The Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) finance committee chairperson, Enoch Mushango, has said the ministry's budget will depend on how sport and arts are prioritised. He said if the two are priorities, then they do not expect a cut, but if there is a reduction, it should be done objectively. “A reduction would also show that it is time for sport to come up with self-sustaining activities, which other partners and sponsors wish to see,” Mushango said. He added that there should be a sport policy, which gives direction followed by a strategy that is in alignment with the policy. “This is cascaded down to the BNOC National Sport Commission (BNSC), National Sport Associations (NSA) and clubs. All these bodies formulate strategic objectives aligned with the ministerial strategy and initiatives to implement the strategies. Budgeting is guided by these initiatives. If there are no adequate funds allocated, this means that the objective will not be achieved,” he said.
For her part, the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) president, Tsoseletso Magang, said the sport budget needs responsible spending. She said there has always been sporadic spending that disadvantaged sport codes. “In some instances when the senior men's football national team, the Zebras had gone to play a qualifying match, a lot of money will be spent on them. Sport used to be in the same ministry as Youth and Gender. This time around I do not expect the same amount which was received in the last financial year but I am hoping for a relative amount. For me, our budgets should be taken into consideration and allocated according to what we have budgeted for. We need to develop sport in Botswana, our sport is only in towns. We are so reliant on Re Ba Bona Ha programme,” she said. Magang said by now Re Ba Bona Ha could have expanded across the country, being run by the same funds from the government, not depended on sponsorship from the Debswana Diamond Company. “Do we ever stop and evaluate the impact it has made so far and publicise that information? Instead, we just get reports of a few projects that they do. If that accounts for sport development, then we have a problem. I wish that whatever we get, let us spend it in the right places. Let most of it go into programmes that develop young people, into programmes that get Batswana to be physically active,” Magang said. She said recommendations from the 2024 Sport Pitso should be implemented such as infrastructure development.
Magang said the P61 million spent on the 2027 AFCON Bid book could have been used to develop a mini stadium, an indoor hall, or cover some of the courts but the leadership is not intentional. “Irresponsible spending, which is not adhering to the budget, was whereby someone will take the funds, almost equal to volleyball subversion to go and watch a World Cup match, that Botswana has nothing to do with it, something we had not budgeted for. Then NSAs will be given P50, 000 to run their affairs the whole country. I am hopeful that under the new government, we will see a different approach to (the use of) public funds,” Magang said. The Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) president, Oaitse Thipe, said they expect sport and arts to be heavily funded because, in the short-term, it can help the country with the unemployment of the youth. He said if the ministry was to implement school holidays sport camps during school holidays nationwide, they could assist NSAs with more funds to do basic coaching courses and the youth to conduct such camps. “Such camps can create at least 100, 000 tutoring jobs even at the NSAs. The seasonal jobs in sport can assist with employment and the much-neglected grassroots development. The P7.18 billion shared by seven ministries is small. The only issues that can be implemented are holiday camps and increasing funds for the NSAs,” he added. NSAs representative in the BNSC board, Mmaneke Kelebogile Maplanka, said there is a possibility the sport might be affected by sharing with other ministries.
She said at the Pitso, there was a call for the BNSC and the sport bodies to create other financial avenues apart from government grants. When asked if the Pitso was not just another talk show, Maplanka said she has hope in the new government. “I have hope in the new government. Back then it was a tick-box exercise. With the new government, it is about impact and legacy. Other priority areas in the budget should include sport development framework for NSAs (funding in line with development programmes of an NSA), school sport vote to be availed, upgrade of sport facilities and national team competitions to be funded from MOSA,” Maplanka said.
