Serufho: BNOC targets are attainable

| Friday August 6, 2010 00:00

Mmegi: You are almost five months into your job, how is the going so far?

Serufho: It has been hectic I would say, but I am enjoying every bit of it. I do everything with a lot of passion because I would like to see change. I do not want to leave at the end of the day without any notable changes in the organisation. It is not up to me to blow my own trumpet, go mo go lona le sechaba (It is up to you and the public) to judge what I am doing at BNOC.

Mmegi: What major changes have you effected since you assumed office in February?

Serufho: We have made a couple of changes. Our members have endorsed our strategy. We have been developing policies that will guide and help us as we move on. We have been able to tackle many operational challenges been faced by the BNOC in the past by way of advancing resources, both human and financial. Even the performance of the athletes has improved greatly. Although we cannot compare youth games with other major events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, I think our young team did a great job in Morocco.  We have never surpassed three medals at any given competition, and they brought six. To me this is a sign of improvement and we will work hard to help maintain and improve the performance of our athletes in future.

Mmegi: Would you say the resources (financial and human) are enough? 

Serufho: Financial resources are never enough. We are currently surviving on grants from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the government. The Commonwealth Federation also helps us with some financial resources here and there. With human resources, we have been able to complement our staff. Three more people joined after I arrived and we currently have a staff compliment of 11. However there are other positions that we want to fill, that of marketing and communications and programmes officer (technical). You will realise that these are very crucial positions. We want out marketing and communications manager to create a good, bold image of the organisation so that it can be easier to attract strategic partners and sponsors. The programmes officer (technical) will be responsible for interrogating programmes set for our athletes, working with the affiliates to make sure we are able to pull out the talented athletes from the lot. So, we will take it from there after filling these positions, taking into consideration the critical areas where we are lacking as well as the availability of financial resources. We are also exploring ways of generating our own income to complement the grants we receive from the IOC and to reduce our dependency on government.

Mmegi: How far have are you gone in forming strategic partnerships and attracting sponsors?

Serufho: We are currently in negotiations with many stakeholders. We have approached others while other organisations have approached us. We are exploring possibilities, creating relationships that will benefit us in future. We recently started a partnership with the Canadian Commonwealth Association. They have sent an intern to work with us and we hope it will be a very beneficial relationship.

Mmegi: Are you satisfied with the level of preparations ahead of major competitions?

Serufho: Most of our athletes are pursuing their education. We are always going to make sure we strike a balance between their academic and sports pursuits. However, we make sure they prepare well by integrating existing programmes at their bases (schools). We lay down instructions that prepare them for competition. This makes it easy for them to gel well when they camp to prepare for competitions.

Mmegi: But this still brings some challenges, especially as far as teamwork is concerned, for example, relay teams. How far are you with the idea of an Olympic village to make preparations much easier?

Serufho: It is still in the pipeline. We have been allocated land in Lobatse for the Olympic village, but we want to focus on completing our headquarters in Gaborone first. We have already invited tenders for developing the headquarters. We have an Olympic fund for the African continent. It has an initiative on the pipeline to develop some training facilities in Botswana.

Mmegi: Do you think the vision for London 2012 and beyond is attainable?

Serufho: Yes, I think we can attain the targets we have set ourselves if we stick to our strategy. These youngsters (Africa Youth Games team) are very much part of the plan. All of them are under 17 years old and they will reach their peak after the 2012 London Olympics. The long-term athletics development plan will complement the London 2012 and beyond plan. With these two plans, we will be able to have a broad pool of athletes to see us into the future and help us succeed and bring home the targeted medals.