Local sport has for a long time been seen as a safe bet for unscrupulous individuals parading as sports administrators to get money from sport.
These unscrupulous administrators have done this with impunity as ‘they were just volunteers.’ There was nothing to hold them accountable. The worst punishment they often got was being voted out of their posts. Those days are now numbered.
Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) are embarking on an expedition to eliminate corruption within local sport.
The two institutions are committing to ensure there is integrity within National Sport Associations (NSAs). Operations of the NSAs will now be monitored and corrupt administrators will be brought to book to answer for their misdeeds.
This past week, BNSC, as the local sport regulatory body and DCEC, as the country’s graft busting agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to eradicate and combat corruption within the local sport fraternity.
Local sport governing bodies are prone to corrupt maladministration practices and mismanagement of funds which end in stumbling sport activities in general and tarnishing the image of sport industry.
BNSC chief executive officer (CEO) Tuelo Serufho says the MoU is a commitment to tackle corruption in sport. The initiative will be done through public education, mainstreaming of clean and safe sport promotion initiatives as well as the development of and implementation of anti-corruption frameworks. “The intention is to promote credible, fair and clean sport practises; in short, to ensure sport integrity.”
Like all other institutions in Botswana, sport is targeted as an area of economic interest and is thus not immune to corruption. It is more significant than just a game and its integrity need to be intact.
“Sport brings people together, creates opportunities for athletes to showcase their talents, inspire hope and positivity in fans worldwide. Most significantly, it is a big industry and an economic player that employs multitudes. It has individual transactions in the billions of dollars for just one event and attracts a lot of bookmakers, amongst other things,” Serufho explains.
Most of the funds channelled to sport worldwide come from private sector partnerships as the Government alone cannot shoulder the burden of funding sport. Where there are concerns of graft, as is often the case, corporates pull back and sport suffers.
“Corporate companies have a major role to play in sport development. However, serious entities would not want to be associated with an industry marred with corruption scandals. This why we are deliberate in our efforts to root out corruption and related crimes in sport,” the BNSC CEO says.
DCEC acting director general (DG) Tshepo Pilane is optimistic the partnership between the two will bear the desired fruits. “Corruption by its nature does not only threaten development and stability of a country; it also poses a serious threat to integrity and credibility of sporting activities in general,” he says.
The BNSC mandate extends to the management of sport complexes and stadium facilities. It also coordinates NSAs and also hosts mega national and international events ranging from athletics, motor sports and football tournaments.
“All these activities may make overall BNSC mandate susceptible to corruption and other unethical matters, therefore, the partnership of this nature is a welcome development,” the DCEC acting DG says.
The signing of the MoU is indication that both BNSC and DCEC are concerned about the seriousness of threats posed by corruption to the stability of Botswana as well as the credibility, fairness and cleanliness of its sporting activities. Both are determined to implement new approaches and strategies in the fight against corruption and other related economic crimes, with specific focus on making corruption ‘a high risk enterprise.’
“It is imperative to bring together our efforts to mainstream corruption prevention into day-to-day operations of BNSC, its affiliates and stakeholders to make the sport industry in Botswana corruption free,” Pilane explains.
Pilane says should Botswana win the 2027 AFCON bid, the DCEC will be more vigilant to guard against corruption. “It has already been reported that should we win the bid, the government will spend billions of Pula to upgrade the infrastructure around the country in readiness for the most prestigious continental soccer event. They say “more money more problems”; this therefore is a call for us to be more vigilant to ensure that these billions are put to right use through the right means,” he says.
