- Job was not advertised, nobody else applied – source
- NEC members blind sided by the appointment, tension building
- BFA VPs reportedly unhappy
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Botswana Football Association has been accused of bypassing or ignoring labour laws in their recruitment and eventual appointment of Ookeditse Malesu as their new Chief Executive Officer. A highly placed source informed Gazette Sport that the appointment has raised eyebrows within the football fraternity because due process was not followed and that labour and BFA Constitution laws were reportedly not followed.
According to the source, the decision to appoint Malesu was taken by the BFA president Maclean Letshwiti without the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC). It appears, at least according to the source, that the association did not test the market for other potential candidates for the post.
The process of hiring Malesu is reportedly a hand picking action by the association’s leader and it has raised questions of why other candidates were not afforded a chance to submit their credentials.
“The BFA is a reputable organization that should follow labour laws but in this case it appears they did not follow the rules. Subject to labour laws, the job should have been advertised. Due process dictates that the job should be advertised, after that selected applicants should be short-listed. Then the applicants should be called to undergo an interview but none of that happened. No other candidates were given a chance to apply, it is a highly questionable exercise,” the source boldly claimed.
The insider is of the view that tension is building between the president and the NEC as the committee has grown increasingly irritated due to not being consulted in regards to suspensions and appointments that have taken place recently.
Most members of the NEC are said to be willing to challenge the appointment if they all reach a consensus on the matter, if the source’s words are anything to go by.
To be precise, the Vice Presidents Marshlow Motlogelwa and Segolame Ramotlhwa are against the appointment, the source revealed. The source has stated that Letshwiti’s deputies are challenging the appointment and one of them is quoted as follows: “the proposed candidate has no clue about football neither does he have anything close to the required/needed experience for such a position that could compensate for his gross football deficiencies.”
The deputy presidents have objected the appointment by arguing that, “the insinuation of the application of Article 41 of the Constitution is a gross misinterpretation of the good intention of that Article; that Article assumes that due process has been followed and none of that has been the case in this particular instance.”
The seemingly irate NEC member added that, “The position has never been advertised and we cannot be seen to be appointing our associates who do not meet the prerequisites of such a critical position. It is highly non procedural and less than ethical to do things as suggested and I cannot be party to that. In view of the foregoing, I would like to dissociate myself from such a non procedural act and will neither own nor defend it.” A leaked message to Gazette Sport has revealed the aforementioned communication at NEC level.
BFA Public Relations Officer Tumo Mpatane has dispelled the notion that Malesu’s appointment was unethical, “The BFA board made a decision to hire Mr Malesu because they believe he is the right candidate for the job, it is allowed for companies to make appointments based on the needs that they have. The appointment was done in a correct manner as far as we are concerned, Mr Malesu is our CEO and we will not make any other comments on political matters that have been raised.”
Is it fair to question Malesu’s credentials?
Despite his wealth of experience in sport administration, Malesu would be the first to admit that he is a novice in terms of the football administration. He has held high positions in Swimming, Karate, the Botswana National Olympic Committee as well as being a board member at the Botswana National Sports Commission, which has been seen as a major factor in his appointment.
The experienced administrator has never served football at any level, however, he can find solace in the fact that numerous administrators around the world and in Botswana are involved in football without any documented football roots.
For example, CAF President Issa Hayatou had no links with football before ascending to the echelon of continental football, in Botswana Boyce Sebetlela and Gabriel Ngele were Vice Presidents in the David Fani administration despite having backgrounds in volleyball and darts.