BFL shareholders push for forensic audit

Troubled Botswana Football League (BFL) shareholders have once again come out to demand answers and their call for a forensic audit exercise to be undertaken has been approved by the board, with the league office running on a deficit, BG Sport has established.The developments came into light during a meeting held this past weekend between the shareholders and the executive board where calls to investigate financial irregularities to promote transparency were made, according to reliable informants.Alleged mismanagement of funds at the BFL has seen the league in recent months relying on loans from Botswana Football Association (BFA) and its shareholders, clubs grants, to maintain operations of the league office, including payments of its staff members.The current regime, despite recent reports suggesting they could be hit with a motion of no confidence, are reportedly exonerated from allegations of financial mismanagement, for now, with the previous leadership of the league being targeted. The current BFL leadership has been labelled by some shareholders as ‘incompetent but not corrupt hence a call for a motion of no confidence swinging above their heads.“A resolution to have a forensic audit has been passed. Remember from the Palapye meeting, we called for the forensic audit to be carried out, we wanted Bennett Mamelodi to be investigated but the BFL board at the time were unyielding and maintained that the BFL office was clean.The BFL is now in a deep financial quagmire, and we strongly believe that a forensic audit should be carried out to establish how and why the league finds itself in this position. The audit, funds permitting should cover all the years from the time this company was formed (2021),” a BFL shareholder who spoke on the basis of anonymity told this publication. The director of Matebele FC, Lame Makache, a BFL shareholder, highlighted that, “it is true BFL board has approved a request by shareholders to carry out a forensic audit. Our company is in a dire financial situation, which is a surprise because last year we were in a positive status regarding our finance, now we have a deficit which is around P2.3 Million, that is too much.When former BFL Chairperson Nikolas Zakhem and his committee left in 2024, we were on a positive, around P2.5 Million and the shareholders want answers. We want to know where all the money went to, fully accountability of the funds and how every penny was spent.”The BFL shareholders are aware that the forensic audit is a costly exercise and have reportedly written to Botswana Football Association (BFA) to solicit financial support for the exercise to be undertaken.Sources close to the developments told this publication that members of the local top tier football league are even looking to engage with other relevant sport bodies, including the Ministry of Sport & Arts (MoSA) to ensure that the audit sees the light of the day. The BFA president, Oabile Tariq Thona Babitseng, upon taking reigns from Maclean Letshwiti last year, vowed before the then Minister of Youth Sport & Culture (MYSC), Tumiso Rakgare, to carry a forensic audit.

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BFL shareholders push for forensic audit