BFA restructuring exercise drags on
FRANCISTOWN: The Botswana Football Association (BFA) has said its drawn-out restructuring exercise has not been concluded.
This is despite reports that some of the employees who were supposed to leave the association under the previous chief executive officer (CEO), Goabaone Taylor, as part of the restructuring process, are now likely to stay. Sources said the affected employees enjoy protection from some National Executive Committee (NEC) members.
Taylor was dismissed by the association last month following the misallocation of FIFA funds. When Taylor started pushing for the retrenchment to be implemented late last October, it was reported that there was a section of NEC members opposed to the exercise and wanted it to be shelved but she went in a different direction.
Thus far, four employees have left as part of the restructuring process. The employees left between October and November last year.
It has been speculated that a total of 14 positions were to be declared redundant as part of the restructuring exercise.
“As part of the restructuring, the second batch of employees whose posts were declared redundant should have left in January followed by another batch in February.
They are still around, and it does not look like they will leave. It was planned that the last batch of employees will leave in April,” an insider told Mmegi Sport.
This week the new BFA CEO, Mfolo Mfolo said he is still settling in at Lekidi but emphasised that the restructuring exercise is still ongoing and will be completed ‘very soon’.
“The restructuring is still ongoing. It is a process that I want to see being completed early. Once it has been completed, we will notify the Commissioner of Labour,” Mfolo said.
Mfolo said he was not aware of the number of employees who will be affected by the exercise as the process is being handled by a consultant who will later hand over a report to the association.
“Once we have received the report from the consultant, we will share it accordingly with the affected stakeholders.
What I can confirm for now is that four employees have since left the association as part of the restructuring process,” he said.
Early last year, the BFA announced plans to restructure the organisation in a bid to have a leaner but more efficient structure. The association pointed out that the restructuring would see some jobs being shed, with other employees redeployed.
The idea to restructure the BFA was initiated years back but until Taylor came in, there was reluctance to carry out the process.
When the retrenchment started last October, the association said the process would take around six months to be completed.