08 Dec 2024

The Member of Parliament for Molepolole North, Mr Arafat Khan has requested government to institute investigations into the P65 million AFCON 2027 bid.

The MP who tabled a motion on Friday said Parliament should determine the efficacy of the bid, determine the amount of the bid book compared with international trends, examine the procurement process in choosing the winning bidder and to audit any other process involved in and leading to award of the tender.

Mr Khan said while Botswana used P65 million for the bid, other countries spent far less including the winning bid of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

Also, he said Botswana Football Association which was the procuring entity was sidelined during the bidding process.

Furthermore, he said besides the bid amount, there were other costs associated with the bid such as travel expenses, which needed to be determined.

Also, Mr Khan said there was a need to assess the winning bidder, to determine his track record and whether the bidder had ever authored a winning bid.

When supporting the motion, Member of Parliament for Okavango West, Mr Kenny Kapinga said the bid was put together at a time when the country experienced shortage of medicines. He said even when conceived, there were indications that the country was ill prepared to host AFCON 2027.

Mr Kapinga said had the country won, it was going to need billions to construct stadia. 

He thus said there was need to investigate reasons why the country was willing to spend such an amount on a bid, adding that if it was discovered that there was corruption, those implicated should be punished.

Serowe North MP, Mr Baratiwa Mathoothe said the motion would help to determine if public funds were used appropriately noting that it was puzzling that the country would choose to bid for AFCON 2027 yet knowing that it did not have enough stadia to host the event.

Mr Mathoothe further said his suspicion was that the bid was used as a vehicle for misusing public funds.           

Gaborone Central MP, Dr Phenyo Butale also said the country was not ready for hosting the tournament, hence that was wasting money.

He said before deciding the bid, the country should have assessed itself, adding that the motive for bidding was suspicious more so that Botswana spent more than all countries who were bidding.

The debate on the motion is expected to continue next week Friday. Ends