Mooketsi wants incentives for athletics coaches

Calistus Kolantsho | Friday March 31, 2017 15:30

BAA holds elections tomorrow, but Mooketsi is already assured of the top post as he is unopposed.

Contests are expected for the positions of secretary general, public relations officer and vice president.

Thari said it was important that the BNSC policy on incentives includes national team coaches. He said at the moment, there is a gap in the policy because it only caters for athletes, leaving out the technical team.

“There should be a coaches’ symposium where they can share experiences and map the way forward.  I am aware that it is not going to be an overnight change because it is a long process. Policy change should include all stakeholders including Parliament,” he said.

He said coaches are doing their job out of passion, but have always been complaining about incentives.

Mooketsi said it was long overdue for BAA to have a full time secretariat. He said the association has grown and it should be given the mandate to run its own affairs.

“I once made a draft to the BNSC that BAA should be treated at the same level as Botswana Football Association (BFA). We should have our chief executive officer who can run the secretariat.  I even suggested that there be a national coach and regional coaches,” he said.

Regarding the resignation of the previous executive committee members, Mooketsi said he expected them to leave office as a sign of solidarity.

 He said the moment a motion of no confidence was passed on the secretary general, it was a good thing for all of them to go.

The previous committee was left with two years to complete their term and the incoming committee would be given a two-year term.

Mooketsi was BAA president between 2011 and 2013 before he resigned. He admitted that during his tenure, the association was embroiled in infighting. 

“I was not able to deliver on my mandate due to that. We did not agree on a lot of things. They wanted kick-backs in the sense that they expected that after I was elected into office, they wanted something from me.

They wanted me to abuse my powers and misuse funds. I survived many motions of no-confidence until a point when I decided to resign,” he said.

Mooketsi said the other aspect they should focus on is to develop clubs. He said BAA has 18 affiliates but only four are surviving. He said the other clubs only exist on paper. He said active clubs should be able to participate in all activities.

“You find that even clubs that belong to people who are running the association are not active.

We want one-on-one meetings with individual clubs. This would be more of an audit. We want to understand their challenges and assist where possible as an association,” Mooketsi said.

Mooketsi started his involvement in athletics in 1976 as a tennis player. He played tennis for three years before moving into administration. He has been an administrator in football, softball and volleyball besides athletics.