It gets worse at Gunners...committee resigns

Frederick KebadiretseStaff Writer
@Lobatse Stadium | Monday November 15, 2010 00:00

 

Submitting the resignation letter on behalf of the committee, former club chairperson Keorapetse Kgasa said they saw it fit as the committee to resign as they have failed to deliver on what they have been tasked to do as the club management. But the former chairman could not just resign before emptying a ton of internal problems he spent his entire term at the helm of the club trying to protect from reaching the public.

Kgasa told a gathering made mainly of supporters that he tried everything in his power to solve the club's multiple problems internally but after the supporters' recent loss of faith in his committee, he was left with no choice but to  wash the club's dirty linen in public.

He said he inherited a problem-engulfed team when he was co-opted to lead the Executive Committee following the club's Annual General Meeting (AGM) last year where they failed to elect a chairperson. 'What hurts me most is that I did not even stand for elections in this position. I was co-opted to lead the elected committee last year,' he said.

He said one major problem he identified once in the committee was in the finance division. He said Gunners does not have money nor generate any income as speculated by some supporters.

 He went on to point fingers at the then assistant manager and treasurer for their professional misconduct, which ended up costing them a sponsor, O3.

Under the O3 sponsorship which has been running for the 2nd season now, Gunners would  get P15, 000 monthly and 5% from the sales of the water.  Kgasa added that the other sponsor, Kim's Auto's contract had elapsed and they were not willing to renew the partnership. Kgasa went on to reveal that Pule Funeral Services who signed a P300, 000 sponsorship with Gunners at the beginning of the 2009/2010 season never delivered on their promise as the team never received anything in money from the company.

'We have not been working well as a Committee in financial issues. The treasurer was never cooperative, we would call him to executive committee meetings and he never showed up;  or even bothered to respond to our request,' he said.

Kgasa said the committee did not even have a clue where the money generated by the club like TV rights, the league prize money and money from other competitions like the Coca-Cola Cup went.

He said he tried to ignore the team's external politics and focus on getting the team into order but he could not do that anymore hence his resignation. Kgasa went on and talked about other problems the team is facing from the technical side to lack of functional structures and governing documents that can be used for smooth running of the club.

He revealed that the club was still using a constitution from 1973 when it was still known as LCS Extension Gunners and may face some possible penalties from the Registrar of Societies. He said since assuming office, they have been working hard particularly on the issues of the constitution but have been forced out before they could finish what they were doing.

On the resignation of coach Nare,  Kgasa said the former had turned himself into the club's spokesperson and discussed management issues in public; a thing he was given several warnings against.

He said he wrote Nare a final warning letter last year after assuming office but decided to get time to study him. He said tactically, Nare is without doubt a very good coach who has proven himself and probably the best coach Gunners can ever have, but his professional misconduct has always been a cause for concern. Nare resigned from the club last week following players' boycott of training over unpaid allowances as the reason.

Kgasa said the club's financial problems deepened after all sponsors pulled out and they started having problems paying players on time, a thing that has been attributed to the current hurly-burly at the club. He said after the team's good showing at the beginning of the current season, sponsors were willing to come on board  but everything collapsed as speculations of problems looming at the club emerged.

The committee then left the top table empty forcing the supporters to elect in a new committee with immediate effect. Ludo Kemoeng was elected in as new chairperson assisted by Terror Mokwena as Vice-chairperson. The gathering failed to fill the  positions of secretary and additional members leaving it to the chairperson to co-opt members in the near future.

Alfred Molokwane was elected as team manager assisted by Patrick Ranko who was elected in absentia while former executive committee member Nelson Radijeng was brought back as the Public Relations Officer (PRO). For the treasurer position, Mashlow Motlogelwa was voted in absentia