The much-awaited Facilities Audit of Botswana and Namibia stadia was finally delivered to Botswana and Namibia joint bid committee – BoNa 2027 a month ago in Gaborone, Botswana and the Namibia pack delivered on Monday 27th March 2023 in Windhoek Namibia.
The audit report was delivered in a closed meeting attended by the Minister of Youth Gender, Sports and Culture Hon Tumiso Rakgare, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mr. Kitso Kemoeng, Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) Chairman Mr. Marumo Morule and Botswana Football Association (BFA) President Mr. Maclean Letshwiti. This momentous occasion follows months of extensive consultations between the two governments of Botswana and Namibia in their quest to make history by way of realising the dream of jointly hosting the biggest football spectacle in the African continent, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The audit was undertaken to provide a comprehensive gap analysis of the stadia amongst the facilities required of host countries by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Further to the stadia audit, the firm was furnished with presentations of associated entities including the Ministries of Health, Power Utilities Corporations, Civil Aviation Authorities, Departments of Broadcasting Services, Tourism Organisations and the Departments of Telecommunications and Postal Services of the two countries to provide their informed view on the possibilities related to a successful bid undertaking.
Although currently the audit findings will be reserved for careful interrogation by the relevant authorities within the two governments including being presented to the heads of states of Botswana and Namibia, the committee stands in unison with entities charged with realising the feat of securing the joint bid that due process must be followed in unpacking the audit findings.
“It is no secret that the report is of high interest to all here in Botswana and the people of Namibia, as it is part of the crucial elements needed to unlock the dream we equally share of bringing AFCON to our shores. Said Honourable Rakgare. “However, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the fact that, the audit findings need to be carefully studied and further complimented by all other key elements required as part of the bigger picture to be shared with the nations in the journey to achieve what we have set out to do”. Cautioned the Minister.
When receiving the report, Honourable Angela Tjongarero expressed that, though the completion of the report is a milestone to be marked, it was not time to relax but rather accelerate efforts to ensure all the other elements required are in place to better the chances of delivering a compelling bid for Namibia and Botswana.
“The people of our beloved nations are looking to us to do the necessary work to emerge victorious, thus the work continues”. Honourable Tjongarero.
For his part, BoNa 2027 bid Committee Chairman, Mr. Ashford Mamelodi highlighted the tireless efforts of the committee to see the facilities Audit process completed and supported the Minister’s sentiments to ensure that even though the committee and the principals representing the governments of the two bidding nations are alive to the expectations of many across board who would want to access the report and rightfully so, the people of Namibia and Batswana at large must be assured that the right channels would be followed to enable both governments to fully engage on the audit findings and all the other significant components necessary as they pertain to the bidding process ahead of providing a progress report on the project.
Following a rigorous procurement process, the Facilities Audit was conducted by the highly acclaimed award-winning Ruben Reddy Architects (RRA) whose portfolio includes involvement in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Durban 2022 Commonwealth games and the 2010 World Cup.
