Speaking during a press conference yesterday, the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) director-business development and property management services, Stephen Makuke, said the initial tender for the track was P7,2 million but due to the change of scope of work, the amount increased to P16,1 million. Makuke also said the track went under refurbishment in 2018 to extend its 10 years lifespan. He said when the lifespan expired in 2023, World Athletics extended the certificate by one year, that was until December 31, 2024. “In September 2023, we assessed the track to determine what needed to be done. We invited a company from Germany for the assessment and scope the works that needed to be done. After the assessment, we were seating on a budget of P8 million by then but the company told us that we could not do anything with that budget, we would rather shut down the track,” he said. Makuke said they had two options, to repair the track at the estimate budget of P7 million while the other option was to re-do the entire track, which would cost P20 million in September 2023.
He said after receiving funding, they commenced procurement based on option one of patching excessively damaged areas. Makuke stated that in September 2024, the tender was awarded to the contractor for the project to start in October 2024. “Initially the project was to be done in six months, which means it was to end in March 31st. We had to negotiate with the contractor that there was a timeline that does not move, which is April 12. The contractor revised the schedule and agreed that they will deliver the project on time,” Makuke said. He noted that when the project started, it was affected by rain, which means they lost two months, December and January. He revealed that as the contractor was on site, they realised that the track had deteriorated excessively beyond what they had anticipated. “The damages posed a threat that the track will not be certified by World Athletics. Remember, that we did an assessment in 2023, but the track was not rested, it kept hosting national events such as Police day, BDF Day and Premier League matches,” he stated.
