Boitumelo Khutsafalo
12 November 2009
Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) executive secretary, Kitso Kemoeng has said that the delay in the commencement of the refurbishment of the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks (SSKB) Stadium has been caused by the quest for caution.
Speaking during a brief tour of the stadium yesterday, he explained that the contractor who won the tender for the job that included the renovation of the University of Botswana (UB stadium) was found wanting and had to be replaced and this took time.
"The experience that we went through with the initial contractor dictated that we treat every step with utmost caution. We had to put all the mechanisms in place to ensure that we do not find ourselves in the unfortunate situation we found ourselves in at the beginning of the project," he said. South African company, Topturf Group has come in as the new contractor for the UB and SSKB stadia renovation jobs. Kemoeng said that negotiations with the new contractor were protracted because the company wanted to ensure that by going into the SSKB project, its interests were not being compromised. He said he is happy that in the end they reached an agreement and the renovations have started. Kemoeng stated that the BNSC is equally concerned with the delay in the start of the SSKB Stadium renovation works.
The venue is being renovated to attract countries coming for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to camp in Botswana ahead of the tournament. Topturf is the company that re-grassed the National Stadium 16 years ago. The turf it laid was only removed recently to pave way for refurbishments. Topturf is responsible for grassing four stadiums that will host the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Kemoeng said the BNSC could not pretend that the completion of renovation works at the UB Stadium was not without problems. He said the first contractor left after digging up the UB Stadium pitch and the halt in the renovation works caused problems because the dates for two international friendly soccer matches to be staged at the venue were approaching.
He explained that they made the commitment to host the matches on the advice of the contractor. The refurbishment of the UB facility was completed and hosted the Zebras international friendlies against Iran and New Zealand. The stadium will be used sparingly to keep it fit for training by countries coming for the World Cup. Kemoeng said the BNSC, University of Botswana and the government have set up a management committee, which shall ensure controlled usage of the facility.
The committee is charged with approving or rejecting requests for the use of the stadium. Kemoeng stated that the use of the SSKB Stadium will also be controlled. The government has availed P1.6 million for the renovation of the UB and SSKB Stadiums. It is expected that Topturf will conclude the re-grassing process at SSKB by mid-next month. The contractor will then oversee the facility's maintenance for six months.
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