How is MABC going to make profit and even mileage?
Currently there is nothing called MABC Television that is operational
Consulting with the relevant stakeholders is the only answer
The credibility of the sponsorship is under intense scrutiny
Operational offices leave a lot to be desired for a so-called multimillion Pula company
It was all smiles last week when the Premier League Committee announced the historic sponsorship ever to grace Botswana football. The sponsorship would be one of the highest on the African continent. A week latter the smiles have since vanished and turned into anguishes that look set to embarrass Botswana football.
The pledged P65 million sponsorship from MABC Television station has since turned into confusion and it is not known whether the money will ever come.
The league sponsorship was expected to be announced yesterday and it has since been postponed indefinitely. Some people are even wondering whether the Premier League and MABC are playing cat and mouse game as was the case with the previous sponsor who, when after the league long started, turned out no contract had been signed. The developments pertaining to the MABC sponsorship comes as no surprise because, from the day of the announcement of the sponsorship, there have been more questions than answers.
Both the Premier League and MABC could not give answers whether the money was already in the account or not. One official even went public saying he could not go around carrying millions in the bag.
On Friday Sunday Standard managed to visit MABC offices situated at Broadhurst Industrial site. The offices left a lot to be desired because they do not represent a company worth millions.
In addition, thorny questions were still not answered. At last week’s press conference the questions were directed to the Chief Executive Officer of MABC, Oscar Kubara, but he could not give concrete answers.
On Friday Sunday Standard took three men who claimed to be MABC directors head on. The trio of George Mavezha, Large Charumbira and Jethro Kubara could only say Monomotapa was still negotiating with all relevant stakeholders before revealing any information regarding the sponsorships.
The thorny issues that the public need answers to include the credibility of the station. In the first place, MABC has only been offered a license but have not erected any station that is running. Many people also argue that how can a lot of money be splashed while there would not be mileage in return.
“We will be based in Phakalane and most of our premises will be there. Currently, we have passed our planning stage and are only left with erecting our offices. Bear in mind Botswana will be the hub of our broadcasting before spreading to the whole of the African continent,” said Mavezha.
Mavezha and his men could also not give the details about the company logo that would be displayed on the teams’ attire. When asked whether they would get their money’s worth, bearing in mind the sponsorship is a lot of money in a small market like that of Botswana, Mavezha said just like any other company, they have to start somewhere and will end up somewhere. He said the small population of Botswana does not mean they cannot make a profit because many companies make it in small markets. He then gave the example of Dubai which he said is a small country but rich.
Both the chairman of the Premier League and the League Secretary, Mokganedi ‘Mike’ Molefhe and Setete Phuthego, could also not provide the answers. After being locked in a meeting for hours on Friday, Molefhe said he had never met any MABC official prior to the commencement of the League.
There were also no answers on the kit the teams would use for the league.
