He made the remarks during the recent launch of the inaugural Business of Sport Summit in Gaborone, where organisers outlined plans to transform sport into a viable economic sector capable of attracting investment, creating jobs and contributing to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Speaking at the launch, Dintwa argued that the local sporting structures need to embrace professional administration if sport is to evolve into a sustainable industry capable of generating income and attracting serious corporate investments. Drawing from lessons shared by Cuban sports officials during a benchmarking exercise attended by Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) representatives several years ago, Dintwa said successful sports industries cannot be built on volunteer labour alone. "One of the things the Cubans said was that you can't volunteer sport and expect sport to work," he said. "You want to create a sports product that makes money, but the people running sport go to work until five o'clock and then spend maybe 30 minutes or an hour in the evening dealing with association matters.
" He questioned whether organisations entrusted with millions of pula should continue being managed on part-time basis. "If I give you P2 million to manage, would I be comfortable telling you to manage it on weekends and when you're free?" he asked. According to Dintwa, the issue extends beyond administration and directly affects the confidence of potential investors and sponsors. According to hi, one of the biggest concerns for the private sector is the lack of policies and structures that create measurable returns on investment, making companies reluctant to increase their spending on sport.
