- Walter Khabung recalled, Mamelodi suspended
- Clubs reportedly owed monthly grants
- Some clubs received loans from one big clubs investor
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Botswana Premier League (BPL) is facing yet another enforced regime change following the suspension of Chief Executive Officer Bennett Mamelodi, chairman Walter Khabung (recalled) and Solomon Mantswe (recalled). This occurred after a BPL board meeting that took place over the weekend following alleged complaints from various clubs about monthly grants.
Unconfirmed reports reaching this publication suggest that since January, numerous league clubs have complained about not receiving their grants that amount to P100 000 per month. A source with ties to an unnamed club that has not received grants since December said the following, A lot of teams have not been given their grants since December, they even threatened to boycott league games for close to two weeks before the international break.
The source alleges that a certain investor in one of the countrys big clubs loaned up to four clubs amounts that are equivalent to the monthly grants, which were approved by one of the already mentioned BPL officials and suggested that it could be one of the reasons for the latest BPL controversy.
As I already mentioned, there are clubs who have not received their grants and they were struggling with day to day runnings of their clubs. As a result they sought the help of a wealthy investor in one of the big clubs. The clubs were given money on one condition; that they would use some of their end of season prize money to pay back the loans. Two clubs received P100 000 while another one got P50 000, that has raised a few alarm bells within the league thus the current controversy, the source added.
Internal investigations are currently underway, the board has since installed Gaborone United chairman Rapula Okaile as the interim chairman of the BPL while Horatio Mahloane will be the acting CEO pending the conclusion of the investigations.