Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) seeks to cultivate the culture of effective communication within local sport.
Speaking at the recent BNSC Annual General Meeting (AGM), board vice chairperson Tebogo Lebotse Sebego said communication is critical for the growth of the organization.
The BNSC Vice Chairperson said it is only through communication or sharing of information good and bad that organizations could grow.
In the context of the BNSC, Sebego said presence or lack of effective communication can determine how far local sport will grow.
She said as an organization, the BNSC and its affiliates ‘shared equal responsibility to share communication.’
Sebego further went on to add that part of this included giving feedback as well as constructive criticism where needed.
The BNSC vice chairperson informed affiliates that communication is one of the six (6) core values of the BNSC.
Sebego’s sentiments were also shared by the BNSC board chairperson Morula Morule.
“We all have the responsibility to share information to help grow Botswana sport. As a public entity, we all share an equal communication to further grow our sport through all the good and bad,” the BNSC Board Chairperson informed affiliates.
Morule informed affiliates that the BNSC, ‘continues to work on improving its communication, to ensure transparency, objectiveness and accountability.’
As a measure to ensure proper communication and transparency, the BNSC Chairperson announced a lifting of restrictions on the media to cover the entire AGM.
The move was in stark contrast to the previous board which prohibited the media from attending entire meetings, restricting them to cover opening and closing remarks only.
“The 2020 AGM will be the first one in years that the media will be allowed to attend in its entirety. As a state funded enterprise, the Commission is fully cognizant of the responsibility it has to the public, and it is against that background that it has elected to be as transparent as possible,” Morule declared in his address.
The lifting of the restrictions will come as a relief for local sports journalists, who depended largely on second hand information when it comesto what was discussed during AGMs.
Botswana Guardian sports journalist Kabelo Gadise highlighted that communication should be at the peak of operations in sport.
“It is very important that there is a greater understanding between administrators, sports persons, journalists and the society,” Gadise said.
He however noted that communication is very central in every facet of life. Gadise said sport alone requires parties involved to be able to effectively relay messages to each other especially in a team setup.
“Communication brings about a wining mentality within a team or organization as long as the message is being shared accordingly and responded to within an accurate period of time,” Gadise said.
