Ex-BFA CEO fights for reinstatement
Friday, June 10, 2022 | 1410 Views |
Fighting back: Taylor PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Taylor was dismissed from her position nearly three months back after she was found guilty by a BFA tribunal of misallocating FIFA funds amounting to P6.2 million. The funds were diverted to other BFA projects instead of FIFA sanctioned initiatives. Taylor maintains that the misallocation was necessary as the association was struggling to meet its financial obligations. An investigation by FIFA representatives found that the funds were misallocated without approval by the BFA National Executive Committee.
However, FIFA did not sanction the association because the funds were not embezzled. On Wednesday, Taylor and the BFA met at the District Labour Office in Gaborone before a mediator. At the meeting, Taylor insisted that she be reinstated because her sacking was not procedural. But the BFA, represented by Taylor's successor, Mfolo Mfolo, maintained the contrary. Mfolo was accompanied by the association’s legal officer. Taylor maintains that no investigation report was ever availed to her during her case, ultimately meaning that the hearing process was not fair. “As part of a fair hearing process one is entitled to an investigation report, which it is expected would carry the full basis and nature of the allegations he or she faced.
It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...