The Chairman of the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC), Solly Reikeletseng, has informed the council’s affiliates that restructuring and rationalization of processes at the BNSC were a necessity if it is to deliver its mandate.
Addressing the BNSC Special General Meeting (SGM) this past Thursday, the BNSC Chairman said the BNSC Executive Committee had taken the step to restructure ‘to bolster operational efficiency at the secretariat in order to fully address the needs of the affiliates.’
The SGM was convened following a petition by twenty two of BNSC affiliates to the council requiring clarification on the Restructuring and the rationalization of processes currently on going at the BNSC Secretariat. Presenting the affiliates’ three pronged concerns before the BNSC Executive during the SGM, the affiliates, through their chosen representative, Ross Tebele queried why they were never informed of the restructuring and rationalization processes and thus wanted to know when it was adopted.
The affiliates queried the retrenching of staff at the BNSC Secretariat, a process which they said will be costly to the BNSC. On their third concern, the affiliates wanted the BNSC Executive to explain to them whether the retrenchments would not affect service delivery to affiliates and whether measures had been put in place to avoid such a situation.
Responding to the affiliates concerns, Reikeletseng informed them that they have been part to the ongoing restructuring and rationalization processes at the Secretariat.
“We have presented at the various general meetings our resolve to ensure that the BNSC meets its core business and ensure that your needs as affiliates met to the best way possible. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of 2012, we presented to you the aspirations of council, both the strategic framework and the structure that will enable us to realize such aspirations. Such aspirations have since been approved by yourselves, particularly at the Ordinary General Meeting of November 2012,” the BNSC Chairman said.
On the issue of retrenchments, Reikeletseng said it was a necessary process to cut out the excessive amount of money spent on the administration side of the BNSC.
“This was based on the principle that the cost of Secretariat staff should not be at the expense of funding affiliates. You will note that in 2011, we received a grant of P73 million of which P33 million went to affiliates and P37 million went towards administrative expenses. Clearly the opposite should prevail where the bulk of expenditure should go towards affiliates. So with this in mind, we undertook to further review our staffing levels…,” Reikeletseng explained. Despite this explanation, the affiliates took the executive to task informing them that they had not agreed to any restructuring processes at the BNSC, adding that even the minutes of the mentioned AGM and OGM did not show such an agreement. Confronted with this, the BNSC Executive pleaded for a recess to look into the issue.
Coming from the short recess, Reikeletseng informed the affiliates that while it was not a necessity for the BNSC Executive to get a go ahead from the affiliates on how to run the BNSC, they realize that there could have been more consultation with affiliates on how the current restructuring will affect them. He, however, assured affiliates that the remaining staff will be able to assist affiliates as much as possible, adding that while they are retrenching, a lot of the Secretariat key staff will be retained and only a few support staff will be left in their positions. He said this process will afford a good transition while the new structure comes in place.
