Compliant BNSC affiliates get grant relief
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday February 9, 2018 11:01
The resolution was adopted during the Sports Pitso held at the Majestic Five hotel in Palapye last weekend.
The Pitso resolved that up to 30% of the annual grant will be given to National Sport Associations (NSAs), provided they meet accounting compliance requirements. The BNSC has been assigned to create accounts for NSAs for effective management of grants. Under the previous arrangement, the BNSC took care of all NSAs grants, and disbursed as per request.
However, NSAs felt it was a laborious process and BNSC took forever to release funds hence a shift to the new arrangement.
BNSC chief executive officer, Falcon Sedimo said some of the NSAs have met the requirement of appointing treasurers who are Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) members while others are still struggling. He said NSAs that have not met the requirement, have requested for a waiver but BNSC refused to badge.
“We cannot bend and give them a waiver. One does not need to have knowledge of a certain sport in order to control their finances. We must push and see how far we can go,” he said. Sedimo said the requirement does not emphasise BICA membership only but there are other attributes expected of the treasurer. Sedimo said the April deadline might seem close, but that is what was agreed with the affiliates. He said the BNSC would have to come up with other arrangements, in case some affiliates fail to meet the deadline.
Botswana Golf Union (BGU) president, Enoch Mushango, however, does not agree with the new arrangement.
“Many NSAs do not have offices to operate from. That is a risk. So it is important to prepare federations for this first. Setting up the right foundations is key. My view is that we should get the environment right first,” Mushango said.
Furthermore, Mushango said BNSC has a Vision 2028 from which activities are determined.
“BNSC budget emanates from costing of these activities which are steps towards the Vision. However, government funding for sports depends on government priorities as per its budget which is currently in deficit,” he said.
Mushango said consequently, BNSC never gets funds that are proportionate to needs. He said that shows urgent need for other sources that could only be attained with innovation and creativity from the sporting fraternity. He said the bulk release of funds would go a long way in assisting with operational funds for NSAs’ part. He argued that possibility of misuse increases when there is access to more money.
“If BNSC improved its operations and process to be more flexible, there would be no need for NSAs to cry foul,” he said.
Mushango said the National Lottery proposed by Gambling Authority is flattering. He said if properly implemented, it could make up for the BNSC budget shortfall. He added that lottery is a long-term target.
Botswana Integrated Sport Association (BISA) president, Joshua Gaothobogwe said it was high-time that NSAs controlled their own grants.
“We used to face a tough task when we needed to access our grants from BNSC. The process to get the funds was slow. We deal with different businesses and BNSC was taking long to pay them which made us look bad,” he said.
When asked about performance based funding, Gaothobogwe said associations have agreed that there should be a committee that looks into the matter. He said that would mean grants are distributed according to the performance of the code.
“Integrities of codes differ and they should not be compared. There is nothing like a small code,” Gaothobogwe said. Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) secretary general, Ernest Mantsi said the new model would improve turnaround time for service delivery.
“It is not complicated to endorse and manage provided we have treasurers who are accountants in order to maintain accountability,” Mantsi said.