Recipients fail to meet IDM requirements
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday February 5, 2021 10:21
IDM had pledged sponsorship of tuition fees for the Botswana Sport Awards’ overall sportsperson of the year, female sportsperson of the year and male sportsperson of the year. Oarabile Tshosa and Bernard Olesitse won the 2018 Botswana National Sport Commission’s (BNSC) junior female and male persons of the year respectively, while Emmanuel Kgaboetsile was the overall sportsperson of the year.
IDM marketing and communications manager, Chris Moiketsi said as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, they pledged free scholarships to winners of the 2018 BNSC awards.
“We wish to reiterate our pledge and commitment towards this course with BNSC. The winners for the above three categories were to choose programmes they wish to enrol for, provided they met the IDM minimum requirements for the chosen programmes,” he said. Moiketsi added IDM also pledged to train all the winners of the 2018 sports awards on Personal Financial Management, Public Speaking and Personal Branding under short-term professional development programmes, which they believe would be facilitated by both the BNSC and IDM. He said the gesture was intended to support sportspeople to build confidence and develop self-image as they promote the Botswana brand across the world. However, Moiketsi said while it is not their standard practice to discuss issues affecting individual customers, the institution has thus far not received any application that met minimum admission requirements. Tshosa told Mmegi Sport that she was supposed to start her studies last year, but there has not been any assistance. “I went to the campus, but they instructed me to leave because there were no arrangements for me to start. I did not understand what they were talking about.
The scholarship letter that they gave me only includes tuition fees. I do not know if there is accommodation or allowance because it is not stated in the letter,” the disappointed athlete said. Kgaboetsile said he was not aware of the pledge and nobody said anything to him. He said it means he has missed out. BNSC caretaker chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said Olesitse was at high school until last year. Serufho added he would establish the latest on Tshosa’s scholarship. Meanwhile, Botswana Athletics Association vice president, Oabona Theetso said they were not aware of the scholarships.