Karate battles P200,000 debt
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday July 8, 2023 06:00
Before getting comfortable in office, BOKA president, Mpho Bakwadi had to deal with letters of demand from creditors. “I was shocked by the amount of debts created by the previous committee we had to clear,” he said as he reflected on his six months in office this week.
Bakwadi said finding empty coffers made life difficult for the entire executive. He said leading an association under such conditions needed a brave leader, someone who knew what he wanted for karate.
“Of course, I was taken aback by that. However, we held two successful national team events. Last year when we came in as the interim committee, we managed to convince the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to send five athletes to the UFAK Championships. A few weeks back, the BNSC also assisted us to send a team to the Region 5 Karate Championships,” he said. Bakwadi said they have not received the annual grant but the BNSC has been forthcoming with financial assistance.
He said the main challenge facing BOKA is debts as the association owes over P200,000. Bakwadi said the major obstacle was that some previous committee members were refusing to hand over. “The BOKA dojo was vandalised; the Japanese Embassy was threatening that they should be reimbursed if the dojo is not maintained. We had to plead with the BNSC to assist us, which they did,” he said.
Bakwadi said it was unfortunate that the karate team was dropped from the Africa Beach Games with the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) citing financial crises. “It was a shock to us, even the World Karate Federation (WKF) contacted me to ask what was going on. During the Region 5 event, some members of the AUSC Region 5 karate executive committee raised concerns that former BOKA president, Tshepo Bathai had not issued minutes from the previous meetings. He just resigned as the secretary-general,” he said. Bakwadi said the previous committee has taken the current committee to court and the matter will be heard at the Lobatse High Court on July 16. “Despite the challenges, I want to make karate great again. I recently engaged former BOKA presidents for them to guide me. Leadership is a challenge and I cannot succeed alone. Right now there are issues of suspending the secretary-general, Dick Othusitse Tshepang. I do not want to dwell much on that issue,” he said.
Bakwadi said it is not for someone to appoint themselves as team manager, while still in the process of appointing the same person to the position. He said when that happened he issued Tshepang with a verbal warning, although other executive committee members wanted an immediate suspension back then. “Trust is earned, but the way Tshepang is going about this issue, it is going to be difficult for me to trust him again. I have done a lot for him but he does not appreciate that.
I believe if he felt the suspension was harsh, he could have approached me instead of attacking me in the media,” he said. The BOKA's annual general meeting (AGM) was postponed due to a lack of funds. Bakwadi said even for the previous meeting, BOKA did not have funds for an elective meeting, which he had to fund and he has not been refunded. “We received a complaint from Kofukan last week about the AGM. They suggested that the AGM could be held without funds, which is impossible. The most important thing right now is for us to stop reliance on government,” he said. When asked about appointing his brother, Ofentse as the national team coach, Bakwadi said his brother is going to prove himself as a national team coach. “I am not going to do him any favours.
At the same time I am not going to disadvantage him because he is my brother. Give me one person who has been successful in karate more than Ofentse. His profile speaks volumes. Nobody in karate has ever won a gold medal at the All-Africa Games. He has also won silver and bronze at those games,” he said. Bakwadi said Ofentse is a fifth Dan black belt, produces students who are in the national team, and there was no reason to deny him a chance. “People can talk, yes he is my brother but he is bringing results. I told him that if he does not bring results, he is out. If he misbehaves and he is out of order, I will deal with him. At the same time, I should be fair to him. I am the one who pushed him to retire as an athlete. He has done enough as an athlete, it was time for something else,” Bakwadi said. Meanwhile, Bakwadi said BOKA commissions were appointed last week except the Appeals commission that will be elected at the AGM.