Records missing as athletes go unpaid
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday September 19, 2017 15:34
The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) did not keep copies of the records. Moses Raphutshe, who was the team manager, told Mmegi Sport that the delay is due to the absence of records. He said the records have gone missing after they were submitted to the BNSC for processing.
“The records went missing and unfortunately copies could not be found at the BAA office. The filing system at BAA office is a mess hence the situation we are in now. Incentives are paid depending on the times that the athletes have registered so if we do not have records, payment cannot be done,” he said.
Raphutshe said he met with the Mauritius Athletics Association president in London and requested him to send the records from the competition. He said up until the information is received, there is nothing that can be done about the allowances. “I had done my job as the team manager, together with the coach, we submitted the report. I do not know how they went missing. I was shocked to learn that the report was nowhere to be found. Right now we are stuck,” Raphutshe said.
Meanwhile, the athletes have been made to wait for their allowances following a training camp in Cardiff, in the run-up to August’s World Championships in London. Sources have said there is confusion regarding the status of the Cardiff camp, with the BAA arguing the camp was not official, and therefore will not attract any allowances.
“The camp was not official and we do not see the reason why they did not just camp at home and go straight to the World Championships from here. They should have gone to Cardiff on an invitation for some competition before the championships. But that was not the case,” the source said.
The source said the Cardiff camp is treated as a local camp and allowances should be paid in the local currency. But there are instances of discretion where athletes can be paid in US dollars.
“But then we would be setting a wrong precedence.
Next time when another team goes on the same camp, they will require the same treatment and we should not allow that,” the source added.
BAA additional member, Raphutse who was also the team manager in London, said the athletes have received allowances for the local and London camps.
“We are still waiting for the BAA leadership to determine the status of the Cardiff camp,” Raphutse said.