Extension Gunners’ chairman, William Maboane, believes that accountability will be key to success during their tenure in office.
His committee comes into office at a time when Gunners is said to be running on a zero balance but the new chairman believes that things will change for good in the near future.
“As a professional auditor, I’m going to use my skills in a sense that every single thebe which goes in and out of the team is accounted for. It is time we start running our clubs in a professional manner for us to go somewhere. That is why I’m going to ensure that I get quarterly reports from our treasurer and I believe that is not going to be a problem as he is a capable man,” said Maboane.
He further stressed that for Gunners to be a reputable club, even the supporters club must start being responsible as to how they run their affairs. Over the past years, there has been an outcry from supporters of various clubs who lambasted their committees for not handling financial affairs properly.
At some clubs, including Gunners, some committees were even shown the door before their office could come to an end.
“Handling finances of big clubs like Gunners is not an easy thing. But we’re going to come with some initiatives which will be able to raise funds for the club. It is not a good thing that you hear that players have gone for months without being paid while they’re expected to perform almost every week,” he pointed out.
On other issues, Maboane thinks that for Gunners to be a successful club, they need to have a fully equipped office from which all the affairs of the club will be run, unlike the current situation.
Since Botswana Football Association (BFA) challenge clubs to stop operating their affairs from their ‘car boots’, only few clubs have managed to open offices.
Gaborone United, Notwane and Township Rollers are the only Premiership clubs which have fully-fledged offices with staff.
“I’ve assigned our officials to go and have a look at one office in Lobatse and Gaborone. I can assure you that before the end of the week, we would have identified our offices. This would enable our supporters to always contact the office when they have queries,” he said.
The other issue which Maboane and his committee want to address with immediate effect is that of technical sponsor Dlala after their sponsorship was terminated at the end of last season despite having a contract which runs until November 2012.
It is reported that after Dlala realised that Gunners have opted to terminate the deal, Dlala sought legal intervention. Sources close the company said they are not happy at the way the previous Gunners’ committee handled the deal and will do their best to ensure that justice is done.
“I don’t want to go too much into details pertaining to the issue. All I can tell you is that I’m engaged in talks with Dlala management and we’re going to make an informed decision,” he said.
Maboane said that companies of young Batswana like Dlala have to be supported but that does not mean that they should be incompetent. “Gunners is a big brand, Dlala has to push themselves and make sure they deliver what has been put on paper. But I guess something concrete will come out of our meeting,” he concluded.
It will be interesting to see which kit Gunners will be donning when they take on Township Rollers in the annual Gaborone City Cup at the Molepolole Sports Complex on Sunday morning.
