Annual General Meeting of Basketball South Africa
Date : 25 October 2008
Venue : Olympic House, JNB
Time : 09h00 to 14h00
Basketball SA Annual General Meeting Agenda
Chairperson: Dr. Malumbete Ralethe
Please note that the media will be addressed by the new president during the lunch.
Information provided by Tsepo Nyewe
There is a wonderful Chinese parable on leadership that I wish our leaders could try to heed. I appreciate the difficulty as all of us often fall short of this standard. It balances the administrative, the political and the technical. But central to all of this is LEADERSHIP. Who is our Liu Bang? Let us wish that 25th October 2008 will be a great new dawning for basketball in SA. Read and be inspired:
The Wheel and the Light
Back in the third century B.C., the outbreak of fighting following the collapse of the Qin Dynasty had just ended. In its place now stood the Han Dynasty, whose emperor, Liu Bang, had consolidated China into a unified empire for the first time. To commemorate the event, Liu Bang had invited high-ranking military and political officials, poets, and teachers to a grand celebration. Among them was Chen Cen, the master to whom Liu Bang had often gone for enlightenment during his campaign to unify China.
The celebration was in full swing. A banquet grander than any ever seen was being held. At the center table sat Liu Bang with his three heads of staff: Xiao He, who administered the logistics of unification; Han Xin, who organized and led the fighting activity; and Chang Yang, who formulated the diplomatic and political strategies. At another table sat Chen Cen and his three disciples.
While food was served, speeches given, honors presented, and entertainment performed, all looked on with pride and exhilaration—all except Chen Cen’s three disciples, who sat awestruck. Only midway through the festivities did they utter their first words. “Master,” they remarked, “all is grand, all is befitting, but at the heart of the celebration lies one enigma.” Sensing his disciples’ hesitation, the master gently encouraged them to continue.
“At the central table sits Xiao He,” they proceeded. “Xiao He’s knowledge of logistics cannot be refuted. Under his administration, the soldiers have always been well fed and properly armed, whatever the terrain. Next to him is Han Xin. Han Xin’s military tactics are beyond reproach. He understands exactly where to ambush the enemy, when to advance, and when to retreat. He has won every battle he has led. Last is Chang Yang. Chang Yang sees the dynamics of political and diplomatic relations in his palm. He knows which states to form alliances with, how to gain political favors, and how to corner heads of states into surrendering without battle. This we understand well. What we cannot comprehend is the centerpiece of the table, the emperor himself. Liu Bang cannot claim noble birth, and his knowledge of logistics, fighting, and diplomacy does not equal that of his heads of staff. How is it, then, that he is emperor?”
The master smiled and asked his disciples to imagine the wheel of a chariot. “What determines the strength of a wheel in carrying a chariot forward?” he asked. After a moment of reflection, his disciples responded, “Is it not the sturdiness of the spokes, Master?” “But then, why is it,” he rejoined, “that two wheels made of identical spokes differ in strength?” After a moment, the master continued, “See beyond what is seen. Never forget that a wheel is made not only of spokes but also of the space between the spokes. Sturdy spokes poorly placed make a weak wheel. Whether their full potential is realized depends on the harmony between them. The essence of wheelmaking lies in the craftsman’s ability to conceive and create the space that holds and balances the spokes within the wheel. Think now, who is the craftsman here?”
A glimmer of moonlight was visible behind the door. Silence reigned until one disciple said, “But master, how does a craftsman secure the harmony between the spokes?” “Think of sunlight,” replied the master. “The sun nurtures and vitalizes the trees and flowers. It does so by giving away its light. But in the end, in which direction do they all grow? So it is with a master craftsman like Liu Bang. After placing individuals in positions that fully realize their potential, he secures harmony among them by giving them all credit for their distinctive achievements. And in the end, as the trees and flowers grow toward the giver, the sun, individuals grow toward Liu Bang with devotion.”
It is great to have a positive action like this. But it does not translate into a proactive way of doing things. Those of you who know may realise that there was meeting to plan this meeting. The constitution has already been adopted at that planning meeting. Thus this will virtually be a second general meeting in the space of a few weeks. That is a pure creation of unnecessary bureaucracy. Nothing should be done in a haste especially in constitutional matters. Our leaders must take time to think about the sport. This involves a sacrifice of personal time. The entire AGM should have been scheduled for one weekend when everything is ready.
The argument may have been the delay of a forensic report on the financial statements of the past BSA. That is reasonable since a financial report must be tabled at every AGM.
I am not really impressed at the turn of events. Of course leadership implies that not everyone will be satisfied but everyone must work towards a common goal.
As has been the concern elsewhere, the lack of consultation is posing serious problems. Let me take a leaf on the political scenario in our beloved country, South Africa. Some powerful people decide to resign from the ruling party claiming that the Freedom Charter was violated. And they forgot that they refused to listen to the voices of the people of Khutsong. (The area is 15 minutes or so away from Johannesburg and more than an hour to Potchefstroom.) That is how powerful they were and wanted to maintain the status quo. This is but one of the many examples.
Despite their lack of desire to meet with the concerned citizens when they were in government, they are on a countrywide mission to consult the stakeholders. Whether the ANC likes it or not, the envisaged new party, ANC of South Africa (ANCSA) will be the real opposition due to the consultative processes they are undertaking. “I think those people will consider their name as trademark laws would not allow such a name”.
It is for this concern that I plea with the prospective executive committee of BSA to go out and consult. Top down management has never been a fruitful means of organisational communication. Vision 2008 dismally failed due to the lack of consultation. It was a great concept which I, at the time, thought it was designed by the consultants for BSA and sold to whoever was in contact with the brand.
By the way, congratulations to the interim structure of the Federation for adopting a new constitution. It has been drafted with a purpose of driving the sport forward. As I always convey, the next two years will be great for the sport. Let me be specific, from mid-2010 it will be show time with basketball re-entering the stage. You guys just have to work on uniting the sport across the provinces.
The interim committee has done a good job in getting some issues in order like constitution, just to add a bit of info the constitution was not the final draft it adopted with the resevation that it MAY be altered in future. The only problem that Im facing is that this info is no filtering through to the districts. Its hard to comment on things that you know nothing about. The interim committee probarbly sent info out but the provinces never bothered to get the districts involved hence the masses dont know anything about everything.
i will agree with you Neo. information never gets down to people who need it the most. the district structures should have had copies to make input to the provincial structures that would have made the submission to the interim committee. if the constitution was adopted, BSA should atleast make a copy available on these site. i know that its late for any structures to make input but atleast we will all know what is expected of BSA from now on and what they in turn expect from affiliates.
Amen
I am a chairperson of a GBA distict and therefore a council member of GBA, yet I never had an oppurtunity to contribute on the constitution, which is going to bind me as a member GBA.
As they say a change of hands does not mean a change of attitude. Therefore I agree, the interim seem to have removed one dictatorship and they themselves turned into dictators. As it has been argued before, most of the members of the interim were in the old BSA, I guess ‘You Cant Teach An Old Dog New Tricks.”
Politically, the interim has failed dramatically. BUT, I am hopefull that this would not hamper the admiinistration of BBALL.
Coach Molupe – beautiful words. you have started a ripple…..