Parliament to investigate Afcon 2027 bid

Parliament has adopted a motion to investigate the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) bid which allegedly set the government back by 65m Pula ($4.7m), reports Mmegi Online. Under the previous government, Botswana, in collaboration with Namibia, had intended to host Afcon 2027. However, Namibia pulled out of the bid fairly late which saw Botswana lose out to the joint proposal by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The Botswana bid sparked controversy when it was alleged that the bid book produced by South African engineer Reuben Reddy cost over P60m. The then Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports & Culture, Tumiso Rakgare had always argued that the figures were blown out of proportion. The controversy has now been revived in the current Parliament sitting. Member of Parliament Arafat Khan brought a motion for Parliament to investigate and establish the manner in which the bid was handled. Khan wants Parliament to set up a special select committee to determine the efficacy of the bid, if the amount of the bid book compares with international trends, examine procurement processes in choosing the winning bidder, and audit any other process in and leading to the award of the tender. Following lengthy debates on whether Parliament should investigate the bid, a resolution was reached with all opposition and ruling MPs agreeing that the bid needed to be investigated.

Full Mmegionline report