The bus rank fiasco

| Tuesday April 30, 2013 00:00

 The invitation served to establish if the former miners qualify for the South Africa Mine Workers Provident Fund. This is a form of monetary compensation for the workers. The invitation also called on the children or relatives of former miners to come and check if they appear on the list.  From the long queues, it is evident that Batswana contributed a lot to South Africa's economic growth and vice versa. However, what concerns us is that these multitudes of people, come from all parts of the country, hence it was impolite for whoever made this call to just crowd people at the Gaborone Bus Rank. 

We live in the age of newspapers, television and new media, which can improve communication.  It was like those who organised that did not fully utilise their brains before resolving to call the people.First, they should have thought about the major villages that produced the miners in mind Kanye, Molepolole, Thamaga, Palapye, Mahalapye and others. 

These are villages that fed the South African mines with migrant labourers hence it would have been productive for the teams to visit these villages rather than just calling people to the bus rank.  Some of these people are grown ups, while others are on medication for various ailments, and cannot spend hours in queues or outdoors.There is also the issue of sanitation. You cannot call hundreds of people to one area and not provide them with ablutions or toilets.

Sponsorship deals, a sign of renewed confidence in sports.

This month has seen a flurry of sponsorship deals struck with various sports disciplines, which is a signal of renewed confidence in sports.

Sports has generally struggled to attract financial backers but a spike in deals signed this week, and the renewal of existing relationships is just what the doctor ordered. Barclays Bank has ensured the Kabelano Charity Cup is resuscitated while the forgotten First Division Leagues breathed a huge sigh of relief after Debswana announced a P6 million partnership, also this week.

The second tier football division last had a partner many years ago when Medrescue was the sponsor. Mascom renewed their volleyball deal last month. This is a sign that the respective partners, despite the companies still reeling from the effects of the global economic meltdown, have trust in sports.

The onus is now firmly in the hands of administrators to ensure that the sponsor derives maximum mileage through sound administration. Those tasked with running sport should be reminded that these are not donations but sponsorships, and the financier expects returns.                                                                              Today's thought'I know that this is sport first and business second, and people have to do what's right for them.'                                                     -Shaquille O'Neal