‘It is not wrong for Botswana National Sport Commission to run without a board because the ministry of sports is there to assist.’
These sentiments were shared by the permanent secretary in the Ministry Of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Kago Ramokate in an interview with The Sunday Standard Sport.
“The appointment of the BNSC board is imminent, we expect the minister to appoint it in a week’s time,” he said.
The tenure of the board ended in October after it was extended for three months. The new board could have been appointed in July or sometime before October by the former minister of sport, Tshekedi Khama.
Ramokate explained that the appointment of the board is the sole responsibility of the minister.
“It took time because the minister, Tumiso Rakgare is new and we had to allow him to settle first and also to make informed decisions. There are no problems and BNSC is running smoothly,” said Ramokate.
He said the ministry provides the oversight in the absence of the board but for issues of governance there should be a board at the helm of the BNSC to provide oversight.
When asked whether the absence of the board at the BNSC affects sport in the country, Ramokate said, “I don’t think so because the board meets on quarterly basis and it is less than a month since the old tenure ended.
“We haven’t had any major issues that affected the operations of the BNSC in the absence of the board. BNSC board consists of eleven people. The previous chairperson of the board was Martin Mokgwathi,” he explained.
On why, unlike in the past years there is a shroud of silence surrounding the appointment of the BNSC board and why there are no names being touted for the board duties, Ramokate had this to say:
“In the previous times lobbying for the positions was intense but since changing from council to commission there are no campaigns for positions hence there are no leaks as to who is likely to be appointed the chairperson.”
As the country’s biggest sport governing body representing the government, the appointment of the BNSC board has always drawn great interest.
Among the functions of the BNSC is to advise the minister change, review or formulate sport related policies and strategies. It also provides leadership and guidance on sport development and promotion. The BNSC assists the sport associations to ensure that their policies and procedures meet the required standards.
The BNSC is responsible for disbursing annual grants to the sporting associations and they provide supervisory role to make sure sporting associations account on how they have used the grants.
