We've been unfairly criticised - BNOC

| Friday August 17, 2012 00:00

 

Mmegi Sport: What lessons do you bring from London?Serufho: Our mission was not in vain. We did not return empty-handed as we came back with a silver medal. There were some historical achievements, which include Nigel being one of the four best ever 800 metres runners in the world. It has put the name of our country on the world map.

Outside competition, we learnt a lot of other things. As Botswana we have ambitions of hosting some games in future and we learnt valuable lessons in London, which may apply to the Botswana context. We were impressed with the way the public respected rules. For example organisers had dedicated traffic lanes for the Olympic Games and the public respected that. London departed from the norm at many Olympic Games where dignitaries are allocated individual cars. We were encouraged to go on the public system and it helped them in different aspects.

The logistics were a lot smoother. The spirit of volunteerism is alive and the kind of volunteers they get that side is not the same as we attract in Botswana. I am not saying those who just finished school or are unemployed are not desirable but in the UK volunteerism goes beyond that.

For instance, the woman, who was our chauffer, was not just an ordinary person; others were pilots, etc. We should start seeing Batswana doing likewise. We should be able to see a top accountant volunteering to be in the finance committee, say for the 2014 Youth Games, if we win the bid. The youngsters should work under these people and get valuable experience. The quality of volunteers means they can articulate themselves as tourism ambassadors. The volunteers there were able to sell the UK well.

Our mission in London was manifold as we presented the bid book for the 2014 Youth Games, which was performed by the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Shaw Kgathi. The committee is perusing our submission and if they are impressed we will win the bid. (Botswana is the only country in contention).

However, they made it clear that if we do not meet the requirements, they will re-open the bid to allow other countries, which had expressed interest but failed to meet the deadline.

We also seized the opportunity to sell the country. We had partnered with the Botswana Investment and Trade Company, Department of Culture and to some extent, Tourism department and it was a success.We view sport as bigger than the race on the day; it can promote tourism and contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP). On the field, I cannot fault any athlete as they did their best and we look forward to welcoming them on Monday.

All is not lost for athletes who did not get medals as most of them have age on their side. Amantle (Montsho) is not too old to compete and get a medal at the next games (in Brazil). On hindsight, if we had given the 4 x 400m women's relay they could have performed well but for some reason they were deemed not to possess that potential.

Mmegi Sport: Would you deem you trip a success given that you had set a target of two medal but returned with one?Serufho: I still believe it was a success particularly given that we marginally missed on another medal by 003secs (Montsho). We must remain cognizant that we were not the only ones preparing for a medal, there were competitors, some more resourced.

Mmegi Sport: What are the immediate plans going forward to Rio 2016?Serufho: When we engaged companies in the lead up to London, we were selling the London 2012 and beyond plan, which covered the period up to 2016.  Now we will be implementing that and mobilise enough resources to continue with our preparations. We are working on something which we are still to find an appropriate name for, but which we call the athletic centric approach. It's still an addendum to the London 2012 and beyond. We want every little detail of the athlete is taken care of and they focus on the ball.

Mmegi Sport: Do you feel there are some issues you could have handled differently?Serufho:  Yes, we should have started preparations on time, say in 2006 or 2007. The second thing is to workshop people to fully understand their roles. Of course we have guidelines but we can never be sure if people read and after they read they have fully comprehended. So we need to workshop them to eliminate any grey areas.

Mmegi Sport: You have said you cannot comment much about Amantle's issue, but there have been concerns that there is not much action taken in cases of negligence, what assurances are there that action will be taken, if someone is at fault?Serufho: Ideally that's what should happen if it's a clear case of negligence or disregard of duty. We are expected to conduct ourselves to certain levels. I do not see any fault if people take us to task for neglecting what was rightfully our duty. There should be some course of action. We need to start sending a clear message that we do not entertain things not done properly.

Mmegi Sport: Do you feel you have been unfairly criticised?Serufho: I know public perception can never be controlled, but I would have loved people, especially those who have the means to do so, to have afforded us the opportunity to proffer our explanation or account. May be people should have investigated issues before apportioning blame.

We have had many issues like we did not have Montsho's coach accredited. He was accredited; it's another issue why he did not show up (in London). I think it would have been best to dig deeper into the issue and understand it then apportion blame thereafter. Of course I understand the public had great expectations and when they did not get what they expected, they had to find fault in some one.

Mmegi Sport: Anything else you want to say?Serufho: I would like to express gratitude to Batswana who rallied behind the team. The athletes did the best they could and as we welcome them on Monday we should congratulate all. In the next competition, it might be other athletes and not only Amos to win a medal. They still remain our heroes and heroine.