpired. “I instructed BNSC to carry out an investigation and we have figured out what happened and where the challenges lay. BAA failed to go to the bank and collect money to pay for the visas. They did not get there on time to pay for the visas at the Japanese Embassy according to the final analysis,” he said.
Khama added that everything that happened before did not hinder the trip from taking place. He said if associations do not respect athletes, nobody would respect them. He said the development was a huge let down for athletes who have been training for the relays.
“Our athletes are professionals and they are not trying their luck. The commitment that the BAA could have put into honouring that obligation, to be at the bank on time, withdraw the money and pay for the visas, was the last opportunity for the athletes to travel to Japan,” he said.
Khama admitted that there were prior delays. He said nothing was going to deny the athletes the opportunity to travel. He said sport should be taken seriously and if associations are not delivering, athletes are the ones who suffer.
“It is a let down for the country, athletes and for our reputation. I have instructed BNSC to take disciplinary action against BAA. They should come back to report on that investigation and take corrective measures on them,” Khama said.
The minister said that is the least they could do for the athletes and there is need for an apology to the athletes. Meanwhile, Khama said he was concerned that certain logistics are done at the last minute.
“There is a series of challenges, including the request time and the time it takes to respond. In the end, one issue led to the delay of another and you have the domino effect,” he said. He said what could have solved everything was the BAA having met the Wednesday deadline. Khama said bureaucracy should be removed from the system.
“There are places where unfortunately it is embedded. When we talk about the reputation of the country, we have to decide if it is working for us or not. So many times we hide behind bureaucracy because it serves us right to do so,” he said.
BNSC chief executive officer, Falcon Sedimo said it should be established when the BAA submitted the request to BNSC.
“The process takes about a week. We know of some sport codes that have diminished their grants and are unable to pay athletes,” he said.
Sedimo said for international competitions, codes should apply four weeks in advance. He said they received the BAA request on May 7, which was late and they processed it on the same day.
Sedimo said it was a race against time. He added that they are going to trigger disciplinary action against BAA.