Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) Executive Secretary Kitso Kemoeng has cast aspersions on the committees that selected nominees for this year's BNSC/Barloworld Sports Awards.
At a press briefing this week, Kemoeng caused a surprise when he pointed out several weaknesses in the committees and then asserting that the awards for this year are the best ever as nominations came from all the 31 sports codes affiliated to the BNSC. The committees were introduced this year to replace the old system where BNSC affiliates nominated names for the awards. However, at the National Stadium Conference room on Monday, Kemoeng said some committees never met at all. In some cases, only one member of the committee did the selection. In one instance, each member submitted his or her own candidates for the awards and the committee forwarded a conflicting list to the BNSC.
A committee chairman came at the eleventh hour to check with the BNSC whether the members have submitted the names of the nominees. Some committees submitted their lists after the deadline. Kemoeng said the BNSC and its affiliates were not to be involved in the submissions of the candidates. But the new committees continued to source information from both the BNSC and the sports codes. In some instances, he said the committee's recommendations did not tally with the set standards.
However, Kemoeng said there were some committees which did a good job and they would like to retain them for next year's awards. However, he hoped the problems encountered this year could be avoided in future now that people know what is expected of them.
Despite his misgivings, he praised the committees for a job well done. Mmegi Sport understands that at the end of the nomination exercise by the committees, the BNSC staff had to work over time gathering as much information as they can from the sports codes. This is because most of the committees did a shoddy job.
