BAA delegates will converge in Gaborone for the Special General Assembly (SGM) and Ordinary General Meeting (OGM). The two meetings will be held back-to-back, with the day starting with the OGM whilst the SGM takes place in the afternoon. According to information reaching this publication, the BAA affiliates are eagerly waiting for the SGM as they believe that is where they could voice their grievances. A source said the BAA board set the OGM, but the SGM came at the request of affiliates, who want some grievances, mostly technical issues, addressed. “Another issue is race timing, which they feel in the past immediate season, the board sidelined Tshepo Kelaotswe, who has been running the timing area so well. The past season was all a comedy of errors when it comes to timing,” the source said.
The official said the other issue of concern is the national teams' call-ups, where some clubs felt aggrieved at the selection criteria, which they said, could not be explained, including both athletes and coaching staff. “Some clubs felt disadvantaged by the board, such as the Moroka Athletics Club event, which was cancelled at the 11th hour, and of course the hot potato in the form of the Gaborone International Grand Prix,” the source said. According to a letter from the BAA general manager, Pinkie Wilson, other items on the agenda include poor communication between the BAA office, clarity on all sponsorship and bonus monies that come from stakeholders such as PUMA, Debswana and others. The other item is clarity on the internationalisation of the new BAA constitution and other operational documents that support it. The agenda also includes discussion around the non-functional regional structures and committees and the escalating doping cases in athletics. “The invitation is only extended to the BAA members who have done compliance or re-registration with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in 2024,” Wilson said in the letter.
The BAA vice president-administration, Oabona Theetso, told MmegiSport that everything is ready for the OGM and SGM. Regarding the two meetings being held on the same day, Theetso said the BAA constitution does not give direction in that area. As BAA heads for the two meetings, a letter from the Register of Societies dated October 9, 16 clubs have been re-registered. The clubs are Molepolole, Ramotswa, Lion’s Den, BDF, Lefika, Gaborone Runners Club, Gaborone Striders Runners Club, Sua, Orapa, Selebi-Phikwe, New Vision, Central, Francistown, Moroka, Maun BDF, Nurturing, Pace Makers, Sportsview, and Werda. Clubs that have not been registered are Jwaneng, Lobatse, UB, Tlokweng Palapye, Serowe, Mmadinare, Matshelagabedi, and Maun.
