For the umpteenth time on Thursday, Botswana Cycling Association (BCA) affiliates saved Mmetla Masire and put him back in the saddle again to lead the association for another term.
Leading to the sudden elective special General Meeting, the BCA president’s standing in the association was looking untenable. Many within the BCA had actually thought he was a dead man walking.
But lo and behold! When votes were counted and reconciled on Thursday night, Masire was the only candidate to have won outright as all the other had to go for bye-election.
Like a cat with nine lives, the BCA president had escaped an attempt to remove him from his position before his tenure ended and has now earned himself a new term in office. This would not have been what some affiliates had fathomed.
Had it been under normal circumstances, the BCA would have held its elective General Meeting this coming year. But this was not one of those ‘normal circumstances.’
This past month on the 19th of September, a revolt within the Masire led BCA executive committee saw three members resign. The resignations came a day after the BCA had failed to host its scheduled Annual General Meeting (AGM).
As per the BCA constitution, Article 15.5.1, which reads; ‘in the event three (3) or more of the members are removed/resign from the office, the Executive Committee shall dissolve,’ the BCA executive collapsed.
And in line with Article 15.5.2 of the same constitution, which dictates that ‘the remaining members shall within 20 days of the date of the last removal convene a Special General Meeting to elect a new Executive Committee,’ an elective assembly was called.
How Masire cheated his date with fate remains a mystery. But according to those in the know, two factors played a big role in his survival. The first factor is vote splitting within affiliates. The second is his ‘good standing with mining teams.’
As Masire’s cycling presidency obituary was being written, it seems his opposers did not converge efforts to dethrone him. Believing he was a goner, two candidates emerged to contest against him.
This led to vote splitting as the seven affiliates opposed to him split their votes. And with Masire having a solid backing of mining teams, which fall under him, he managed to garner five votes while his closest opponent got four votes and the other one got three.
“Had it not been for Ramahobo putting his name in the hat, Masire would have gone,” a source intimated.
Interestingly, save for two members, all members of the previous committee, including those who had resigned were re-elected. The only members not back in the committee are former secretary general Tlamelo Dube and former vice president Bathusi Molatlhwa. The latter had opted not to stand while Dube lost.
In a twist of fate, two of the members who had resigned, former additional member Shimane Serameng and former public relations officer (PRO) Game Mompe were voted back as Secretary General and Vice Secretary General respectively.
The position of vice president vacated by Molatlhwa then went to Moagi Siwawa of Orapa cycling. Karabo Rasenyai who has occupied the treasurer’s post for the past six year was retained in the same position. Additional members are Shadrach Tirelo of Orapa cycling and Kelly Ramputswa- Tlale of Team swift.
Asked if the elections would have any effect on BCA and whether it would bring back stability, the source said there is optimism stability will return. With Dube now out and Serameng having taken his position, the source said the Masire-Dube axis has been shattered.
“Now there will be better consultations within the BCA executive on all things cycling as Dube is now out. Masire will be forced to work with the new secretary general and by extension the entire committee. This is all that was needed,” said the source.
