"Although I am speaking for my own company, this may be true for other companies that are helping to develop sports in this country. We are being given a raw deal by the powers that be. They seem not to recognise the contribution that we are making to sport in this country. As long as this attitude prevails, sports will continually under-perform in this country," he said recently when JB Sports launched a P100,000 sponsorship for volleyball at the company offices at the Gaborone Commerce Park. The audience included Negroes Kgosietsile of the Botswana National Olympics Committee (BNOC) and Tsoseletso Nkala of Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF). Those in attendance were stunned when Mathews, a former teacher who has been in Botswana for more than 20 years gave them an earful. Matthews' bone of contention was that the Ministry of Local Government is not well placed to distribute sports equipment to schools. He said the undertaking was supposed to be a prerogative of the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Culture.
He said at the Ministry of Local Government, especially at district councils, unqualified people sat in the tender committees and they end up awarding jobs to people who are unqualified to supply sports equipment to schools. "The end result is that the suppliers issue substandard equipment to schools," said Matthews then.
