Candidates who are contesting for the presidential seat are Tshepo Sitale, Yarona Sharp, and Ookeditse Malesu.
“What I mean by that is that it is rare to find the best accountant in the country at sport, it is rare to find the best lawyer in the country in sport, and it is almost rare to find the best finance person at sport. Typically, sport does not get the best leaders who are available in the country at that particular time, and there are a lot of reasons for that. Sometimes, sport is in the media for bad reasons, so because of that, they do not want to be associated with it. Just like politics, you do not find the best brains in politics,” he said. Tshube assessed the three individuals, starting with Sharp. He explained that Sharp is an average lawyer, not a top lawyer in the country. “She was on the board; she used to play basketball. I do not think she will have a lot of support from across the National Sport Associations (NSA) unless she comes up with a creative strategy. Her manifesto does not speak to what she will do for athletes but rather the incentives she will provide. She talks about appointing NSAs presidents as chef de mission. That is not a very elaborate, clear athlete-focused framework in my view. Regarding Malesu, sometimes there is a burnout, especially with voters as well as candidates, he has been doing this for a while,” he said. Tshube said Malesu might be seen as likeable, has leadership aspirations, and his experience in the military and karate (may be an advantage). He pointed out that he does not think Malesu has strong support and does not see him pulling it off, but if that happens, it will be better for him. He said Malesu’s manifesto talks about high-performance sport, taking Botswana sport to another level, and professionalism. Tshube said one thing that we never talk about is the ‘how part’.
