DID anyone else see egg dripping from the faces of the people who are purportedly running our football?
This week football’s worst kept secret was finally revealed: Vodacom Lesotho is the new sponsor of the Premier League and three lower divisions.
Journalists had long revealed this.
But there we had Lefa officials, frowning and denying any link to the telecommunications company.
Lefa simply turned the sponsorship issue into a circus.
Instead of trying their hand at spin, Lefa officials should master how to handle sponsorship matters.
Even if they whine and grumble, we will never stop being concerned about their conduct.
They are, after all, funded by taxpayers. So they should not run our football association as if it’s their personal fiefdom.
If they want something to run as they wish they must start their own chicken projects.
Football is a national sport and anyone who does not want to be accountable must find another job.
By the way, why is the so-called CEO still in an acting capacity?
Or has he taken the “acting” in his title to mean he can run our football like a soap opera?
Or perhaps the powers-that-be have decided that the fellow is too good at acting and they see no reason why he should be promoted to a substantive position?
They like his comedies indeed.
He has managed to turn our football into a circus.
Can he deny this obvious fact?
This was the same man who was in the news recently for allegedly threatening to re-arrange a journalist’s face.
After being asked a few basic questions, the fellow lost his cool and started hailing threats at the poor reporter.
And, by the way, such antics do not bode well for an association desperate to be taken seriously by sponsors, football lovers and the nation at large.
Scrutator would like to thank Vodacom Lesotho for ignoring the inadequacies of our football administrators to pour in millions in the game.
Hopefully, this will motivate my favourite team Sekamaneng Young Stars to return to big-time football quickly.
However, Lefa should be warned that the telecommunications giant does not tolerate incompetence, reckless behaviour and indolence.
Can someone please tell Scrutator what’s going on here?
First, an online publication reported that Communications Minister Mothetjoa Metsing had declared his interest in succeeding Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
Then, that other weekly followed suit, only adding the bit about ministers entering a “slanging match”.
Maybe we should start with a little lesson about journalism.
And Scrutator hopes all wannabe and pseudo-journalists, for once, will take this lecture seriously.
Otherwise they will remain stuck in the gutters, no matter how much they kick and scream to high heavens.
There are many genres of journalism – including investigative, citizen, advocacy, community, gonzo and churnalism.
But whatever one chooses to do, there is one fundamental thing: sourcing.
For the unversed, a source is a person, document or any other record that gives information.
As a rule of thumb, reporters are expected to use multiple sources to authenticate the information they gather.
It’s called an accuracy test.
By the way, it’s very easy to confuse truth and fact.
Bogus scribes assume the two are synonyms when in actuality they can be at odds with one another.
When you don’t verify your information, you are bound to become a gullible journalist.
“Metsing eyes top LCD job,” screamed the cyber mill.
A scoop, one might have been tempted to say, especially considering how succession issues in African politics are largely considered taboo.
Rather the story, as well as the one in the Friday tabloid, highlighted the inadequacies of local journalism.
All the stories hung precariously on one source.
What really irritates me is that this so-called source was talking about a public rally.
Why would a newspaper need special and anonymous sources to tell it what happened at a political rally?
Quite soon we will have sources being quoted in football match reports.
How about sources telling reporters what happened at fun walks, demonstrations and press conferences?
“Sources said Lioli beat Matlama 2-1.”
“Sources said there were heavy rains in Maseru over the weekend.”
“Sources said there is normally snow during winter in Mokhotlong.”
At least the cyber mill made an attempt to cross-check their information by talking to villagers who attended the rally.
Interestingly, none of them confirmed the statements attributed to Metsing.
Methinks the whole story came from the source.
Indeed our journalists hunt in packs like jackals.
I hear Metsing has been kicking and screaming, denying that he ever said he wanted to succeed Mosisili.
What’s so frightening about wanting to be Lesotho’s next leader?
What’s wrong about being ambitious?
Are all ruling party members trying to lie that none of them wants to lead this country one day?
This reminds me of a minister in Zimbabwe who, not wanting to incense Old Bob, said since he was a small boy his dream was to become a deputy president.
Imagine a footballer saying all he wants is to warm the substitutes’ bench!
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