16 Feb 2016

Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture says there are a number of reasons why his ministry experiences delays in paying participants of both Constituency Art and Sports tournaments.

Answering a question in Parliament, Mr Thapelo Olopeng said it is often the case that participants do not submit the required payment documentation such as surety forms and letters of consent for those that collect payments on behalf of the teams on time.

He indicated that the documentation is expected to be submitted immediately after completion of the games and the creation or registration of teams in the GABS system also causes delays because it is centralised in Gaborone.
Mr Olopeng further said it is also often the case that most participants do not have bank accounts which is a requirement for electronic funds transfer payments.

“It often takes long to open and submit such accounts hence payments are delayed,” he said.

In response to these  challenges, Mr Olopeng said his ministry continues to encourage teams to submit their payment documentation immediately after participating in the competitions and also consult closely with participants to encourage them to open bank accounts to expedite payments.

“Preparations are underway to decentralise supplier creation to all districts to fast track payments and this roll out is effective April 1,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Francistown West, Mr Ignatius Moswaane had asked the minister if he is aware of delays of payments for arts and culture competitions and constituency tournaments to an extent where some teams reach second levels without getting payments for the first level.

He also wanted to know if this is not defeating the whole intention of forming the tournaments and what is being done to remedy the situation. Ends