BFA job cuts meet resistance

The looming retrenchment exercise at the Botswana Football Association (BFA) faces resistance from some quarters within the mother body, Mmegi Sport has learnt.

Early this year, the BFA announced plans to restructure the organisation in a bid to have a leaner and efficient operation.

The restructuring will see some jobs shed, with other employees redeployed, according to information reaching

Mmegi Sport. But there is a section that is reportedly opposed to the exercise and wants it shelved.

“There are affected employees, and some in the board who do not want the exercise to go ahead. Some, obviously uncertain of their future, do not support the restructuring exercise,” a source said.

BFA chief executive officer (CEO) Goabaone Taylor, however, said she was unaware of reports that there are some eager to throw spanners in the works. She said if that was the case, it would be unfortunate. “I am not aware of any section that is opposing the restructuring. This is a process that was started many years ago and if we have people that want to stifle progress in getting a fit for purpose organisation, then that’s a concern,” Taylor said. She could not reveal the number of employees to be affected by the exercise. “I will not be able to speak to the numbers at this point as we still have to engage with key stakeholders,” she said.

The exercise is expected to be concluded within the next six months. “This should be a six-month process to make sure that we minimise impact to continuity of business.”

The outcome of the restructuring exercise, chiefly retrenchments, could not be implemented until after the end of the State of Emergency (SoE), which expired at the end of September. During the SoE, retrenchments were forbidden, but the end of the edict means the BFA can proceed with the exercise.

Internal bickering has always being the association’s Achille’s Heel, with political interference the order of the day. This usually results in an untenable position for particularly the CEOs, as the association has witnessed a high turnover in the last decade.

Meanwhile, the BFA will hold its annual general assembly next week Saturday. “The general assembly will be virtual. This is important so we continue to exercise caution as the economy comes back to life,” Taylor

said.