Softball constitution under scrutiny
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday May 4, 2024 06:00
In one instance, members were divided over calling for nomination from the floor.
The BSA elections committee member, Tebogo Johannes, said according to the constitution, both parties were right. He said the challenge at the AGM was the interpretation of the constitution, and at a certain point, the argument by both parties was correct.
“Article 2 (J) defines a general meeting.
Article 7 talks about the national executive committee while Article 12 talks about the powers of the AGM. These articles of the constitution are vague in terms of interpretation. So it is up to the BSA to see to it that the grey areas are made black and white. That is why each and every argument that came from the AGM was at some point, right,” Johannes said.
He said in another incident, a motion to include nominations as part of the agenda was put to the AGM for deliberations. He said the motion failed on a simple majority and it was explained that nominations are part of elections therefore the issue was dealt with during the election process. Johannes said the review of the constitution is a high priority for the new executive committee. BSA president, Tirelo Mukokomani admitted that the document needs to be reviewed as it has been bypassed by time. “We are going to appoint a commission that will focus on the constitution review as soon as possible.
It is an urgent matter that should be dealt with. The AGM has shown us that there are a lot of grey areas that should be dealt with in the document,” he said.
Mukokomani said it is important for the constitution to align with the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) document. Meanwhile, Johannes said another area of high priority for the committee is member affiliate adherence to the stipulated policies and return to play. “The other area is the financial stability of the association including development programmes.
The maintenance of the National Diamond is a medium priority for now.
The club management training is important, gone are the times when clubs are operated from car boots, operating without bank accounts or even not compliant at the Registrar of Societies,” he said.
Johannes said the formation of an oversight committee, stakeholder engagement and national team restructuring are medium to high-priority areas. The new executive committee comprises Letsweletse Jonas (vice president), Same Molete (secretary general), Romeo Tshelametse (technical development officer: TDO), Nozie Payet (public relations officer), Justus Kuswane (competitions) and Gofaone Pilane (general manager-north zone). The general manager-south zone and treasurer's positions remain vacant.